Olivier Driessens
@odriessens.bsky.social
Media Sociologist; Associate Prof in Media and Communication, Centre for Tracking and Society, University of Copenhagen
Media, tech & social change, continuity, digital futures, sustainability
Media, tech & social change, continuity, digital futures, sustainability
Reposted by Olivier Driessens
Scientists and scholars in AI and its social impacts call on von der Leyen to retract #AIHype statement.
@olivia.science
@abeba.bsky.social
@irisvanrooij.bsky.social
@alexhanna.bsky.social
@rocher.lc
@danmcquillan.bsky.social
@robin.berjon.com
& many others have signed
www.iccl.ie/press-releas...
@olivia.science
@abeba.bsky.social
@irisvanrooij.bsky.social
@alexhanna.bsky.social
@rocher.lc
@danmcquillan.bsky.social
@robin.berjon.com
& many others have signed
www.iccl.ie/press-releas...
Scientists call on the President of the European Commission to retract AI hype statement
Experts in AI call on the President of the European Commission to retract unscientific AI hype statement she made in the budget speech.
www.iccl.ie
November 10, 2025 at 9:48 AM
Scientists and scholars in AI and its social impacts call on von der Leyen to retract #AIHype statement.
@olivia.science
@abeba.bsky.social
@irisvanrooij.bsky.social
@alexhanna.bsky.social
@rocher.lc
@danmcquillan.bsky.social
@robin.berjon.com
& many others have signed
www.iccl.ie/press-releas...
@olivia.science
@abeba.bsky.social
@irisvanrooij.bsky.social
@alexhanna.bsky.social
@rocher.lc
@danmcquillan.bsky.social
@robin.berjon.com
& many others have signed
www.iccl.ie/press-releas...
Reposted by Olivier Driessens
‘Study after study shows that students want to develop these critical thinking skills, are not lazy, and large numbers of them would be in favor of banning ChatGPT and similar tools in universities’, says @olivia.science www.ru.nl/en/research/...
‘Opposing the inevitability of AI at universities is possible and necessary’ | Radboud University
Since the widespread release of ChatGPT in December of 2022, AI has taken over much of the world by storm – including academia. Most of this happened with very little pushback, despite a myriad of iss...
www.ru.nl
November 1, 2025 at 10:26 PM
‘Study after study shows that students want to develop these critical thinking skills, are not lazy, and large numbers of them would be in favor of banning ChatGPT and similar tools in universities’, says @olivia.science www.ru.nl/en/research/...
Reposted by Olivier Driessens
Must read! @apache.be hits the nerve of a debate almost lost: keep that nonsense out of our educational structure. Why should we instruct our students how to adjust to these utterly ridiculous systems? Learn them to think instead, that’s why society pays us!
I am close to tears; they listened and made an english version apache.be/2025/10/24/b...
@apache.be you rule 🖤
@apache.be you rule 🖤
October 24, 2025 at 11:39 PM
Must read! @apache.be hits the nerve of a debate almost lost: keep that nonsense out of our educational structure. Why should we instruct our students how to adjust to these utterly ridiculous systems? Learn them to think instead, that’s why society pays us!
Can we have one for our office? Especially one for emptying the dishwasher. No human seems to be able to do it.
The loading-the-dishwasher struggle is real. Even—or especially—for the $20,000 1X Neo humanoid home robot.
🔗: on.wsj.com/47whlZ1
🔗: on.wsj.com/47whlZ1
November 1, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Can we have one for our office? Especially one for emptying the dishwasher. No human seems to be able to do it.
Reposted by Olivier Driessens
When people learn with ChatGPT instead of following their own searches, they end up knowing less, caring less, and producing worse advice, even when the facts are the same.
Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Experimental evidence of the effects of large language models versus web search on depth of learning
Abstract. The effects of using large language models (LLMs) versus traditional web search on depth of learning are explored. A theory is proposed that when
academic.oup.com
October 28, 2025 at 3:14 PM
When people learn with ChatGPT instead of following their own searches, they end up knowing less, caring less, and producing worse advice, even when the facts are the same.
Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Reposted by Olivier Driessens
There's been endless talk about an AI bubble, but less about exactly how, why, and how much it's a bubble. So I turned to the framework put forward by scholars Brent Goldfarb and David A. Kirsch, authors of "Bubbles and Crashes," for assessing tech bubbles.
