Kate Devlin

@drkatedevlin.bsky.social

15171 Followers 1796 Following

Academic; writer. Professor of AI & Society, Chair-Director @kings-dfi.bsky.social, King’s College London. Eye-rolling at AI nonsense on a daily basis. #academicsky . Norn Irish in Norwich.

It's me, wearing sunglasses and drinking from a mug that reads "MALE TEARS". Behind me is the Thames and the cityscape of Canary Wharf.
A very short video of the low evening sun over the mouth of Strangford Lough. There is sea and sky and long grass and cows. The video has been taken while I'm running so it's unstable and snappy, just like me.
A medal from a running event. The ribbon says "10 MILE RACE" and the metal medal has a drawing of a windmill and a ferry boat and says "PORTAFERRY GALA 10 MILE RACE".
A picture of a peacock with his tail open fully and the caption "I JUST ROLLED ALL 100 OF MY ASS EYES."
A close up of World'O'Techno with a sticker saying "You wouldn't steal World'O'Techno".
A solitary scart lead in a plastic bag
A display at EMF Camp entitled "The Museum of Manky Tea Towels". My hand is holding a zine which says "Why is this? Tea towels tell stories about people, places and things. You can change those stories. An unused tea towel is an insult to nature."
An excerpt from the play Cyprus Avenue by David Ireland: Slim: I don't mind Tom Cruise. Even when he's being a Fenian. Do you like Tom Cruise? Eric: I don't mind him. Slim: Aye, I don't mind him too. I just wish he'd stop playing Fenians. Mission Impossible - Fenian. Collateral - Fenian. Top Gun - Fenian. Jerry Maguire - definite Fenian. And I'm pretty sure that vampire he played in Interview with a Vampire was a Fenian too. Do you ever notice that most vampires in most films are Fenians? Where are all the Protestant vampires, Eric? When will our stories be told? When will we see Tom Cruise playing a misunderstood loyalist vampire getting burnt out of his home in Cluan Place by an unstoppable mob of ignorant, cock-eyed Short Strand taigs? When will that happen, Eric? Eric: I don't think that will happen. Slim: I think you're right. And the world is a poorer place because of it. So go on then. Eric: What?
THE "EVEN" ADVISORY SYSTEM Used to assess risk of losing the ability to even permanently. I LITERALLY CAN'T EVEN Severe I CANNOT High I JUST CAN'T EVEN Elevated I CAN'T EVEN Guarded I CAN'T Low
YO DAWG, I HEARD YOU LIKE PROTESTS SO I'M PROTESTING YOUR PROTEST SO WE CAN PROTEST WHILE YOU'RE PROTESTING
The sound of no helicopters Peace sounds like the sound of no helicopters previous city of car blasts is strangely quiet because peace sounds like the sound of no helicopters Andy White
Author Sarah Perry stands at a lectern. Behind her is a screen showing the title of her talk, "How to Write Good."
Tom Hunter and Samira Ahmed sit on a stage under the logo of the Arthur C Clarke Award. Arthur's typewriter is next to them.
Samira Ahmed, Mic Wright, Dr Martin Moore and Dr David Young sit talking at a table in front of a screen that says "The Digital Futures Institute Festival of Storytelling".
A pair of feet in a pair of bright pink running shoes , standing in gravelly ground. The rest of the person from the shins upwards is not visible.
CHAPTER 15 The Measure of a Woman: Fembots, Fact and Fiction Kate Devlin, Olivia Belton https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198846666.003.00 16 Pages 357-381 Published: 21 February 2020 Abstract While the production of real-life sex robots is currently only at prototype stage, sexualized female artificial intelligences have long been a trope in popular media. By critically analysing a selection of science fiction films and television programmes, we explore the narrative of fictional representations of eroticized female robots and the ways in which their reception feeds real-life expectation.
What are some issues Al users should be aware of? Uh ... late-stage capitalism. More usefully: check provenance - where's the data coming from? How ethical is the provider? Do they have a good track record of social responsibility? Would you let them control your oxygen supply on Mars? What is the best way to responsibly build Al? Regulation and conscience.
A white scruffy lurcher stands outside a church that is being used as a polling station in the local council elections.
Screenshot from the London Marathon ballot: Double Your Chances of getting a place in 2027 £49.99 Select this option to DOUBLE your chances today! You are twice as likely to get a place You'll get a FREE Hydration vest worth over £100 Select this option to DOUBLE your chances today!* Yes, I want to double my chances of getting a place in 2027 - £49.99 No thanks, I just want a single free ballot entry
It's the "don't make me tap the sign" meme from The Simpsons and the sign states "I don't care what ChatGPT said."
A somewhat tattered International Student Identity Card (ISIC) from 1996 with a photo of me looking young and fresh-faced, smiling at the camera. I like to think I look much the same 30 years later but unfortunately I do not.
A blossoming magnolia tree against a vivid blue sky.
A flint and brick wall in the grounds of Norwich cathedral. The sky is blue with white clouds. The cathedral spire can be seen in the background through branches of white blossom.
Bród, a white scruffy lurcher, wearing an orange coat. He has his tongue out, looking derpy. (He is very derpy.)
The Pulp Fiction "say 'what'" meme but it's buckets: Say "buckets" again. I dare you, I double dare you."
A screenshot of the Mumsnet Talk homepage. A banner with a button reads: "Back an u16s social media ban. Write to your MP." And the button reads: "Takes 1 minute"
