Philipp Budka

Snow-covered Vienna. Photo by Philipp Budka.

Probably the last snow in #Vienna this winter.

I hacked ChatGPT and Google's AI – and it only took 20 minutes I found a way to make AI tell you lies – and I'm not the only one.

"A growing number people have figured out a trick to make #AI tools tell you almost whatever they want. It's so easy a child could do it."
www.bbc.com/future/artic...

World Radio Day 2026 13 February

Technology alone does not build trust. #Radio broadcasters do.
www.unesco.org/en/days/worl...

It’s an on-site event only, but I hope to have that paper out soon and will share it here once it’s published.

Good question - I will check with the organizers.

Northern Manitoba. Photo by Philipp Budka.

I am very much looking forward to my talk on community #infrastructures in remote #Canada 🇨🇦 tomorrow at the Department of Social #Anthropology @manchester.ac.uk.

infranorth.eu/news/feb-202...

The 5th & final article of this special issue by Schmid examines how #Amazon reconfigures everyday life & traditional systems in the remote North.
doi.org/10.1177/0891...

The 4th article by Povoroznyuk looks into relationship between mega-infrastructures & #Arctic coastlines, economies, & geopolitics across scales.
doi.org/10.1177/0891...

The 3rd contribution by Freddi et al. explores #road construction vs. conservation, & #environment as infrastructure.
doi.org/10.1177/0891...

The 2nd article by Meyer et al. discusses #Arctic #airports as ambivalent nodes connecting remote communities amid access, control & environmental tensions.
doi.org/10.1177/0891...

The 1st research article by Schweitzer et al. explores infrastructural #futures produced/contested in the #Arctic.
doi.org/10.1177/0891...

The introduction of the special issue by Schweitzer et al. frames #infrastructure in lived experience, power relations & future-oriented imaginaries.
doi.org/10.1177/0891...

Linke Wienzeile Buildings, Vienna. Photo by Philipp Budka.

The "Linke Wienzeile Buildings" are two apartment buildings in #Vienna constructed by Otto Wagner in 1898-99.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linke_W...

JCE cover.

New special issue: "Ethnographies of Infrastructure," ed. by me, P. Schweitzer & O. Povoroznyuk, in JCE.

It explores #infrastructure (& its futures) as social phenomenon, spanning the #Arctic & beyond: ports, roads, supply chains & environmental conflict.

journals.sagepub.com/toc/jcec/55/1

Feb 9, 2026: Talk by Philipp Budka at the University of Manchester’s Social Anthropology Seminar Series - InfraNorth On Monday, February 9, 2026, from 3:00 to 5:00 pm (GMT), InfraNorth researcher Philipp Budka will deliver a guest talk as part of the seminar series of the Department of Social Anthropology at the Uni...

🗓️ Feb 9: #InfraNorth researcher Philipp Budka will give a talk titled “Sovereignty by Design: Community #Infrastructures in Remote Canada” as part of the seminar series of the Department of Social #Anthropology at the University of Manchester. @philbu.bsky.social @uomsoss.bsky.social

Erich Kästner - Wikipedia

"Denn Intoleranz und Angst sind identische Begriffe."
Erich Kästner, 1926

This translates to: "Because intolerance and fear are identical concepts."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_K...

Dec 2025: Article by Peter Schweitzer, et al. in the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography - InfraNorth The Journal of Contemporary Ethnography has recently published the article “Scenarios and Ethnography: Infrastructural Futures as Windows into the Present” by Peter Schweitzer, Olga Povoroznyuk, Phili...

❓ What can scenario workshops offer to the #anthropology of #infrastructure that other ethnographic methods might not?

This #openaccess article by Schweitzer et al. in 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺 reflects on #InfraNorth scenario workshops in #Kirkenes & #Churchill 👇

@journals.sagepub.com

Churchill from a helicopter; the Port of Churchill and its grain elevators in the back. Photo by Philipp Budka.

In 2017, floods severed Churchill's (Manitoba 🇨🇦) #rail link. Residents seized infrastructural #sovereignty, with Indigenous & northern communities now co-owning this vital #transport corridor. A rare case of local control over Subarctic & #Arctic #infrastructure.

More:
doi.org/10.18357/ant...

Qualitative researchers’ AI rejection is based on identity, not reason The claim that AI can’t make meaning contradicts what researchers are finding when they put these tools to careful, critical use, says James Goh

Qualitative researchers’ #AI rejection is based on identity, not reason:
www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/qual...