Spoiler: On a scale of 1 to 8, AI is an 8
Spoiler: On a scale of 1 to 8, AI is an 8
AI Is the Bubble to Burst Them All
I talked to the scholars who literally wrote the book on tech bubbles—and applied their test.
www.wired.com
October 27, 2025 at 8:58 PM
There's been endless talk about an AI bubble, but less about exactly how, why, and how much it's a bubble. So I turned to the framework put forward by scholars Brent Goldfarb and David A. Kirsch, authors of "Bubbles and Crashes," for assessing tech bubbles.
Spoiler: On a scale of 1 to 8, AI is an 8
Spoiler: On a scale of 1 to 8, AI is an 8
Reposted by Olivier Driessens
Belgian AI scientists are advocating *against* the use of AI in academia. “If independent thinking is no longer encouraged at university, where would it?” apache.be/2025/10/24/b...
Belgian AI scientists resist the use of AI in academia
Several AI scientists have published an open letter calling for a ban on AI use by students.
apache.be
October 24, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Belgian AI scientists are advocating *against* the use of AI in academia. “If independent thinking is no longer encouraged at university, where would it?” apache.be/2025/10/24/b...
Reposted by Olivier Driessens
built on theft and at massive environmental cost and most importantly, numerous studies keep demonstrating that genAI tools often work a little better than by chance. how is it that we can’t expunge these slop machines out of our institutions and communities
www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/...
www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/...
Largest study of its kind shows AI assistants misrepresent news content 45% of the time – regardless of language or territory
An intensive international study was coordinated by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and led by the BBC
www.bbc.co.uk
October 24, 2025 at 10:00 AM
built on theft and at massive environmental cost and most importantly, numerous studies keep demonstrating that genAI tools often work a little better than by chance. how is it that we can’t expunge these slop machines out of our institutions and communities
www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/...
www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/...
Reposted by Olivier Driessens
thx to @nature.com @helenpearson.bsky.social for including our words & letter‼️
> unis are allowing or even encouraging the use of AI tools — many of which are controlled by companies, have unknown cognitive impacts and are dogged by ethical and environmental concerns.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
> unis are allowing or even encouraging the use of AI tools — many of which are controlled by companies, have unknown cognitive impacts and are dogged by ethical and environmental concerns.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
October 21, 2025 at 2:45 PM
thx to @nature.com @helenpearson.bsky.social for including our words & letter‼️
> unis are allowing or even encouraging the use of AI tools — many of which are controlled by companies, have unknown cognitive impacts and are dogged by ethical and environmental concerns.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
> unis are allowing or even encouraging the use of AI tools — many of which are controlled by companies, have unknown cognitive impacts and are dogged by ethical and environmental concerns.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
what a waste of resources; might as well award grants fully randomly
After submitting a FOIA request UKRI, I obtained success rates by three grant call scheme and I can only say that I am disheartened by the results:
- AHRC Responsive Mode 2025: 2%
- ESRC New Investigator Grant 2025: 1%
- ESRC Research Grant Round 2025: 1%
- AHRC Responsive Mode 2025: 2%
- ESRC New Investigator Grant 2025: 1%
- ESRC Research Grant Round 2025: 1%
October 22, 2025 at 9:15 PM
what a waste of resources; might as well award grants fully randomly
Reposted by Olivier Driessens
Reposted by Olivier Driessens
“…for an AI chatbot to generate an autopsy report, contract workers have to sift through thousands of gruesome crime scene images, a gig known as ‘data labeling.’”
The AI Industry Is Traumatizing Desperate Contractors in the Developing World for Pennies
AI is propped up by a global sweat shop operation, where exploited workers polish the software for wealthy corporations in the west.
futurism.com
October 19, 2025 at 2:51 PM
“…for an AI chatbot to generate an autopsy report, contract workers have to sift through thousands of gruesome crime scene images, a gig known as ‘data labeling.’”
Reposted by Olivier Driessens
“When it comes to responsible AI use, there are, at best, many conflicting positions. Equating responsibility with disclosing genAI use conceals, in fact, several fundamental questions concerning the responsibilities that academics have to their disciplines, each other, and society at large.”
“The delegation of tasks to “tools & assistants” constitutes a methodological decision (…) Researchers should therefore be required to explain why they are trusting a black box that is neither open nor fair.”
