Fact Checking and Fact-based journalism in the age of AI
2023-11-01 09:00 - 16:00 (Europe/Oslo) | Kristiania, Kirkegata 24-26, Oslo, Kirkegata 24-26, Oslo, Norway
Kristiania University College and MediaFutures partner Faktisk.no have the honour to invite to a full-day conference about the challenges and opportunities that AI presents in the field of fact-checking.
How to distinguish between genuine and AI-generated content?
The challenges arising from new AI technology in fact-checking are significant. How is this field evolving, and what methods are being employed to uncover AI-generated visual content?
The event is free of charge and is aimed at journalists and editors in Norwegian media, representatives from Norwegian political parties, intelligence services, top executives, employees of humanitarian and human rights organizations, as well as researchers.
The event will be conducted in English. Please remember to register for the event.
Deadline to register: 25.10.2023
The conference will be also available via streaming.
Program
09.00: Doors open
09.30: Welcome & introduction by Morten L. Dahlback (Faktisk.no) and Nils Arne Bakke (Kristiania University College).
10.00: Presentation by Mevan Babakar, the News and Information Credibility Lead at Google.
10.45: 15 min break
11.00: Presentation by Andrew Dudfield, interim CEO of Full Fact, the UK’s largest independent fact-checking organization.
11.45: 60 min lunch break
12.45: Amnesty International’s AI-Generated Images: A Critical Assessment by Liv Hausken, professor and the head of the research for Media Aesthetics at the University of Oslo.
13.30: 15 min break
13.45: Multimodal Generative AI and Synthetic Media: Current Threats and Responses from a Global Human Rights and Civic Journalism Perspective by Sam Gregory, Executive Director of the independent fact-checking organization WITNESS.
14.30: 15 min break
14.45: Focus on the interaction between journalism and tech development by Pål Nedregotten, Director of Technology at the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK).
15.30: Closing remarks
Small changes in the program may occur, potentially causing smaller moves of the time of the lunch break and the end.

MediaFutures Annual Meeting 2023
2023-11-16 - 2023-11-17
MediaFutures is a centre for research-based innovation with the goal to develop responsible media technology, leveraging AI technology, for the media sector.
The centre is a consortium of the most important media players in Norway. The University of Bergen is the host of the centre. User partners include NRK and TV 2, the two main TV broadcasters in Norway, Schibsted, including Bergens Tidende (BT), and Amedia, the two largest news media houses in Scandinavia/Norway, as well as the world-renowned Norwegian media tech companies Vizrt, Highsoft and the global tech and media player IBM. The centre collaborates with renowned national research institutions including the University of Oslo, the University of Stavanger and NORCE, and works together with high-profile international research institutions.
This years Media Futures Annual Meeting will be held at November 16-17 at Media City Bergen, Norway, the 2023 Annual Meeting constitutes a forum for the exchange of scientific results and industry insights within the field of responsible media technology.
This year’s focus topic are Generative AI and the EU AI Act. In particular, we are interested in tackling questions related to as to what extent Generative AI and the EU AI Act will have an impact on the future of the media.
Following last year’s success, the 2023 Annual Meeting is expected once again to attract, and bring together Norwegian and international researchers, and industry practitioners with the intent of engaging in discussions on topics related to:

AI Policy & Media Experiences
AI Policy & Recommender Technology
Generative AI & Content Production
Generative AI & Media Interaction
Generative AI & Large Language Models

Join us for inspirational keynote talks, prototype demonstrations, presentations held by our researchers, and industry partners, and poster session.
We are pleased to announce the following high-profile keynote speakers and experts in the field of AI: Ricardo Baeza-Yates and Esther Paniagua.

Registration closed.For late registrations please emailoffice@mediafutures.no

DIRECTIONS

Day 1
The venue for Day 1 is the Atlantis Auditorium at the Conference Centre at Media City Bergen.
Media City Bergen is in downtown Bergen, close to the main bus terminal.The closest public transport stop is “Nygård” where you can take the “bybanen” light rail, or buses 12 or 13.
You will find the registration desk in the Atrium once you enter Media City Bergen.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/GpZtDYshog3BhwWbA

Dinner
The Conference Dinner, for affiliates only, will be at 20:00 of Day 1, November 16th.It will be held at Kulturhuset I Bergen, Vaskerelven 8.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/XFQP4UCiYMq6aptx5

Day 2
Day 2 of the Annual Meeting, for affiliates only, will take place at Storm 2 at the Conference Centre at Scandic Ørnen.
Scandic Ørnen is located in Lars Hilles Gate 18, right next to the main bus terminal.The closest public transport stop is “Bergen Busstasjon”, the main bus terminal.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/oHBxMur84ReqdFVx7

