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. […]
M-H
How did your Australian trip go?
Lohan G
when bloggers quit blogging http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Jilltxt/~3/0a0sz61kxK4/
Jill Walker Rettberg
Twas excellent. And too short.
KDS
Who cares about VOE? She was neither interesting nor funny. Fortunately, we still have http://blogs.herald.com/dave_barrys_blog/
Jill Walker Rettberg
A lot of people found Voe very interesting, Koenraad! Have you read Marianne Westerlund’s kronikk in BT about the way we systematically patronise and ridicule teenaged women who blog?
KDS
I concede that whether one finds a blog interesting or not depends as much on the reader as on the blogger, and it is obvious that different blogs have different target audiences. But notice one important comment on Marianne Westerlund’s article which pointed out that the loads of negative comments on Voe did not come from old sods like me, but from her own age group.
Jill Walker Rettberg
I have heard my own 14-year-old criticise Voe and her ilk pretty vehemently – it certainly sounded like a harsh but genuine critique coming from Voe’s peers. It would be a pity if the “rosabloggere” came across as the ONLY expression of teenaged girlhood, or if there be an assumption that any girl who blogs is covered by the certainly patronising expression “rosablogger”.
The Story 2011 part 1 « Remember What The Dormouse Said
[…] Matt had a fascinating presentation on the narrative through SMS in ivy4ever. It was truly inspiring learning about how they used the medium. What fascinated me most about this talk was the way that the teenagers engaged with the character. Although it was evident that she was not real, the conversations were open and real. Matt talked a little about the realism and the troubles that come with it. When it comes evident that this is a bot, does it ruin the narrative. He drew out some beautiful examples that it indeed did not. I kept thinking about the Norwegian phenomenon of the “pink” blogs. ?òyvind Solstad once gave a presentation where he mentioned that some of the girls were acting as counselor’s to young girls struggling with growing up. We all know that advice is taken more seriously by those our own age and the example that Solstad gave was heartwarming and quite honestly brought a tear to my eye. But I suppose creating a narrative that is about teenage pregnancy and is made specifically to engage these teenagers in conversations, such counseling is needed. – hmm – my thoughts may be straying away from what Matt actually talked about here, but this is what I’m thinking about after learning about ivy4ever. I’m really looking forward to learning more about sms narrative and Blast Theory. Will be paying attention! […]