Theorising Media and Conflict | Berghahn Books Independent Publishing since 1994

My second co-edited volume, "Theorising Media & Conflict" (2020, with B. Bräuchler), is currently on sale.

Drawing on global case studies, it explores how #media & #conflict mutually shape one another & establishes their interplay as a distinct field of study.

www.berghahnbooks.com/title/BudkaT...

Wikipedia 25 - Meta-Wiki

@wikipedia.org turns 25 on 15 Jan 2026 – a full year to celebrate 25 years of #knowledge & #collaboration on the open #web.
meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...

Nézet-Séguin’s path to the Vienna New Year’s concert began when he replaced banned conductor in 2022 Yannick Nézet-Séguin's journey to conducting the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year’s Day concert began when he stepped in for a banned Russian conductor at Carnegie Hall in 2022.

Yannick #Nézet-Séguin has officially become the first Canadian conductor to lead the legendary #Vienna Philharmonic New Year's Concert.
apnews.com/article/vien...

Dec 2025: Forthcoming Special Issue of the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography - InfraNorth The forthcoming special issue “Ethnographies of Infrastructure” of the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, guest edited by Philipp Budka, Peter Schweitzer, and Olga Povoroznyuk, is progressively bein...

📰✨ The introduction to the “Ethnographies of Infrastructure” special issue of the 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺 is out #openaccess, situating contributions within developments in the #anthropology of #infrastructure.

➡️ The print edition is due Feb 2026.

@journals.sagepub.com @univie.ac.at

Union Station, Winnipeg, MB. Photo by Philipp Budka.

Interested in narratives & temporalities of #infrastructure in 🇨🇦?

Check out @gamatulli.bsky.social's & my introduction to the brand-new special issue in @anthropologica.bsky.social:
doi.org/10.18357/ant...

#anthropology #water #energy #transport

FIFA Kisses Up to Trump With a “Peace Prize” With the world’s soccer fans watching, Gianni Infantino, the great toady to the globe’s oligarchs, handed a made-up award to the increasingly violent US president.

With the world’s soccer fans watching, Gianni Infantino, the great toady to the globe’s oligarchs, handed a made-up award to the increasingly violent #US president:
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
#Fifa #WorldCup2026

Press conference of project "GAME ON! Sports for Human Rights". Photo by Karo Pernegger.

It was great participating in the press conference for the project "GAME ON! Sports for Human Rights" by @fairplayinitiative.bsky.social - ahead of the #Football / #Soccer World Cup 2026 in 🇨🇦🇲🇽🇺🇲:
www.fairplay.or.at/news/news/pr...

Dehnepark, Vienna. Photo by Philipp Budka.

#Vienna, 14th district, Dehnepark.

Thanks! The edited volume is actually from 2019, so it’s been out for a few years now.

Cover of edited volume "Ritualisierung - Mediatisierung - Performance".

My 1st co-edited volume "Ritualisierung - Mediatisierung - Performance" (2019, w/ M. Luger & @franzograf.bsky.social) is currently on sale.

It celebrates the influential work of the late Manfred Kremser in #anthropology & #ritual / religious studies.

www.degruyterbrill.com/document/isb...

“In northern Canada, transport is essential for daily life. My research focused on Churchill, Manitoba, which has no road connection and is the only place in the North American Arctic with a deep-sea port linked to a railway system.” – Philipp Budka (University of Vienna/InfraNorth).

“In 2017, flooding damaged the railway and cut the town off for 18 months, revealing how transport sustains northern communities and how vulnerable that lifeline can be.” – Philipp Budka (University of Vienna/InfraNorth)

“After the 2017 railway disruption, local and Indigenous communities in northern Manitoba took ownership of the railway and port. This gave them more control over transport and local development. Churchill’s experience shows that community-led decision-making can make infrastructure more reliable and fairer.” – Philipp Budka (University of Vienna/InfraNorth)

“When the railway stopped working, Churchill became isolated. Instead of giving up, local and Indigenous communities worked together to buy and manage the railway and port. It is now one of the few community-owned transport systems of its kind in Canada and a strong example of local cooperation and resilience.” – Philipp Budka (University of Vienna/InfraNorth)

💡 As #InfraNorth enters its final stage, we spotlight the people behind the research, starting with Philipp Budka, who focused on #Churchill, Manitoba. His research shows how local ownership and community-led decisions can make #infrastructure more reliable & fair.

@philbu.bsky.social @univie.ac.at