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. […]
mjones
I was advised by a travel agent to use “Ms.” or I’d be asked by flight attendants to save people having heart attacks and whatnot.
Johndan
Or you could sign up for United’s Frequent Flyer program. You could be a Cardinal or a Swami, among other things.
(The only person I make call me “Dr.” is my daughter.)
Jill
Anja once told me (possibly jokingly, though I took it seriously at the time – can you remember this Anja?) that after she put Dr on her Frequent Flyer card and on her tickets, she was upgraded more often and was generally given better service.
That’s in Germany. Perhaps they have more respect for, uh, education there.
There are many good things about living in a country where it’s a matter of principle to treat everyone the same no matter what. Sure, in the service industry that means treating everyone equally badly, but the welfare state, the equal rights, the free tuition and all that mostly works out pretty well.
I probably would sign up with British Airways or United, actually, if only one of them (or a code-sharing ally) would provide direct flights from Bergen to Abroad. Alas, SAS and KLM are my only choices in that regard.
Alina
It has to be something to do with “likestilling” when it comes to SAS. The same reason why the King rides the bus and the Princess was denied to accept this wow-expencive hoarse as a gift.
datacloud
Honorific Overload
Boing-boing points to the immense number of titles in the dropdown list at United Airline’s Mileage Plus sign-up: Coincidentally, jill/txt llaments that she can’t change her title to “Dr.” on Scandanavian Airlines or KLM (althou…
datacloud
Honorific Overload
Boing-boing points to the immense number of titles in the dropdown list at United Airline’s Mileage Plus sign-up. Coincidentally, jill/txt laments that she can’t change her title to “Dr.” on Scandanavian Airlines or KLM (althoug…