Adam Peacock is a British artist, designer and researcher whose work explores the relationships between technology, identity, desire and behaviour. His practice includes speculative design, visual culture, exhibitions, design research and strategic consultancy, focusing on artificial intelligence, digital platforms and the cultural effects of emerging technologies.

Education and background – Peacock studied architecture at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London (UCL), before completing an MA in Design Interactions at the Royal College of Art (RCA). His early professional experience included architectural projects with Heatherwick Studio on Azabudai Hills in Tokyo, Amanda Levete Architects on the V&A Exhibition Road Quarter in London, and WilkinsonEyre on CIBC Square in Toronto, before a design leadership role developing concept design packages for the NEOM megacity in Saudi Arabia. His architectural background has informed his following work in speculative design and design research, particularly his use of spatial, computational and systems-based approaches to investigate social and technological change.

Design research laboratory – During his MA at the Royal College of Art, Peacock developed THE VALIDATION JUNKY (TVJ), a human-centred design research laboratory focused on a hypothetical character whose identity and behaviour are shaped by technological mediation. The project applies design systems methodologies to contemporary bodies, subjectivities, and identities, investigating how platform economies, artificial intelligence, financialisation, and algorithmic optimisation shape cultural behaviour. Projects developed through TVJ include MACHINES FOR AUTOMATING TASTE, commissioned by the Visible Futures Lab at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, which used designed artefacts and graphic illustrations to explore how artificial intelligence synthesises aesthetic sensibilities; THE GENETICS GYM, commissioned by Fashion Space Gallery at the University of the Arts London (UAL), developed in collaboration with UAL’s Digital Anthropology Lab and UCL’s EGA Institute for Women’s Health, which explored the biological body as a malleable interface shaped by media cultures; and PERFECTION/SPECULATION, developed in collaboration with PRAKSIS Oslo, the Vigeland Museum and Karmaklubb*, with contributions from interlocutors associated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the City University of New York (CUNY) and the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), examining new media, biotechnology, constructions of beauty and the relationship between individual self-fashioning and social expectations. Peacock’s recent work has increasingly focused on artificial intelligence and digital platform cultures. His project RESISTING OPTIMISATION investigates the computational systems through which digital platforms organise identity, visibility and desire.

Exhibitions and awards – Peacock’s work has been exhibited and presented internationally at institutions and events including Tecnológico de Monterrey, Trinity College Dublin, Science Gallery Melbourne, Arebyte Gallery in London, Product Innovation Apparel in Milan, London Fashion Week, FASHIONCLASH in Maastricht and the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh. Peacock was awarded 2015 Artist in Residence at the Visible Futures Lab, School of Visual Arts, New York, and 2016 Designer in Residence at Fashion Space Gallery, University of the Arts London. In 2018, he was awarded the Robert Garland Treseder Fellowship at the University of Melbourne. He was a finalist for the S+T+ARTS Prize in 2021, a European Commission initiative presented in association with Ars Electronica and a finalist for the Lumen Prize in 2024. His work and research have been featured by the BBC, The Guardian, The Irish Times and Art Guide Australia, and published by Bloomsbury Academic.

Teaching and strategic consultancy – Peacock has taught and lectured internationally in visual culture, architecture, fashion and speculative design. His teaching engagements include visiting lectures at the Royal College of Art, across its School of Arts & Humanities and School of Communication & Design, as well as teaching at Central Saint Martins, the Southern California Institute of Architecture, London College of Fashion and Melbourne School of Design and was a visiting professor at the School of International Art in Beijing. As a Robert Garland Treseder Fellow at the University of Melbourne, he developed and co-led the Architecture-Fashion Lab for Master of Architecture students. Alongside his artistic and academic work, Peacock undertakes design research and strategic consultancy for cultural, academic and commercial organisations. His industry projects have included work with Audi AG, Stella McCartney, Accenture, Science Gallery Network, Fiat Centro Stile and Stellantis. His practice uses speculative systems thinking and design research to translate cultural, social, and technological insights into strategic frameworks, research methodologies, and narratives for future developments across fashion, automotive design, urban environments, and technology. 

Doctoral research – Peacock is a doctoral researcher in Visual Cultures at Goldsmiths, University of London, supported by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). His doctoral project, Toxic Queer Masculinities – Tools for Navigating AI-Integrated Subjectivity, investigates how artificial intelligence and algorithmic systems shape queer masculine subjectivity across digital platforms, with Grindr’s emerging AI integration serving as a principal case study. The research examines how data extraction, algorithmic visibility and optimisation influence the formation of identity and desire. Drawing on visual culture, queer theory, critical artificial intelligence studies, computational methods and speculative design, the project combines theoretical analysis with practice-based outputs to investigate the cultural, economic and political implications of AI-mediated identity. It also explores how design research might inform future approaches to fashion systems, communication frameworks, platform ecosystems and artificial intelligence industries.