Symposium

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow
29th and 30th June 2026

Thank you to everyone who attended Intelligences from the Underground Symposium. We are especially grateful to our guests and technical team for their ideas, support, and hard work.

The symposium brought together artists, researchers, technologists, and community organisers to explore alternative approaches to AI through creative practice, improvisation, and collective inquiry. It was convened by Dr Maria Sappho and Dr Una MacGlone (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) and Professor Pierre Alexandre Tremblay (Conservatorio della Svizzera italiana), and gathered collaborators working at the intersection of art, technology, and social practice.

Across talks, performances, workshops, prototyping and building, and open discussions, the symposium explored:

• What we can do about AI from the fringe, the underground, and the countercultural.
• How AI might emerge from community knowledge and artistic experimentation.
• What improvisation, feminist technology, and ecological thinking can contribute to AI research.
• How creative technologies can support more ethical and socially embedded futures.

The event featured:

• Conversations on creative and ethical AI design and usage
• Short talks from international research and artistic partners
• Hands-on Underground Labs exploring experimental technologies and new instruments and artistic works pushing the boundaries of AI in creative practice.
• A live gig featuring international visiting artists and Glasgow’s favourite Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra
• Roundtable discussions shaping future research and artistic networks

Documentation and further ideas from the symposium will be updated on this website in the coming months.

This event was funded by the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Athenaeum Award.

Get in Touch

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This is a free event and all are welcome.

Participants

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Meet the contributors to Intelligences from the Underground on the dedicated participants page.

Programme

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The schedule offers a record of the symposium programme and related activities.