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. […]
Norman
It was an unusual campaign, Jill. Not since 1943, when as an enthusiastic youngster manning the booths for Labor, have I seen the media moguls giving us such unquestioning support. That year the “Telegraph” headlines told voters to support Labor the Federal Labor Government, but it was wartime, and because of that was not entirelyunexpected. This time, in a campaign which frankly seemed to hold little interest for most voters, all the major media outside Western Australia supported us solidly.
The biggest issue among Labor’s supporters was the industrial campaign against AWAs, a form of work agreement we condemned and promised [among a fog of unclear, frequently changing caveats] to eliminate as soon as we came to power. An interesting sidelight on the AWA issue completely ignored by the media related to the wife of the Labor leader. During the campaign it emerged that her business was run very largely using these dreaded AWAs. Initially it was claimed the AWAs had been “inherited” by her when she took over that business, so it obviously wasn’t her fault. Later it turned out that this wasn’t true, and the AWA programme was largely AFTER she acquired the business.
Had it been Howard’s wife who did this, the media would have been howling for blood; but they remained quiet. We won the election, and one shouldn’t look gift horses in the mouth, but some observers have their fingers crossed, hoping Labor is now able to keep voters on side, despite the many contradictory expectations built up during a campaign whose greatest strength was that it was our superbly orchestrated “love-in” with the Packer and Murdoch Empires.
But, “Hooray! We won. p.s. Congrats on baby AND restraint from too much “baby talk”. Well done on both counts
jim
It’s great news isn’t it Jill. I watched the ABC webcast of the count from the tallyroom and it was ‘just like being there’, all the way from the snowy north of Sweden. I wrote a long entry on what was so wrong with the Howard government, and used tha past tense all through it!!! Something I have been wanting to do for such a long time. I am so happy about this, I just hope that Labor maintains the courage and actually makes changes.
YYYIIIPPPEEEE
Oh, and congratulations on the baby…….so excellent!