Oliver Bown
@olliebown.bsky.social
Associate Prof, @UNSW Art&Design.
Research: Creative AI, computational creativity, music, IxD, society, evolution.
Music: Icarus, Tangents.
And: Social justice, equity, cycling, urban planning, 18-19C history.
Don't know why I post, mostly notes to self.
Research: Creative AI, computational creativity, music, IxD, society, evolution.
Music: Icarus, Tangents.
And: Social justice, equity, cycling, urban planning, 18-19C history.
Don't know why I post, mostly notes to self.
There must be some hidden clause in Australia's woeful data privacy laws that states that immediately after Black Friday all companies are allowed to re-add me to all email promotion/offer notification lists.
Or is there some other explanation? Has anything changed?
Or is there some other explanation? Has anything changed?
December 1, 2025 at 10:23 AM
There must be some hidden clause in Australia's woeful data privacy laws that states that immediately after Black Friday all companies are allowed to re-add me to all email promotion/offer notification lists.
Or is there some other explanation? Has anything changed?
Or is there some other explanation? Has anything changed?
Ultimate Slop discussion piece. Shame my course on Gen AI for Artists has wrapped up.
There's expertise in creating aesthetic media for public spaces beyond being able to render images, just as a UX designer brings expertise the software engineer doesn't have.
www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...
There's expertise in creating aesthetic media for public spaces beyond being able to render images, just as a UX designer brings expertise the software engineer doesn't have.
www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...
Redfern station’s AI-generated Christmas artwork to be removed
The scene featured a koala head on a kangaroo’s torso, a rodent with limbs not connected to its body, and kangaroos wearing bikini tops.
www.smh.com.au
November 27, 2025 at 10:57 AM
Ultimate Slop discussion piece. Shame my course on Gen AI for Artists has wrapped up.
There's expertise in creating aesthetic media for public spaces beyond being able to render images, just as a UX designer brings expertise the software engineer doesn't have.
www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...
There's expertise in creating aesthetic media for public spaces beyond being able to render images, just as a UX designer brings expertise the software engineer doesn't have.
www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...
"Dad, when the universe ends there'll be another universe"
"Oh yeah? How so?"
"Because there can't be no such thing as no such thing."
🤯
"Oh yeah? How so?"
"Because there can't be no such thing as no such thing."
🤯
November 27, 2025 at 10:30 AM
"Dad, when the universe ends there'll be another universe"
"Oh yeah? How so?"
"Because there can't be no such thing as no such thing."
🤯
"Oh yeah? How so?"
"Because there can't be no such thing as no such thing."
🤯
Adverts use beautiful faces. AI image generators produce beautiful faces. AI image generators are self-adverts.
November 27, 2025 at 5:24 AM
Adverts use beautiful faces. AI image generators produce beautiful faces. AI image generators are self-adverts.
In so far as you care about citation counts (maybe not at all, good onya), would you rather be in an academic community with a flatter or a more pronounced distribution? It seems both could be interpreted as problematic: one is a sign of an insider's clique, the other of winner-takes-all elitism.
November 27, 2025 at 4:57 AM
In so far as you care about citation counts (maybe not at all, good onya), would you rather be in an academic community with a flatter or a more pronounced distribution? It seems both could be interpreted as problematic: one is a sign of an insider's clique, the other of winner-takes-all elitism.
"That's $8.50 please, do you have a membership with us?"
"Membership? You sell ice tea, you're not a masonic society"
"Membership? You sell ice tea, you're not a masonic society"
November 27, 2025 at 4:13 AM
"That's $8.50 please, do you have a membership with us?"
"Membership? You sell ice tea, you're not a masonic society"
"Membership? You sell ice tea, you're not a masonic society"
Spotify goes all intertextual, nudging towards a semblance of what discovery could mean. Liner notes next?
djmag.com/news/spotify...
djmag.com/news/spotify...
Spotify acquires WhoSampled music database
The sample-aggregating music database will continue "as a standalone platform and brand"
djmag.com
November 26, 2025 at 10:11 AM
Spotify goes all intertextual, nudging towards a semblance of what discovery could mean. Liner notes next?
djmag.com/news/spotify...
djmag.com/news/spotify...
