Mirko Tobias Schäfer 🇪🇺

The End of Publishing as We Know It Inside Silicon Valley’s assault on the media

Depressing but important article on how GenAI is destroying the publishing industry.

www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...

Just out our paper on realities, politics & economics of so-called digital twins, and how the imaginary of "digital twins" is stifling dissemination & implementation.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

I might be late to the party, given the citation count, but:
I really enjoyed this exceptional piece on deplatformization and core-periphery dynamics of (far right) platform ecosystems.

By José Van Dijk, Tim de Winkel and @mtschaefer.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1177/1461...

I don't get why procurement is so enormously understudied, and pretty much neglected in Critical Data & AI Studies or Organisation & Governance Studies. These practices provide so much insight into discourses, information asymmetry & organisational capacities.

Turnitin charged colleges vastly different amounts to detect plagarism – The Markup Purchasing records show some colleges are paying three times more than others.

Here is another example why organisations should team up when procuring software & services. This example is about universities but we have seen similar when municipalities are procuring data, dat products & services.
themarkup.org/artificial-i...

Thanks, this looks great, fantastic that you cover such a long time period!

Playing with fire | Data School What are the dynamics between political debate in the House of Representatives and reactions, comments and framing on social media? This was investigated by researchers from Utrecht University’s Facul...

Thank you so much, Kilian. You might be also interested in our more recent work on dynamics between parliamentary debates & extreme speech on social media using a dataset of 50 million social media messages: dataschool.nl/en/2025/05/2...

Lack of New U.S. Sanctions Allows Restricted Goods and Funds Into Russia

Trump is slowly, quietly, lifting sanctions on Russia. And halting previously allocated munitions too.
Without an announcement, US policy is beginning to favor not a ceasefire, but Russian success
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/u...

I like the sound of Rammstein, but what I absolutely dislike are their infantile lyrics, the stupidity and banality is just unbearable. Aren't there any good covers in other languages?

Steuert KI die Verwaltung, kann das mitunter gefährlich werden In den Niederlanden regeln Algorithmen soziale Dienste und lösten einen beispiellosen Skandal aus. Um solche Fälle zu vermeiden, braucht es ethische Grenzen

The Austrian @derstandard.at features @mtschaefer.bsky.social and our work on data & AI ethics (e.g. Fundamental Rights & Algorithms Impact Assessment) & how the Netherlands try to develop good governance for algorithms & AI. #Dighum2025

www.derstandard.at/story/300000...

DPG Media and Utrecht University’s Data School develop tool to support ethical use of data and AI in the media sector | Centre for Digital Humanities DPG Media and the Utrecht University Data School are jointly developing a ‘Data Ethics Decision Aid for Media (DEDA for Media)’. Starting in 2026, this analogue model will help media companies in reco...

Fascinating to see how our Data Ethics Decision Aid (DEDA) is spreading internationally & through different domains of application. We're currently working on a DEDA for media organisations, and are also developing one for robotic systems.
#AI #Ethics #Governance
cdh.uu.nl/2025/06/02/d...

Civic Urban AI Expert Meeting 2025 How can urban AI be conceptualized and designed with civic aims and values like inclusiveness, accountability, and transparency in mind?

How can #urbanAI be conceptualized around #civic values?

Attend our "Governing the Digital Society" expert meeting June 19 2025 @utrechtuniversity.bsky.social w/ @ernaruijer.bsky.social & Stephan Grimmelikhuijsen

www.uu.nl/en/events/ci...

Speakers: Esther Keymolen & @mtschaefer.bsky.social

On route to Germany by train, border police is carrying out symbolic politics of Germany's legendary political failure Alexander Dobrindt: all passengers have to show their passports. I'm so busy reading that the officer skips me. I am the only one in this coach who enjoys harrassment-free travel.

"Generative AI, Media & Society" by Katalin Feher We are very proud to appear as one of the case studies, highlighting our work on responsible data practices & AI governance, featuring our Fundamental Rights & Algorithms Impact Assesment (FRAIA) and our Data Ethics Decision Aid (DEDA).

Dobrindt is reliable in screwing everything up he touches. His political track record is train wreck, costly for German citizens, and a damage to Germany's reputation.

What we in the open world are messing up in trying to compete with big tech - Bert Hubert Our societies and governments now largely run on American proprietary big-tech platforms. Many of us want to decrease this dependency, or even end it altogether. Everyone in the open tech scene is ful...

Our societies and governments now largely run on American proprietary big-tech platforms. Many of us want to decrease this dependency, or even end it altogether. Here I wrote up a bunch of things we are doing wrong, and what the open world could do better: berthub.eu/articles/pos...