PROGRAM

Day 1: Media City Bergen

AI Policy Workshop

09:00
Getting on the EU Policy Train.Charlotte Eide and Vivil Haraldsen

10:30
A Brief Primer on Global AI Policy.Nicholas Diakopoulos

11:00
Developing Mitigation Strategies to Counter Negative Impacts of Generative AI .Kimon Kieslich and Nicholas Diakopoulos

Opening Session

12:00
Registration

13:00
Welcome Adresse by Christoph Trattner, UiB Vice-Rector Pinar Heggernes, and, MCB CEO Helge O. Svela

Keynote Session

13:15
Keynote: Ricardo Baeza-YatesGenerative AI: The End of the Digital Truth?

14:00
Break

14:15
Keynote: Esther PaniaguaThrive or die? The future of journalism in the AI age

15:00
Break

15:15
Panel on Generative AI & AI PolicyAndreas Bengtsson, Ricardo Baeza-Yates,Esther Paniagua and Marija Slavkovik.Moderator: Nick Diakopoulos

Poster & Demo Session

16:00
Demo & Poster Exhibition

17:30
Demo & Poster Awards

20:00
Conference Dinner

Day 2 (Internal): Scandic Ørnen

Work Package Sessions

09:30
Info and announcements

09:35
WP1: Understanding Media Experiences

10:00
WP2: User Modeling, Personalisation & Engagement

10:20
WP3: Media Content Production & Analysis

10:45
Break + Group Photo

11:05
WP4: Media Content Interaction & Accessibility

11:25
WP5: Norwegian Language Technologies

12:00
Lunch

University – Industry Collaboration Session

13:00
University – Industry (UI) Collaboration Paper PresentationFlorence Jane Walker, UiB

13:20
University – Industry (UI) Collaboration Panel DiscussionFlorence Jane Walker, Enrico Motta,Irene Costera Meijer, Eivind ThrondsenModerator: Leif Ove Larsen

14:05
Break

World Café Session

14:25
Introduction to World Cafe

14:30
AI/UI/Policy World Cafe Session 1

14:50
AI/UI/Policy World Cafe Session 2

15:10
AI/UI/Policy World Cafe Session 3

15:25
Summary

16:00
End

AI POLICY WORKSHOP

From 9 to 12 on day 1 of the Annual Meeting, MediaFutures will host a AI Policy Workshop.
The workshop is divided into 3 sessions:

Getting on the EU Policy Train
9am-10:30am
Charlotte Eide and Vivil Haraldsen
Are you interested in knowing more about EU policy making and opportunities to give input?
At this workshop you will get an overview of EU decision making processes relevant for the Research & Innovation sector, see examples of how you can give your input to a specific policy area or to research and innovation priorities in EU programmes, and explore upcoming opportunities for giving policy input in your field.

A Brief Primer on Global AI Policy
10:30am-11am
Nicholas Diakopoulos
You could spend all day every day reading about new AI policy proposals. Regulatory initiatives are well underway in the EU, but things are also developing in China, the US, and via various global organizations. In this session we’ll cover some of the highlights so you have a better overview of what’s happening in the world of AI policy.

Developing Mitigation Strategies to Counter Negative Impacts of Generative AI
11am-12pm.
Kimon Kieslich and Nicholas Diakopoulos
What policies are actually going to work to reduce the negative impacts of generative AI in media and society? In this interactive session we’ll present scenarios and develop policy approaches that might actually work to reduce those impacts.

KEYNOTE SESSION

Ricardo Baeza-Yates, Director of Research, Institute for Experiential AI, Northeastern University
Ricaro Baeza-Yates is Director of Research at the Institute for Experiential AI of Northeastern University. Before, he was VP of Research at Yahoo Labs, based in Barcelona, Spain, and later in Sunnyvale, California, from 2006 to 2016. He is co-author of the best-seller Modern Information Retreival textbook published by Addison-Wesley in 1999 and 2011 (2nd ed), that won the ASIST 2012 Book of the Year award. From 2002 to 2004 he was elected to the Board of Governors of the IEEE Computer Society and between 2012 and 2016 was elected for the ACM Council. In 2009 he was named ACM Fellow and in 2011 IEEE Fellow, among other awards and distinctions. He obtained a Ph.D. in CS from the University of Waterloo, Canada, in 1989, and his areas of expertise are web search and data mining, information retrieval, bias on AI, data science and algorithms in general.
We are honored to have Ricardo Baeza-Yates as a keynote speaker at our Annual Meeting.