"By 2010 computers will disappear. They'll be so small, they'll be embedded in our clothing, in our environment. Images will be written directly to our retina, providing full-immersion virtual reality, augmented real reality. We'll be interacting with virtual personalities."
November 26, 2025 at 10:02 AM
"By 2010 computers will disappear. They'll be so small, they'll be embedded in our clothing, in our environment. Images will be written directly to our retina, providing full-immersion virtual reality, augmented real reality. We'll be interacting with virtual personalities."
Love how you can quote your own post. The NFHRIR is an amazing place to work, a high-tech media space situated in a small art and design college with its own campus in Paddington, Sydney.
November 25, 2025 at 11:13 PM
Love how you can quote your own post. The NFHRIR is an amazing place to work, a high-tech media space situated in a small art and design college with its own campus in Paddington, Sydney.
Reposted by Oliver Bown
I'd appreciate if any audio tech folks could help circulate this exciting call for a fully-funded PhD position working in multichannel audio design for galleries.
It's part of an ARC funded project 'From Noise to Signal: Improving Sonic Experiences in the Gallery'
www.unsw.edu.au/research/hdr...
It's part of an ARC funded project 'From Noise to Signal: Improving Sonic Experiences in the Gallery'
www.unsw.edu.au/research/hdr...
November 25, 2025 at 10:28 PM
I'd appreciate if any audio tech folks could help circulate this exciting call for a fully-funded PhD position working in multichannel audio design for galleries.
It's part of an ARC funded project 'From Noise to Signal: Improving Sonic Experiences in the Gallery'
www.unsw.edu.au/research/hdr...
It's part of an ARC funded project 'From Noise to Signal: Improving Sonic Experiences in the Gallery'
www.unsw.edu.au/research/hdr...
I'd appreciate if any audio tech folks could help circulate this exciting call for a fully-funded PhD position working in multichannel audio design for galleries.
It's part of an ARC funded project 'From Noise to Signal: Improving Sonic Experiences in the Gallery'
www.unsw.edu.au/research/hdr...
It's part of an ARC funded project 'From Noise to Signal: Improving Sonic Experiences in the Gallery'
www.unsw.edu.au/research/hdr...
November 25, 2025 at 10:28 PM
I'd appreciate if any audio tech folks could help circulate this exciting call for a fully-funded PhD position working in multichannel audio design for galleries.
It's part of an ARC funded project 'From Noise to Signal: Improving Sonic Experiences in the Gallery'
www.unsw.edu.au/research/hdr...
It's part of an ARC funded project 'From Noise to Signal: Improving Sonic Experiences in the Gallery'
www.unsw.edu.au/research/hdr...
thelocal.to/investigatin...
This is an amazing piece that perfectly resembles the bombardment of PhD applications, AI papers and essays academics now sift through.
Depressing how much pollution this creates and how many are willing to go there.
Read it to the end, which is beautiful.
This is an amazing piece that perfectly resembles the bombardment of PhD applications, AI papers and essays academics now sift through.
Depressing how much pollution this creates and how many are willing to go there.
Read it to the end, which is beautiful.
Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era | The Local
A suspicious pitch from a freelancer led editor Nicholas Hune-Brown to dig into their past work. By the end, four publications, including The Guardian and Dwell, had removed articles from their sites.
thelocal.to
November 25, 2025 at 1:35 PM
thelocal.to/investigatin...
This is an amazing piece that perfectly resembles the bombardment of PhD applications, AI papers and essays academics now sift through.
Depressing how much pollution this creates and how many are willing to go there.
Read it to the end, which is beautiful.
This is an amazing piece that perfectly resembles the bombardment of PhD applications, AI papers and essays academics now sift through.
Depressing how much pollution this creates and how many are willing to go there.
Read it to the end, which is beautiful.
It's alarming watching our politicians fail to stand up in unity as a foreign autocrat intimidates our national press.
You can say we're getting a taste of our own medicine a long time coming.
But it's not about country A v B, it's about people versus power.
www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...
You can say we're getting a taste of our own medicine a long time coming.
