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. […]
jean
Yes, I watched that earlier today as well–I liked the ending: ‘We’ll have to rethink a few things’
Applied Abstractions
Web 2.0 animated…
I can only agree with Jill – I wish I had done this video (that Michael Welsh did). With a small exception: The first three of the last four words, which pushes it a tiny bit over the edge…….
Tama Leaver's GRS Blog
Ever wondered what Web2.0 meant?…
This YouTube clip does a pretty good job of explaining it … [Via Jill ]…
Sigrid
Hi Jill
thank you for finding this, I have forwarded the link to some friends and colleagues. I have been enjoying reading your blog for quite a while, now that I have “relaunched” my own I may be can “pay you back” by linking to you once in a while.
Thanks again
Sigrid
Sigrid
PS
I would have liked to see at the end of the video
weíll need to rethink Ö teaching
weíll need to rethink Ö learning
Michael Wesch
Yes, those are obvious ones I wish I had put in there (as I am constantly doing that myself!). This was all done in a flurry of artistic vision – without a script through much of it. I’m hoping to redo it soon, and I’ll be sure to put those in. Thanks for the comments!
academhack » Blog Archive » Video to Explain the Web
[…] Michael Wesch an assistant professor of Cultural Anthropology at Kansas State University, has made this wonderful video. A quick run down on Web tech and how it changes the world. This video is so good I think I might start my next media theory class with it. […]
katzenbach.info » Video: Introducing the Web in 5 minutes
[…] Video auf YouTube |via jilltxt […]
Scratch All Future Conference Presentations on Web 2.0 » CogDogBlog
[…] A linktribution to jill/txt though this video is bouncing all around the blogosphere and technorati-space. […]
A Collage of Citations » and i can see why youtube was the top 2006 invention…
[…] via jill/txt, check it out: […]
Semifat Sediment
Cold weekend thoughts….
It’s really cold out, and my mind wanders….
Sigrid
Hi Michael Wesch, thank you, great job!
If you could provide a higher quality version, I am sure even more people would use it for teaching in class.
Sigrid
dave
I don’t know if there is a higher quality version, but if so I would love to get my hands on one to save for future use (again to use in a New Media Class). If such a copy exists, maybe it could be turned into a torrent file and shared with people.
The machine is us/ing us at Magnarokk ‚òÜ‚òÜ‚òÜ
[…] (via Jill Walker) […]
Albertine
Heisann, Jill!
Jeg har fÂtt helt dilla p blogging. Skulle en barsel-permisjon til. Hadde noen venner i jostedalen som satt og drodla med det, og Ask (4 mnd) er s snill og rolig at jeg endelig har fÂtt tid til  oppdatere meg p nye medier. Ikke minst Web 2.0. Veeeeldig interessant, sÊrlig i og med at jeg studerer pedagogikk (praktisk) for tiden. De nye sosiokulturelle tankene/ lÊringsteoriene passer hÂnd i hanske med med det som skjer innen Web 2.0, men er utrolig mye vanskeligere  faktisk gjennomf¯re i praksis i skolen.
Har vÊrt spent p opppf¯lging av ‘worksheet’-diskusjonen. Hva sa studentene? Har du bestemt deg for hva du gj¯r med det fremover? Jeg kom over det akkurat like etter at jeg hadde satt opp wordpress-blog med ftp-server, og punktlista di gav meg en skikkelig ‘flying start’ p en del greier. Har dessuten latt meg inspirere mye av det du kommer med, og merker n at jeg er p vei inn i mine egne greier.
SÂ takk skal du ha! Det var igrunnen det jeg ville skrive, men har ikke helt visst hvor jeg skulle skrive det. Har en masse sp¯rsmÂl til deg angÂnde bloggingen din, men kan kanskje ta det senere (Du har ikke en faq liste tilfeldigvis? 🙂 HÂper alt stÂr bra til!
jill/txt » michael wesch is in town - and it only costs 4000 kroner to hear him talk
[…] For those of you who aren’t familiar with Michael Wesch, he’s an Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Kansas State who does digital ethnography, but the cool thing about him is how he makes these YouTube videos that get the point about social media and web 2.0 across in such a beautiful way – talk about merging form and content. See, here’s his most famous one (and yes, I’ve raved about it before): […]