— @altibel.bsky.social & @petertarras.bsky.social
www.leidenmadtrics.nl/articles/why...
— @altibel.bsky.social & @petertarras.bsky.social
www.leidenmadtrics.nl/articles/why...
Why AI transparency is not enough
Recently, a taxonomy to disclose the use of generative AI (genAI) in research outputs was presented as an approach that creates transparency and thereby supports responsible genAI use. In this post we...
www.leidenmadtrics.nl
October 16, 2025 at 9:35 PM
“When it comes to responsible AI use, there are, at best, many conflicting positions. Equating responsibility with disclosing genAI use conceals, in fact, several fundamental questions concerning the responsibilities that academics have to their disciplines, each other, and society at large.”
Reposted by Olivier Driessens
Reposted by Olivier Driessens
"I don't have anything to hide why should I care about privacy?"
The politician in South Carolina who has introduced a bill redefining contraception as abortion also wants people who share websites to be charged with aiding and abetting homicide.
October 16, 2025 at 2:46 PM
"I don't have anything to hide why should I care about privacy?"
Reposted by Olivier Driessens
This summer I got a bunch of smart academics together to think about anti-extractive Canadian AI futures. Our white paper, which parses good and bad AI policy directions for the federal government, is out now!
www.uottawa.ca/research-inn...
www.uottawa.ca/research-inn...
www.uottawa.ca
October 15, 2025 at 12:20 PM
This summer I got a bunch of smart academics together to think about anti-extractive Canadian AI futures. Our white paper, which parses good and bad AI policy directions for the federal government, is out now!
www.uottawa.ca/research-inn...
www.uottawa.ca/research-inn...
Reposted by Olivier Driessens
#Denmark politicians wage a #culture #war on #academia —with @roskildeuni.bsky.social as their go-to target.
These attacks are assaults on #freedom, #rights and #democracy. We spoke out:
@berlingske.bsky.social : www.berlingske.dk/synspunkter/...
@politiken.dk : politiken.dk/debat/debati...
These attacks are assaults on #freedom, #rights and #democracy. We spoke out:
@berlingske.bsky.social : www.berlingske.dk/synspunkter/...
@politiken.dk : politiken.dk/debat/debati...
October 8, 2025 at 8:19 AM
#Denmark politicians wage a #culture #war on #academia —with @roskildeuni.bsky.social as their go-to target.
These attacks are assaults on #freedom, #rights and #democracy. We spoke out:
@berlingske.bsky.social : www.berlingske.dk/synspunkter/...
@politiken.dk : politiken.dk/debat/debati...
These attacks are assaults on #freedom, #rights and #democracy. We spoke out:
@berlingske.bsky.social : www.berlingske.dk/synspunkter/...
@politiken.dk : politiken.dk/debat/debati...
Reposted by Olivier Driessens
📣 Germany's close to reversing its opposition to mass surveillance & private message scanning, & backing the Chat Control bill. This could end private comms-& Signal-in the EU.
Time's short and they're counting on obscurity: please let German politicians know how horrifying their reversal would be.
Time's short and they're counting on obscurity: please let German politicians know how horrifying their reversal would be.
We are alarmed by reports that Germany is on the verge of a catastrophic about-face, reversing its longstanding and principled opposition to the EU’s Chat Control proposal which, if passed, could spell the end of the right to privacy in Europe. signal.org/blog/pdfs/ge...
signal.org
October 6, 2025 at 6:46 AM
📣 Germany's close to reversing its opposition to mass surveillance & private message scanning, & backing the Chat Control bill. This could end private comms-& Signal-in the EU.
Time's short and they're counting on obscurity: please let German politicians know how horrifying their reversal would be.
Time's short and they're counting on obscurity: please let German politicians know how horrifying their reversal would be.
Reposted by Olivier Driessens
New preprint 🌟 Psychology is core to cognitive science, and so it is vital we preserve it from harmful frames. @irisvanrooij.bsky.social & I use our psych and computer science expertise to analyse and craft:
Critical Artificial Intelligence Literacy for Psychologists. doi.org/10.31234/osf...
🧵 1/
Critical Artificial Intelligence Literacy for Psychologists. doi.org/10.31234/osf...
