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. […]
steve
Facebook is a topic in one of my courses, and to use it for teaching I need to have an account. I don’t advertise my presence to students, and my profile is all but blank, but I’m still ambivalent about being there at all. Sometimes students notice and befriend me, but not very often.
On the other hand, I think it’s an important opportunity to remind students that even closed (or partially closed) networks aren’t as private as they might think. Many of my students “know” that potential employers have spies on Facebook from different colleges, providing access to applicants’ profiles. True or not, the persistence of the rumor seems to highlight some ambivalence and anxiety on the part of students, too.
Alfred Thompson
I am not a teacher anymore but I was for some years. I have a Facebook account and a good number of my former students have befriended me. My policy is to accept all requests from former students but not to invite them as that might be seen as pushy or intrusive. I sometimes ping someone just to let them know I am there but that is as far as I go as a first step. If some mind that I am there I haven’t heard about it yet.
Lorcan Dempsey's weblog
Faculty and Facebook…
Here is an interesting short paper on student/faculty relations in Facebook by a couple of researchers from Georgia Tech [pdf] They found that contact in Facebook did not have an impact on student perception of faculty. Although, here they note that a …
Public School Teacher
Is there a law or policy that prohibits public school teachers from having a facebook account?
As long as there isn’t anything illegal or nudity involved, can a school system suspend or dismiss teachers who have facebook? There are several teachers in my school district who are being threatened by the central office for having a facebook where there is alcohol or other “unprofessional” pictures on their profiles. Is there a line between private life and your role at your job at school? Teachers need some answers here. Several are losing their jobs.
Jill Walker Rettberg
It seems unlikely that public school teachers could be forbidden from using a public system in their spare time – but as a general suggestion, why not simply limit your profile so photos and information you don’t want EVERYONE to see is not visible to anyone but your close friends?
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