Duitse journalisten gaan de AfD niet meer klakkeloos aan het woord laten in hun berichtgeving, maar benadrukken dat hun simplistische antwoorden op complexe problemen het publieke debat vergiftigen.

Een voorbeeld voor Nederlandse journalisten om te volgen? Want dit geldt ook voor PVV, FvD, ...

"Cop, Code and Conduct" by Isabelle Donatz-Fest is a deep-dive into the discourses and practices of technological change at the Dutch National Police, and a sharp analysis of an institution grappling with ethics, capacities and governance.
#AI #Policing

research-portal.uu.nl/en/publicati...

The World is Watching" — the theme of #CPDP2025 could not be more fitting. As the EU moves toward implementing the AI Act, the question is: can we make it truly work? Will we close the loopholes, resist the pressure from tech lobbies, and ensure real accountability?

How to proceed with an #AIAct full of loopholes, lack of effective enforcement & oversight, and the rapid sidelining of public values & fundamental rights? Looking forward to speak with this stellar panel at #CPDP about enabling oversight and critical scrutiny for contesting AI systems.

Recap of Data School’s Impact Conference | Centre for Digital Humanities Two Days of Collaboration, Knowledge Exchange, and Difference Making How can scholars and practitioners join forces to bridge the gap between academic inquiry and urgent societal challenges? What road...

Our conference on collaborative research and societal impact was a fantastic experience. If you missed it, here is a recap with a summary of the keynotes, panels and workshops. Thanks to our great workshop hosts and participants; we really want to do this next year again!

cdh.uu.nl/2025/04/14/r...

Here is a paper looking at how government organisations are using our Fundamental Rights & Algorithms Impact Assessment (FRAIA) and how it informs awareness to AI ethics & governance, affects organisational capacities & collaboration. Open Access: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

📣 𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁
Universities and funding organizations are increasingly calling for research that drives societal impact and effective knowledge transfer. But how do we reliably measure impact?

Great piece on the use of generative #AI by criminals and actors in the shadow economy... it's not a surprise to see this, but it is very interesting how #LLMs are being used.

Im Satellitenkrieg – DATUM Die russische UN-Botschaft in der Wiener Donaustadt ist eine der größten Spionage­stationen Europas. Unser Autor beobachtet sie seit Jahren und hat dabei dokumentiert: Die Satelliten des Kreml kommen jenen des Westens gefährlich nahe. Die Manöver könnten zur Vorbereitung eines Angriffs dienen.

Er hat ein Jahr lang die Satellitenschüsseln auf der russischen Botschaft in Wien beobachtet und kommt zum Schluss: Nicht nur vom Boden, sondern auch im All wird spioniert. Kreml-Satelliten kommen denen des Westens gefährlich nahe (+) ›
Von @harkank.bsky.social

Koalitionsverhandlungen: Gruselprogramm für Grund- und Freiheitsrechte Union und SPD wollen Überwachungen aller Art ausbauen und das Migrationsrecht drastisch einschränken. Bei manchen Punkten sind sich die zukünftigen Koalitionäre noch nicht einig. Wir veröffentlichen u...

Wir haben das Verhandlungspapier von Union und SPD zur Innen- und Migrationspolitik analysiert und veröffentlichen es hier in Gänze. Um es kurz zu machen: Es ist eine Katastrophe für Menschen- und Bürgerrechte. netzpolitik.org/2025/koaliti...

There are few seats left at this workshop conference on societal impact through collaborative research. Register now & join us for two days of sharing good practices, developing skills & capacities, and for building networks of action researchers, practitioners & stakeholders

impact.dataschool.nl

📢 Conference programme now online
🎯Making a Difference. Societal Impact through Collaborative Research, 7-8 April, Utrecht (NL)
🔥Keynote speakers: Rob Kitchin, Payal Arora and Minna Ruckenstein.
🚧Workshops on good practices, skill development, & challenges of action research
impact.dataschool.nl

‘Minister Dijkgraaf gaf een vergiftigd geschenk aan de universiteiten’ Dreigende overheidsbezuinigingen? Dat is zeker niet de allesbepalende factor waarom universiteiten in de financiële problemen zitten. De Twentse hoogleraar Institutionele aspecten van het hoger onderw...

De bezuinigingen van dit kabinet zijn zeker niet de enige of belangrijkste reden voor de financiële malaise van de Nederlandse universiteiten, zo vertelde hoogleraar Barend van der Meulen aan onze collega's van @utoday.bsky.social

Helaas lopen onze talkshows jaren achter op de discoursen van experts en pas als een thema ineens urgent blijkt wordt er op een sensatiegerichte maar vrij ongeïnformeerde manier aandacht aan besteedt.