🧵 1/
October 4, 2025 at 5:33 AM
New preprint 🌟 Psychology is core to cognitive science, and so it is vital we preserve it from harmful frames. @irisvanrooij.bsky.social & I use our psych and computer science expertise to analyse and craft:
Critical Artificial Intelligence Literacy for Psychologists. doi.org/10.31234/osf...
🧵 1/
Critical Artificial Intelligence Literacy for Psychologists. doi.org/10.31234/osf...
🧵 1/
Reposted by Olivier Driessens
The UN Independent International Scientific Panel on AI must include social, environmental, and public perspectives in its work and membership, and public voices must have a formal, ongoing role in the Global Dialogue on AI Governance, write Tim Davies and Anna Colom.
The UN’s Global Dialogue on AI Must Give Citizens a Real Seat at the Table | TechPolicy.Press
Learning from decades of global convening on climate change, AI Governance must place local lived experiences at its heart, write Tim Davies and Anna Colom.
www.techpolicy.press
October 3, 2025 at 11:13 AM
The UN Independent International Scientific Panel on AI must include social, environmental, and public perspectives in its work and membership, and public voices must have a formal, ongoing role in the Global Dialogue on AI Governance, write Tim Davies and Anna Colom.
Reposted by Olivier Driessens
NEW INVESTIGATION
California predicts data centers will consume as much power as adding another LA to grid by 2030
A utility anticipates additional emissions equal to 21 gas plants
Some environmentalists see reducing gas power as “a lot less likely” due to AI capitalandmain.com/the-insatiab...
California predicts data centers will consume as much power as adding another LA to grid by 2030
A utility anticipates additional emissions equal to 21 gas plants
Some environmentalists see reducing gas power as “a lot less likely” due to AI capitalandmain.com/the-insatiab...
The Insatiable Energy Demands of Data Centers Could Increase Fossil Fuel Emissions in California
By 2030, the centers could consume the equivalent of adding another city the size of L.A. to the state’s power grid.
capitalandmain.com
October 2, 2025 at 3:25 PM
NEW INVESTIGATION
California predicts data centers will consume as much power as adding another LA to grid by 2030
A utility anticipates additional emissions equal to 21 gas plants
Some environmentalists see reducing gas power as “a lot less likely” due to AI capitalandmain.com/the-insatiab...
California predicts data centers will consume as much power as adding another LA to grid by 2030
A utility anticipates additional emissions equal to 21 gas plants
Some environmentalists see reducing gas power as “a lot less likely” due to AI capitalandmain.com/the-insatiab...
Reposted by Olivier Driessens
That sounds like a lot of power. I hope we’re doing useful things with ChatGPT. 🙃
OpenAI's New Data Centers Will Draw More Power Than the Entirety of New York City, Sam Altman Says
OpenAI's planned AI data center projects would consume as much as the entire city of New York City and San Diego combined.
futurism.com
October 2, 2025 at 10:03 AM
That sounds like a lot of power. I hope we’re doing useful things with ChatGPT. 🙃
Reposted by Olivier Driessens
Have added Global Perspectives in Communication (@gpccomm.bsky.social) to @moritzbuchi.bsky.social's and my list of open access journals in the field of Communication. #openscience #opencomm
Open Media and Communication Research
docs.google.com
October 1, 2025 at 7:27 AM
Have added Global Perspectives in Communication (@gpccomm.bsky.social) to @moritzbuchi.bsky.social's and my list of open access journals in the field of Communication. #openscience #opencomm
Reposted by Olivier Driessens
Today, 33% of all the electricity used in Oregon is attributed to data centers.
In Virginia, it’s 37%.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
In Virginia, it’s 37%.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
AI Data Centers Use a Lot of Energy. You May Be Paying for It
AI data centers are pushing up energy costs all over the US. On today’s Big Take podcast: an investigation into who's footing the bill.
www.bloomberg.com
September 30, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Today, 33% of all the electricity used in Oregon is attributed to data centers.
In Virginia, it’s 37%.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
In Virginia, it’s 37%.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Reposted by Olivier Driessens
Our new plan is to rob everyone unless you come to us and specifically asked to not be robbed. But if we don't hear from you, it's your fault for not telling us you don't want to be robbed!
September 29, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Our new plan is to rob everyone unless you come to us and specifically asked to not be robbed. But if we don't hear from you, it's your fault for not telling us you don't want to be robbed!