Ricardo Baeza-Yates

Abstract
Generative AI: The End of the Digital Truth?
The Media of the future may be completely different from today’s, consisting of a mixture of truths and falsehoods. Determining what was generated by a chatbot and what was generated by a human being will be almost impossible. In fact, it will be difficult to know what data we can even use to continue improving the technology. Over time, it may learn from itself, becoming less and less human.

Esther Paniagua, Columnist and author specializing in science, technology, and cybersecurity.
Esther Paniagua is an award-winning tech & society journalist and author. Esther is one of Spain’s Linkedin Top Voices in Technology & Innovation. She has been honored as one of the “Top 100 Women Leaders of Spain” and as one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business” by Forbes. Her outstanding contributions to science, technology, and innovation journalism have earned her numerous awards.
Her latest book, Error 404. Are you ready for a world without the internet? (Debate, 2021), has garnered critical acclaim. Originally published in Spanish, it has been translated into German (Hoffman und Campe) and into Italian (Einaudi). “Error 404” will also be available in Polish, Greek, Croatian, and Romanian soon.
Esther is highly sought after as a speaker on topics related to digital governance, tech ethics, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. Additionally, Esther teaches AI Journalism at the Rey Juan Carlos University’s master’s degree program in Investigative Journalism, New Narratives, Data, Fact-checking, and Transparency.
We are thrilled to have Esther Paniagua as a keynote speaker at our Annual Meeting.

Esther Paniagua

Abstract
Thrive or die? The future of journalism in the AI age
Gradually and then suddenly, AI has erupted into the media landscape. As we navigate this transformative era, pressing questions arise: Can AI fulfill its promises of enhancing work efficiency, boosting audience engagement, generating substantial economic gains, and liberating journalists from repetitive tasks? Or does it pose a threat to the very fabric of journalism, within the backdrop of precariousness and content plundering?This talk aims to unravel the complex web of AI’s -and more specifically LLM’s- impact on journalism, scaling automatic content generation and the proliferation of deepfakes in an already ‘infoxicated’ ecosystem. By exploring both utopian and dystopian scenarios, we seek to 1) provide insights into the potential futures that media and journalism face and 2) provide proposals, from an ethical and responsible media perspective, to ensure that Journalism thrives (and does not die) in the AI age.

Panel on Generative AI & AI Policy

Day 1 of the Annual meeting features a panel on Generative AI & AI Policy. Participants include our two keynote speakers, Ricardo Baeza-Yates as well as Esther Paniagua. They are joined by head of Schibsted Futures Lab, Andreas Bengtsson, as well as head of the Department of Information Science and Media Studies, Marija Slavkovik. The panel is moderated by Nicholas Diakopoulos.

POSTER & DEMO SESSION

We invited students from all areas of media studies, information sciences, informatics and other related fields to submit poster and demo abstracts for our Annual Meeting on 16-17 November.
The demo and poster session will take place on-site at the Media City Bergen Atrium. The presenters of the demos and posters will be given the opportunity to pitch their posters.

Name
Poster

Anastasiia Klimashevskaia
Evaluating The Effects of Calibrated Popularity Bias Mitigation: A Field Study

Ayoub Majjodi
How the user’s food knowledge and nudges effect the user experience?

Bilal Mahmood
Editorial Component in a News Recommender System

Huiling You
JSEEGraph: Joint Structured Event Extraction as Graph Parsing

Gloria Anne Babile Kasangu
Affective News Framing

Marianne Borchevink-Brækhus
What does it mean when people spend less time on news?

Peter Andrews
AiCommentator: A Multimodal Conversational Agent for Embedded Visualization in Football Viewing

Sohail Khan
Deepfake Detection: A Comparative Analysis

John Magnus Dahl
What if all your news were from…

Erik Knudsen
Nudge me towards a filter bubble!

Samia Touileb
Measuring Normative and Descriptive Biases in Language Models Using Census Data

Daniel Rosnes
Evaluating Feature-Specific Similarity Metrics using Human Judgments for Norwegian News

Florence Walker
I Dreamt of Something Lost

Vanessa Marie Haaland
Responsible Personalization of Advertisement on News Websites

Agnar haugbjørg Haugen
Exploring Political Engagement and Communication in Twitch Chat: A User-Centric Perspective

Andreas Solberg Jensen
Podcasts and platforms

Thomas Laag
Context-awareness in media recommendations

Snorre Alvsvåg
Personalized Playlists on TV 2 Play

In additon to the posters, 11 demos will be displayed showcasing recent work. The following researchers will present demos:

Anastasiia Klimanshevskaia
Ayoub Majjodi
Bilal Mahmood
Gloria Anne Babile Kasangu
Peter Andrews
Sohail Khan
John Magnus Dahl
Erik Knudsen
Daniel Rosnes
Samia Touileb
Huiling You