The "don't make me tap the sign" meme from The Simpsons. The sign reads: "I don't care what ChatGPT said".
The Simpson's Monorail episode. The FOMO is the grift.
A street scene in Norwich: medieval houses and a cathedral spire. In the foreground, a very 21st century traffic cone. The sky is a pinky-yellow-blue and it is decidedly not raining.
A screenshot of lyrics from Gloria by Laura Branigan, with the highlighted line: "I think you're headed for a breakdown So be careful not to show it"
TechCrunch logo What are some issues Al users should be aware of? Uh... late-stage capitalism. More usefully: check provenance - where's the data coming from? How ethical is the provider? Do they have a good track record of social responsibility? Would you let them control your oxygen supply on Mars? Source: https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/30/women-in-ai-kate-devlin-of-kings-college-is-researching-ai-and-intimacy/
A top-down view of my hand holding a martini glass. Controversially it contains both an olive and a twist. There's also a spoonful of juice from the dill pickle jar in it.
Eastern Daily Press newspaper headline: RSPCA warns cats can take off in high winds Animal lovers are warning cat owners to keep their pets indoors this weekend - in case they get blo... Eastern Daily Press
The character Olivia Benson from the TV series Law and Order: SVU. The caption says "[stares in especially heinous]
25 January 1851 I've fallen in love or imagine that I have; went to a party and lost my head. Bought a horse which I don't need at all. Leo Tolstoy
"They're the same picture" dot gif
Business: Al boom could falter without wider adoption, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella warns
Me: "What emails do I still need to reply to that I have flagged?" Co-pilot: "Sorry, it looks like I can’t respond to this. Let’s try a different topic. Write a rap song. Show me some cool facts. teach me a new word!"
A drawing of a man praying. The test reads: Dear Lord, Please Grant Me the Ability to Punch People in the Face Over Standard TCP/IP.
A white scruffy lurcher in a blue dog coat and orange harness walked through the snow over Fye Bridge. In the background are the colourful houses of Norwich's Quayside.
A church with a round tower (St Mary's Coslany) with snow falling heavily. All around, the ground is white with settled snow.
I am standing with both hands on a metre-wide, semi-rolled up piece of paper, unrolling a detailed pencil drawing of my own face. I am looking down at it as I reveal it. The eyes, dark-framed glasses, nose and mouth of the drawing are visible as I unroll it.
A white scruffy lurcher in an orange coat is standing in the water at the edge of a lake.
The distracted boyfriend meme, but it is labelled as follows. New girl: eating 3 tuna mayo jacket potatoes and running yourself over with your own car Boyfriend: brian harvey Current girl: eating one tuna mayo jacket potato and safely exiting your vehicle
A scruffy lurcher, white and fawn, lies on a sofa with his head down, staring at the camera.
Pathology Report Result: Abnormal, but expected
A really rather nice coated linen small backpack in a forest green colour.
A wooden door between two brick posts is set into a bank of earth in the woods. It looks creepy af. There are two large pumpkins outside the door: one white and one orange.
Kate Devlin IDISCOURSE PROGRAMME] 09.10 13:15 Patac Krzysztofory - Sala Miedziana Discussion: Future Sex unsound. [web] 7-12October Kraków
A leaflet with a big read heart on it and the text “An intimate message from God to you.”
My hand holding a copy of Sarah Hall’s new book, “Helm”. In the blurry background, a scruffy lurcher is snoozing on a quilt on a sofa.
A hand flips the bird at a bird. The teal bird is a really annoying gull. They’ve been waking us up at 4:30am every morning and I hope they fuck off soon.
The “graphic design is my passion” meme: an image of terrible, terrible graphic design. Don’t expect the AGI to have any merit either.
A cafetière and two coffee cups are next to a cooker. One coffee cup is round and smooth and the other is ridged and rougher. This is a bit like the bouba/kiki effect where people associate more rounded shapes with the made-up word “bouba”, and spikier shapes with the made-up word “kiki”. It’s a form of cross-modal symbolism and holds across many different languages.
A label describing some decorative plasterwork. It reads: “Ladies inclined to marry youth should not overlook the values of an older man.” Blickling, Norfolk.
Graphic recording sketch notes from the opening of the King’s Digital Futures Institute unconference. The key question illustrated is “How do we navigate the complex relationships between technology and humanity in ways that enhance rather than diminish our lives?”.
Four people stand by a scheduling board for an unconference. One person is sticking a post-it to the board while the others look on. A sign is visible. It reads “Digital Futures Institute, King’s College London.”
A stage with a banner at each end bearing the words “Digital Futures Institute: Living Well with Technology”. There is a large multicoloured grid of giant post-it notes which represent the sessions that attendees have proposed. At the front is a canvas where a scribe has drawn sketch notes of the opening session.
Dear Colleague It appears that your Wellbeing Awareness training has not yet been completed. This e-learning forms part of the University's strategy to improve health and wellbeing amongst its staff and is an important means of providing you with key information on how to manage work-life pressures.