But it's not about country A v B, it's about people versus power.
www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...
Reith lecturer accuses BBC of censoring his remarks on Trump
Dutch writer Rutger Bregman says claim that Trump was ‘most openly corrupt president in US history’ was removed
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:59 PM
It's alarming watching our politicians fail to stand up in unity as a foreign autocrat intimidates our national press.
You can say we're getting a taste of our own medicine a long time coming.
But it's not about country A v B, it's about people versus power.
www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...
You can say we're getting a taste of our own medicine a long time coming.
But it's not about country A v B, it's about people versus power.
www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...
It needed to be said.
Yesterday my partner and I counted all the ads along Chicago's Brown Line for "Friend," a company selling an AI chatbot pendant, and tallied how many of those ads were defaced.
Still working on a longer piece on this, but here's the quick and dirty: we counted 104 "Friend" ads total, 42 defaced.
Still working on a longer piece on this, but here's the quick and dirty: we counted 104 "Friend" ads total, 42 defaced.
November 25, 2025 at 7:07 AM
It needed to be said.
Ollie's IxD news and views. Android Clock app is a smorgasbord of extremely basic user experience fails making it the official worst Android app ever. Where's even some basic contrast/panel differentiation here?
November 25, 2025 at 5:27 AM
Ollie's IxD news and views. Android Clock app is a smorgasbord of extremely basic user experience fails making it the official worst Android app ever. Where's even some basic contrast/panel differentiation here?
TBH this is not really unexpected, in hindsight I mean, which is the only way I've learnt to comprehend Trump, and AI. Glad not to have to pick a side on this one!
President Trump faces an unexpected rift in the MAGA movement as Republican officials warn his embrace of the tech industry’s artificial intelligence boom risks undermining Americans’ economic security and exposing their children to new harms.
The surprising issue driving a wedge between Trump and his MAGA base
President Donald Trump’s attempt to block states from regulating AI sparked pushback from Republicans concerned the tech will displace workers and harm kids.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:39 AM
TBH this is not really unexpected, in hindsight I mean, which is the only way I've learnt to comprehend Trump, and AI. Glad not to have to pick a side on this one!
Remember when YouTube announced its AI principles except none of them were actually principles. OK #2 almost was, but that was watered down ("must include appropriate protections and unlock opportunities")! 🤣 blog.youtube/inside-youtu...
Our principles for partnering with the music industry on AI technology
Dive into YouTube's new Music AI Incubator, a groundbreaking initiative uniting the music industry and AI. Explore how generative AI is shaping the future of music creation, production, and marketing,...
blog.youtube
November 24, 2025 at 5:53 AM
Remember when YouTube announced its AI principles except none of them were actually principles. OK #2 almost was, but that was watered down ("must include appropriate protections and unlock opportunities")! 🤣 blog.youtube/inside-youtu...
Not only people with a voice inside America. The normalisation of violent intimidation of political opponents in the US needs to be called out by all US allies and trading partners. Can you see this abating naturally?
The President of the United States just called for Democratic members of Congress to be executed. "HANG THEM", he posted.
If you're a person of influence in this country and you haven't picked a side, maybe now would be the time to pick a fucking side.
If you're a person of influence in this country and you haven't picked a side, maybe now would be the time to pick a fucking side.
November 24, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Not only people with a voice inside America. The normalisation of violent intimidation of political opponents in the US needs to be called out by all US allies and trading partners. Can you see this abating naturally?
Sydneysiders, not to late to reschedule your rainy Saturdy to head down to the MCA for artists talks and guest talks by yours truly and other members of the UNSW Creative Technologies Research Lab. The Data Dreams exhibition, just launched, is rather excellent.
www.mca.com.au/events-progr...
www.mca.com.au/events-progr...
In dialogue: Data Dreams | MCA Australia
www.mca.com.au
November 21, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Sydneysiders, not to late to reschedule your rainy Saturdy to head down to the MCA for artists talks and guest talks by yours truly and other members of the UNSW Creative Technologies Research Lab. The Data Dreams exhibition, just launched, is rather excellent.
www.mca.com.au/events-progr...
www.mca.com.au/events-progr...
www.abc.net.au/news/science...