WP SESSIONS

WP Session Programme (Start of Day 2):

WP1: Understanding Media Experiences

09:35
WP1 OverviewBrita Ytre-Arne, UiB

09:40
Beyond «more time is better»: Understanding experiences of quick news use practicesMarianne Borchgrevink-Brækhus, UiB

09:50
What smartphones actually mean to teenagers – insights from an ethnographic studyJohn Magnus Dahl, UiB

WP2: User Modeling, Personalisation & Engagement

10:00
Responsible Personalization and Recommendation TechnologyMehdi Elahi, UiB

10:05
When sport get personalAstrid Tessem, TV2

10:10
Forget about Erna, here comes BERTThomas Husken, BT

10:15
Calibrated Popularity Bias Mitigation: Evaluating the Effects OnlineAnastasiia Klimashevskaia, UiB

WP3: Media Content Production & Analysis

10:20
Fact-Checking Complex ClaimsVinay Setty, UiS

10:35
The Need for Multimodal Verification: A Newsroom PerspectiveMorten Langfeldt Dahlback, Faktisk.no

10:45
Break + Group Photo

WP4: Media Content Interaction & Accessibility

11:05
Multimodal Conversational Agents for Embedded Visualization in Football ViewingMorten Fjeld, UiB

11:15
Dynamic Aspect Ratio for Live News at TV2Ingar Arntzen, NORCE

WP5: Norwegian Language Technologies

11:25
WP5 OverviewLilja Øvrelid, UiO

11:30
JSEEGraph: Joint Structured Event Extraction as Graph ParsingHuilin You, UiO

11:40
The EDEN dataset, and application of JSEEGraph to NorwegianLilja Øvrelid, UiO

11:50
Summarization benchmark for NorwegianSamia Touileb, UiB

UNIVERSITY – INDUSTRY COLLABORATION SESSION

Day 2 of the Annual Meeting features a Session on University – Industry Collaboration. Participants are Florence Jane Walker, Enrico Motta, and Irene Costera Meijer, who are currently working on a paper featuring aspects of collaboration between akademia and industry. The session starts with Florence Jane Walker presenting the findings of their study. Following the presentation the paper authors, Florence, as well as the co-authors Enrico Motta and Irene Costera Meijer is joined by Schibsted Academic Liason Eivind Throndsen in a panel. The panel is moderated by Leif Ove Larsen.

WORLD CAFÉ

At the end of day 2 we will be hosting a World Café on the conference topics:

Generative AI
AI Policy
Univeristy Industry Collaboration

There will be 3 sessions where participants will be seated at one of the topics for each of the sessions.
Table hosts:
Generative AI:

Nicholas Diakopoulos
Dietmar Jannach

U-I Collaboration:

Enrico Motta
Irene Costera Meijer

AI Policy

Kimon Kieslich
Oskar Juhlin

CuttingEdge AI: What do we do with one billion for artificial intelligence?
2023-11-24 10:00 - 14:00
UiB AI, in collaboration with NORA, is excited to announce the Cutting Edge AI seminar taking place in Bergen on November 24th at the University Aula. Media Futures, a part of this collaboration, invites you to join us for an engaging discussion on the effective allocation of the government-promised AI billion. What is the actual purpose of having one billion for artificial intelligence?
The government presented an ambitious national initiative in September, focusing on research in artificial intelligence and digital security. The Prime Minister pledged a minimum investment of one billion Norwegian kroner over the next five years. Since then, there has been a heated debate among various academic communities regarding the direction of this initiative. Should the emphasis be on developing AI technology, or is it more crucial to research its applications and consequences? Is the debate merely a positioning of different academic communities seeking funding, or is there a genuine disagreement about the future of artificial intelligence research?
We hereby invite you to a debate where we delve into how we should utilize the AI billion. We are bringing together representatives from the government, administration, research communities, and business sectors to gain diverse perspectives on the path forward in Norway’s major investment in artificial intelligence.
UiB AI
Four times a year, UiB AI organizes seminars that shed light on various aspects of artificial intelligence. The seminar series serves as a meeting point for UiB employees and students interested in topics related to artificial intelligence. Participation is free, and the event is open to all interested individuals.
UiB AI is an initiative aimed at coordinating and showcasing all research, education, and innovation activities related to artificial intelligence at the University of Bergen. It facilitates collaboration and connections between faculties and external partners outside UiB.
NORA
Cutting Edge AI” is NORA’s seminar series where they explore the latest developments in artificial intelligence through hybrid seminars.
NORA, the Norwegian Artificial Intelligence Research Consortium, is a Norwegian collaboration between eight universities, three colleges, and four research institutes focused on AI, machine learning, and robotics. NORA operates a national research school, an industrial network, and provides support to startup companies. It has established itself as a national authority, consulted on matters of national importance.

