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. […]
Mark Bernstein
a) I’m not sure there’s a problem with publishing a private Facebook update, provided that your reporter received it (a) because they are the subjects’ Facebook friend, or (b) it was shown them by someone who received it legitimately. Obviously, there’s a problem with publishing a private Facebook update you obtained by stealing the subject’s computer, or something like that.
By analogy, if I tell you something in confidence and then you tell a reporter what I said and the reporter prints it, I don’t believe that the *reporter* has done anything wrong.
b) Offhand, I see nothing objectionable about what the university lecturer said, provided it was said in good faith. If the statement is literally true, how could anyone object? If it is hyperbole, then it might be tactless, but it might also be considered motivational.
Matt Whyndham
I would see it (the quoted status update) as potential evidence for promotion, or at the very least the recruitment of a teaching assistant. On the other hand, it could be claimed that the responsibility of encouraging the students to read some books is the lecturer’s.
David Brake
I love the Richelieu quote – do you have the full reference so I can use it too?