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. […]
diane
Oh dear, the Rodent ran amok!
Years ago, when our Rodents took surprise vacations, my mother lured them back with peanut butter, bits of cheese, and sunflower seeds.
MJ’s mother used to chase their Rodent around the kitchen and capture him under an upside-down garbage bin.
No doubt there is a Rodent out there with Jane’s name on it. And sooner or later I’ll be Rodent-catching too.
PS. How small is a dwarf Rodent? Our Rodents were the usual size, which was not very big. A dwarf must be very small indeed!
Radagast
Congratulations on catching the dwarf hamster 🙂 I fondly remember helping my parents catch my various childhood rodent pets (mice or hamsters) after they inevitably escaped.
As a side note (especially for Dianne), if you want to get a rodent pet I’d highly recommend pet rats. They’re highly social animals (best kept at least in pairs; separating genders of course) that are very friendly, and thus a joy to handle and have around. I had many through college and loved ’em all. If you do get some, though, be sure to get ones that have been handled well; feeders are typically very aggressive.
mcb
Just how small is a dwarf hamster?
And how do you say dwarf hamster in Norwegian?