PhD halfway presentation by Peter Daniel Andrews
2023-11-28 10:00 - 12:00 | Nygårdsgaten 5, Nordre Allmenning 3 at Læringsarenaen
On November 28th, MediaFutures PhD candidate Peter Daniel Andrews will hold a midway presentation on his work. Anyone can drop by to listen and ask questions.
Abstract
Young adults rank among the least engaged consumers of digital news media. Generation Z predominantly engages with news through social media platforms, significantly altering traditional news consumption patterns. While viewing video content, Generation Z often simultaneously engages with social media and online resources, redefining traditional viewing paradigms. Cross-device multitasking primarily facilitates the search for relevant information across multiple platforms, thereby enhancing media contextualization. Simultaneously, it leverages social media to transform individual experiences into collaborative endeavors. This project aims to encapsulate the cross-device experience into a single platform where young adults can interact with video content to explore information, improving their understanding and accessibility of digital news media. Integrating an interactive platform atop video content provides a more immersive and engaging experience. However, to make video interactive, it is first necessary to extract contextual information so users can easily interact with content. Recent advances in Computer Vision (CV) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have allowed for more sophisticated video content analysis. Using Object Detection and Multi-Object Tracking (MOT), contextual data is drawn from the video content and linked to relevant identities. By linking these identities to an external dataset resource, information regarding and surrounding content within the video becomes accessible for the user to assist in exploring digital news media. The user then has the freedom to explore and access information relevant to their understanding and experience. A dynamic interactive layer provides the necessary interface for users to engage directly with content extracted from the CV and AI backend. Utilizing Multimodal Conversational Agents (MCAs), users can interact seamlessly with the video content through natural language input while receiving feedback through multiple sensory modalities. The project uses quantitative and qualitative methods to assess the framework’s usability. The analysis aims to evaluate the feasibility of implementing such systems to assist young adults in comprehending news media video content. It also seeks to enhance user engagement and immersion, justifying its continued and future application. This research aims to revolutionize how young adults interact with and comprehend news media by offering an interactive layer that facilitates a deeper understanding and engagement with content topics, unlike traditional methods. By leveraging MCAs, the project enhances comprehension and introduces a fun and immersive element to digital news consumption, transforming it into an engaging and interactive experience. This approach counters the current trends of low engagement among young adults, presenting a new paradigm for how they interact with and understand news media.

Bergen-Boston Forum
2023-11-30 09:15 - 2023-12-01 17:00 | Philosophy Department of the University of Bergen, Norway
We are happy to invite to a two-day hybrid workshop about AI and the Future of Protest Politics: Politics and Emotions in the Age of Digital Transformation and Surveillance Capitalism.
Our goal is to bring together prominent scholars from different disciplines to discuss the impact of AI-based platforms, and their underlying technological and economic principles, on political discourse and protest.
The event will draw on the Boston-Bergen Forum on Digital Futures—an international research network among the ‘Culture, Society & Politics’ and the ‘Practical Philosophy’ research groups at UiB’s Philosophy Department, the Applied Ethics Center at UMass Boston, and the MIT Program Human Rights and Technology.
MediaFutures center director Christoph Tratter is co-leading the project together with Professor Franz Knappik (Bergen), Dr. Christopher Senf (Bergen) and Professor Nir Eisikovist (UMass).

WHERE: The Philosophy Department in Bergen, Sydnesplassen 12/13, seminarrommet i 1. etasje
As it is a hybrid event, you can join the event in person or via zoom.
Register here

1st Workshop Day, Thursday, November 30th

09.15 am
Welcome Note

Section I: Making AI Intelligible

09.30 am
Keynote by Herman Cappelen (Hong Kong, online):“AI and The Commodification of Meaning”

10.15 am
Q&A (Moderation, Jesse Tomalty)

11.00 am
Rosalie Waelen (Bonn):“The Struggle for Recognition and AI’s Impact on Self-development”

11.30 am
Q&A (Moderation, Chris Senf)

12.30 am
Lunch break at Café Christie

Section II: Contesting the Attention Economy

13.45 pm
Sebastian Watzl (Oslo):“What is Wrong with How Attention is Commodified?”

14.30 pm
James Williams: “tba”

15.00 pm
Q&A (Moderation, Alec Stubbs)

Section III: Algorithms of (In)justice

15.45 pm
Kjetil Rommetveit (Bergen):“(How) Can you code rights and morality into digital infrastructures and AIs?”