Reminds me of the time I resubmitted a grant but had to rewrite the budget to allow for a year of inflation. Should be standard now to have funding properly indexed and save a lot of headaches.
Reminds me of the time I resubmitted a grant but had to rewrite the budget to allow for a year of inflation. Should be standard now to have funding properly indexed and save a lot of headaches.
The CSIRO cuts are just the tip of the iceberg for Australia's science funding
Australia is known as a country of innovators, but with a combination of brain drain, continuous cuts, and a loss of critical science projects, is Australia losing its edge?
www.abc.net.au
November 19, 2025 at 9:20 PM
www.abc.net.au/news/science...
Reminds me of the time I resubmitted a grant but had to rewrite the budget to allow for a year of inflation. Should be standard now to have funding properly indexed and save a lot of headaches.
Reminds me of the time I resubmitted a grant but had to rewrite the budget to allow for a year of inflation. Should be standard now to have funding properly indexed and save a lot of headaches.
Anytime I do a DA I'm blown away, but this takes the biscuit.
"Cryptically" means you flip the answer and the clue. The answer actually contains the action word, this time an anagrind.
"Cryptically" means you flip the answer and the clue. The answer actually contains the action word, this time an anagrind.
November 16, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Anytime I do a DA I'm blown away, but this takes the biscuit.
"Cryptically" means you flip the answer and the clue. The answer actually contains the action word, this time an anagrind.
"Cryptically" means you flip the answer and the clue. The answer actually contains the action word, this time an anagrind.
The GEMA v OpenAI win is good news but the ruling leans on the lyrics being stored and reproduced near verbatim. We risk inviting disguised or "genericised" outputs which in my mind could be a lose lose lose (quality, remuneration, recognition).
www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/gema-wins-la...
www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/gema-wins-la...
GEMA wins landmark ruling against OpenAI over ChatGPT’s use of song lyrics - Music Business Worldwide
Court in Germany finds that ChatGPT violates copyright laws through its unauthorized use of song lyrics…
www.musicbusinessworldwide.com
November 16, 2025 at 8:44 AM
The GEMA v OpenAI win is good news but the ruling leans on the lyrics being stored and reproduced near verbatim. We risk inviting disguised or "genericised" outputs which in my mind could be a lose lose lose (quality, remuneration, recognition).
www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/gema-wins-la...
www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/gema-wins-la...
The launch of the exhibition Data Dreams is coming soon to the MCA. I'll be joining a line up of talks presented by the UNSW Creative Technologies Research Lab on Saturday 22nd November to accompany the exhibition. Always a good day when Kate Crawford's in the house.
www.mca.com.au/events-progr...
www.mca.com.au/events-progr...
In dialogue: Data Dreams | MCA Australia
www.mca.com.au
November 14, 2025 at 2:30 AM
The launch of the exhibition Data Dreams is coming soon to the MCA. I'll be joining a line up of talks presented by the UNSW Creative Technologies Research Lab on Saturday 22nd November to accompany the exhibition. Always a good day when Kate Crawford's in the house.
www.mca.com.au/events-progr...
www.mca.com.au/events-progr...
No, the BBC may have done a bad edit but this is gross political bullying. This man has normalised flagrant lying and yes he did support the violent insurrection. Nobody should be apologising to him.
November 13, 2025 at 11:01 PM
No, the BBC may have done a bad edit but this is gross political bullying. This man has normalised flagrant lying and yes he did support the violent insurrection. Nobody should be apologising to him.
So wait, Henry Ford completely fabricated the line that he was going to exit Ford, set up a rival to Ford that made cars cheaper than Ford, crashing Ford shares only to buy them all up and take back over, not considered illegal. And he was a raving Nazi. It makes nowtimes seem relatively ok.
November 12, 2025 at 4:09 AM
So wait, Henry Ford completely fabricated the line that he was going to exit Ford, set up a rival to Ford that made cars cheaper than Ford, crashing Ford shares only to buy them all up and take back over, not considered illegal. And he was a raving Nazi. It makes nowtimes seem relatively ok.