I just signed a petition calling for Norwegian universities to use research expertise on AI when deciding how to implement it, rather than having decisions be made mostly administratively. , If you are a researcher in Norway, please read it and sign it if you agree – and share with anyone else who might be interested. The petition was written by three researchers at UiT: Maria Danielsen (a philosopher who completed her PhD in 2025 on AI and ethics, including discussions of art and working life), Knut Ørke (Norwegian as a second language), and Holger Pötzsch (a professor of media studies with many years of research on digital media, video games, disruption, and working life, among other topics). This is not about preventing researchers from exploring AI methods in their research. It is about not uncritically accepting the hype that everyone must use AI everywhere without critical reflection. It is about not introducing Copilot as the default option in word processors, or training PhD candidates to believe they will fall behind if they do not use AI when writing articles, without proper academic discussion. Changes like these should be knowledge-based and discussed academically, not merely decided administratively, because they alter the epistemological foundations of research. Maria wrote to me a couple of months ago because she had read my opinion piece in Aftenposten in which I called for a strong brake on the use of language models in knowledge work. She was part of a committee tasked with developing UiT’s AI strategy and was concerned because there was so much hype and so few members of the committee with actual expertise in AI. I fully support the petition. There are probably some good uses for AI in research, but the uncritical, hype-driven insistence that we must simply adopt it everywhere is highly risky. There are many researchers in Norway with strong expertise in AI, language, ethics, working life, and culture. We must make use of this expertise. This is also partly about respect for research in the humanities, social sciences, psychology, and law. Introducing AI at universities and university colleges is not merely a technical issue, and perhaps not even primarily a technical one. It concerns much more: philosophy of science, methodological reflection, epistemology, writing, publishing, the working environment, and more. […]
hanna
Don’t panic! You will do brilliantly!
Matt K.
Just so long as you don’t say “urg.”
Lisa Firke
Best of luck, Jill!
Camilla
Don’t worry Jill, you’ll do great 🙂
Jamie
You will be great!
If you really think you need advice, remember:
* you are brilliant
* they know that you know more about your topic then they do and they want to discuss it with you as an equal (or at least a junior colleague)
* you have got through much worse before — you are a strong person and when you believe in yourself you are capable of much more than defending something you have worked on for years
* it might help you to imagine that you have already passed because then you won’t be nervous about that and then you can concentrate on enjoying the experience
It is in some ways a rite of passage but, unlike many of those rites, everyone knows that you will more than succeed. I suspect that you are just nervous because this is such a big step. We all know that you will be great. Everything will fall into place. I know it will (or have I just been playing too much tetris?)
Jill
Oh, thanks, Jamie, everyone. At least it’ll be over soon….
Unlike Tetris.