16.15 pm
Alec Stubbs (UMass, Boston):“Generative AI and the future of Work”

16:45 pm
Q&A (Moderation, Carlota Salvador Megias)

17.30 pm
End

2nd Workshop Day, Friday, December 1st

10.00 am
Welcome Note

Section I: Political Technologies

10.15 am
Eugenia Stamboliev (Vienna):“Protesting the Classification of Emotions (affects) and its Technological means”

10.45 am
James Hughes (UMass, Boston):“Communication Technologies: Hegemonic, Radicalizing and Democratic”

11.15 am
Q&A (Moderation, Alec Stubbs)

12.15 am
Lunch break at Café Christie

Section II: Future of Protest Movements

13:30 pm
Paul Raekstad (Amsterdam):“Domination Without Dominators: The Impersonal Causes of Oppression”

14:00 pm
Christopher Senf (Bergen):“Algorithmic Exploitation of Recognition”

14.30 pm
Q&A (Moderation, Ane Engelstad)

15.15 pm
Coffee break

Section III Activism and Philosophy in the Age of AI

15.30 pm
Maria Brincker (UMass Boston, online):“What kind of space is a ‘platform’ with its own goals?”

16.00 pm
Kade Crockford (ACLU Massachusetts & MIT Media Lab, online):“All Politics is Local: Fighting Face Surveillance from the Ground Up in Massachusetts”

16.30 pm
Q&A (Moderation, Chris Senf)

