START: European Researchers’ Night 2025 took place on Friday, 26th September, at the Douglas Hyde Gallery in Trinity College Dublin, where ADAPT’s #ExploreAI showcase drew a large and energetic crowd. The event, part of Trinity College Dublin’s wider START (Start Talking About Research Today) festival, offered free, interactive experiences designed to bring cutting-edge AI research to the public. START formed part of the Europe-wide European Researcher’s Night programme, funded by the European Union.
The Douglas Hyde Gallery was transformed into a bustling hub where science intersected with culture, art, and society. Visitors tested their skills against artificial intelligence, stepped inside a digital version of Dublin’s future, and experienced how machines interpreted them in real time.
Highlights included Lost in Translation – Caillte san Aistriuchán, a game that challenged players to spot Irish proverbs (seanfhocail) passed through AI systems; AI’s Cultural Blind Spot, a quiz revealing how algorithms struggle with context; and Human or Machine? You Decide!, which let participants judge whether texts were written by people or generated by AI. Other attractions ranged from wearable devices generating AI “memories” of visits, to a 3D digital twin of Dublin Docklands with Smart Dublin, to Algowatch, which showed how algorithms spread disinformation.
The showcase also explored accessibility and creativity. The Art of Description compared human and AI description of artworks, while AI-inspired art and music featured prominently, including STARTS4Water residencies, the Spirit of Radio installation and a special HIVE Choir performance blending sound, technology and tradition. Pop-up talks from ADAPT researchers gave audiences a chance to hear directly from experts at the forefront of AI research.
The event demonstrated how AI is shaping language, culture, and society, while inviting the public to test, question, and experience the technology for themselves.
Photo credit: Paul Sharp/SHARPPIX