17:30 pm
End

Abstracts:
1) Herman Wright Cappelen (Hong Kong)
“AI and the Commodification of Meaning”
AI systems, owned by private corporations, will soon have the ability to control the meaning of the sentences we speak and interpret. This can be seen as a form of commodification of speech act content, a more serious form of commodification than e.g., artistic commodification. The determination of meaning by AI raises concerns about corporate control over language, reminiscent of Orwellian scenarios. Often, the goals behind these communicative exchanges will be foreign to individuals, who may not endorse or even be aware of them. The result is a form of meaning alienation.
2) Rosalie Waelen (Bonn)
“The struggle for recognition and AI’s impact on self-development”
Critical theories, with their focus on power dynamics and emancipation, offer a valuable basis for the analysis of AI’s social and political impact. Axel Honneth’s theory of recognition is one such critical theory. Honneth’s theory of recognition adds to the present AI ethics debate, because it shines light on the different ways in which AI reinforces or exacerbates struggles for recognition. Moreover, through the lens of Honneth’s theory of recognition, one learns how AI can harm people’s self-development. This presentation highlights some of those contemporary struggles for recognition and their (potential) impact on people´s self-development.
3) Sebastian Watzl (UiO Oslo)
“What is Wrong with How Attention is Commodified?”
Our attention is commodified: it is bought and sold in market transactions when individuals lend out the ability to control their attentional capacities in exchange (for example) for technological services. What is wrong with that? Attention markets, we argue, resemble labor markets. By drawing on the ethics of commodification and core features of attention, we show that attention markets, while not always morally wrong, carry special moral risks: because of how attention shapes beliefs and desires, subjective experience and action, they are prone to be disrespectful, alienating, and provide fertile grounds for domination. Our analysis calls for regulatory interventions.
4) James Williams
tba
5) Kjetil Rommetveit (UiB Bergen)
“(How) Can you code rights and morality into digital infrastructures and AIs?”
In 1980 philosopher of technology Langdon Winner famously asked ‘Do Artifacts Have Politics?’ This question was followed up by Latour’s (1994) and Verbeek’s (2008) analyses of technological mediation of morality. Whereas these questions were once provocative, in recent AI regulations they have become part of official governance mechanisms. In this talk I present some novel approaches to governance in the EU through, specifically the risk-based approach and the design-based approach. Situating these within a wider techno-regulatory imaginary, I provide examples of how these instruments play out in practice. I end on some critical questions: what kind of politics do in-built morality have? And what implications can be discerned for critical publics?
6) Alec Stubbs (UMass Boston)
“Generative AI and the Future of Work”
This talk intertwines André Gorz’s post-work philosophy with Herbert Marcuse’s critical theory to envision a democratized future in which generative AI serves the productive aims of society. The talk evaluates the pitfalls of generative AI in reshaping labor, including the likelihood of technological unemployment, downward pressure on wages, and deskilling of workers. The discussion also evaluates the potential of generative AI in reshaping labor, emphasizing the need for a demand for the reduction of the workweek in leftist politics and labor struggles. Central to the argument is Gorz’s imperative to redefine work’s role in a technologically advanced, equitable society.
7) Eugenia Stamboliev (Vienna)
“Protesting the classification of emotions (affects) and its technological means”
To critique affect technology, we need to politicize emotionality and affectivity newly. Today, we are witnessing the emergence of intrusive algorithmic technologies, such as AI, in our daily lives. These technologies, designed to measure and control lives, information, and data, are intended to nudge and influence our political moods and public sentiments as much as they are to measure expressions and emotions. In this talk, I will discuss the history of two types of “affect technologies” (AT) and offer some criticism on their goals and applications. First, ATs intended to measure and classify emotions and affection emerged from the cognitive turn in computer studies. While popular, these ATs are normatively problematic and flawed, but still influence the design and economic models underlying many recognition systems. Second, ATs expected to drive, manage, and influence political beliefs and public moods are underlining architectures that do more than manage emotions via technological means, but they are part of the devaluation of emotions through political campaigning. Protesting the shortcomings of ATs, means calling into question both the normative and political agendas underlying affect technologies, as well as offering new and positive approaches on affectivity that are beyond the scope of measurement and control, but remain politically crucial for democratic protest while avoiding commercial and technical exploitation.
8) James J. Hughes (UMass Boston & IEET)
“Communication Technologies: Hegemonic, Radicalizing and Democratic”
Books, radio and television all transformed political mobilization, by both elites and radicals. How different is the Internet, social media and algorithmically driven communication? Are we more likely to form radical sub-communities, each with its own reality (e.g. MAGA)? Can we envision democratic countervailing institutions emerging from the “commodification, outrageification, and gamification of protest” by platform companies? Will the algorithmic rules and required moderation included in the EU AI Act, DMA and DSA reduce ideological hegemony, improve collaboration and decrease toxicity in these environments?
9) Paul Raekstad (Amsterdam)
“Domination Without Dominators: The Impersonal Causes of Oppression”
Social movements of the last centuries have been naming and analyzing the complex forms of personal and impersonal domination that they fight to overcome. Yet current theories of domination have largely been unable to make sense of the latter. Theories of domination as being subject to the will, or arbitrary power, of another rule them out, while extant theories of impersonal domination are often unsystematic or narrowly focused. My paper tries to remedy this by developing a systematic theory of impersonal domination, distinguish some important types thereof, and show why it matters for universal human emancipation.
10) Christopher Senf (UiB Bergen)
“Algorithmic Exploitation of Recognition”
tba
11) Maria Brincker (UMass Boston)
“What kind of space is a ‘platform’ with its own goals?”
How are we to understand our political actions on surveillance and algorithm-driven for-profit platforms? Current social media platforms present users with possibilities of building vast networks and achieving massive, fast reach to highly dispersed groups. Hence, they present incredible opportunities for expanded agency, organizing, and information sharing. However, these platform ecosystems also present users with highly unusual affordance spaces, which might pose challenges to our agency. Proprietary algorithms, vast data harvesting and camouflaged behavior modification tools are used to drive platform company interests – often conflicting with those of users. We engage in political movements to shape the future, but how do our actions on these platforms in fact shape our future and our extra-situational spaces?
12) Kade Crockford (ACLU & MIT)
“All Politics is Local: Fighting Face Surveillance from the Ground Up in Massachusetts”
In 2019, the ACLU of Massachusetts launched a campaign to bring democratic control over government use of facial surveillance technology. Over the following two years, we passed eight bans on government use of face surveillance in cities and towns across the state, including in Massachusetts’ four largest cities: Boston, Cambridge, Springfield, and Worcester. We also passed a state law creating some regulations on police use of the technology statewide. During this talk, campaign leader Kade Crockford will discuss how the ACLU’s campaigners dreamed big, built a coalition, and fought from the ground up to defeat the narrative of technological determinism, and how you can do it, too.

What is News? Understanding news perceptions and practices among young adults
2023-12-04 13:15 - 15:00
Digital media has fundamentally changed what news is: how it is produced, distributed, practiced and understood, particularly among young audiences, across the world. The concept of news is changing, as well as the information repertoires of young adults. These processes of transformation have had fundamental consequences not only for news industries, but also for news research, and journalism studies. How can we study news if we do not know what it is?
This seminar presents “What is News?”, a research project approaching news as a concept in flux, using phenomenological theory and an open methodology aiming at understanding the experience of news, rather than news as a fixed concept. It discusses how the phenomenological approach may gain new insights into what news is, and what information means to young people today.
By presenting the work with the forthcoming book Navigating the News: Young people, Digital Culture and Everyday Life building on an extensive ethnography of news practices and perceptions among a broad range of youth in Sweden, the seminar will discuss how the digitisation of news has shaped young people’s understanding of what news is, how it is relevant, trusted and used in the temporalities and spatialities of everyday life. The presentation pays attention to the blurring boundaries between news and social media, highlighting how new media categories such as influencers, memes and hybrid information can take on the status of news for young audiences.
Speaker: Stina Bengtsson, professor, Södertörn University, Stockholm.
Stina Bengtsson is professor in Media and Communication Studies. She is currently doing research about media and everyday life, digital media morality and ethics, youth culture, taste and power. She teaches the course Media and Everyday Life at the masters programme Media, Communication and Everyday Life and are involved in courses also at the bachelor programmes second and third year.
Sign up By email to Lene Angelskår

Workshop on forthcoming AI calls from Horizon Europe and Digital Europe
2023-12-13 09:00 - 12:00 | Online
NORA and the Oslo Cancer Cluster are collaborating to host a workshop that focuses on upcoming opportunities for EU funding in Artificial Intelligence. The session will highlight presentations covering AI subjects under Cluster 4: Digital, Industry, and Space within Horizon Europe and The Digital Europe Programme. Following these presentations, there will be group discussions in breakout sessions.
The workshop will conclude with AI Sweden presenting their work and providing valuable insights into the prerequisites for achieving success with multimodal models in both Europe and the Nordic region.
This workshop offers a hybrid format, allowing participants to attend either physically or online. However, please be aware that physical attendance is restricted to 30 individuals on a first-come, first-served basis.

Call for Papers / Datatech 2024
2023-12-17 00:00 | Geneva, Switzerland
The Data Technology Seminar (DTS), formerly known as the MDN Workshop, is an annual event and the perfect opportunity to network with like-minded professionals, learn about the latest trends and techniques in data-related projects, and set up collaborations with peers in the industry.
The EBU Data Tech Seminar (DTS) stands as a unique industry event singularly focused on exploring data and AI applications within the media landscape. It serves as an essential gathering, an annual cornerstone attracting experts in data and AI technology, pivotal in crafting the future solutions for media. DTS seamlessly blends a conference agenda with in-depth explorations and valuable networking opportunities. Set to take place in Geneva from March 12 to 14 in 2024, DataTech 2024 promises an insightful experience.
THE CALL FOR PAPERS FOR DATATECH 2024 IS OPEN !
To submit your contribution proposal to the programme committee, please fill in this form. The deadline is 17 December 2023.

A Norwegian Center for AI?
2024-01-29 10:00 - 11:30 | digital
MediaFutures partner NORA is organising a digital discussion on the allocation of the AI billion.
In Norway, there is an ongoing discussion about how to best allocate the ‘AI billion.’ Some suggest that we should use various tools to support AI research, following the traditional approach of calling for proposals managed by The Research Council of Norway’s portfolio management. This method is well-established, offering flexibility, utilizing existing infrastructure, and enabling quick announcements of proposal calls.
On the other hand, others believe that we have a unique opportunity for a more concentrated and coordinated effort, bringing together different disciplines, stakeholders, and sectors through a centralized solution, which involves a distributed center approach. This could enhance coordination and create networks and meeting spaces that are challenging to establish using more conventional methods.
Since the latter solution is less common and relatively unfamiliar in Norway, we are actively seeking insights from various AI centers and networks in successful European nations to learn about their operational structures.
Program:
10:00-10:05: Klas Pettersen, CEO NORA, Welcome and short introduction
10:05-10:25: Serge Belongie, Director, Pioneer Centre for Artificial Intelligence (Denmark)
10:25-10:35: Questions to Serge Belongie
10:35-10:55: Simon Reeve, Director for Innovation, The Alan Turing Institute (UK)
10:55-11:00: Questions to Simon Reeve
11:00-11:20: Samuel Kaski, director, Finnish Center for Artificial Intelligence FCAI (Finland)
11:20-11:30: Questions to Samuel Kaski/Petri Myllymaki (and others)

Call for literature reviews: Nordicom Reviews special issue
2024-02-09 00:00
Nordicom is inviting authors to submit extended abstracts for a special issue of Nordicom Review focusing on the relationship between media, communication, journalism, and democracy within the Nordic region. The call emphasizes literature reviews examining how these elements interplay and influence democratic processes. The submission deadline for abstracts is February 9, 2024. Selected authors will be invited to submit full manuscripts (6,000–8,000 words) after the abstract assessment. The special issue aims to offer a comprehensive overview of research developments relevant to contemporary democracy in the Nordic context. Submissions should explore topics related to media’s impact on voting behavior, communication practices in times of crises, journalism’s role, technological influences, and more. The goal is to consolidate knowledge, promote discussion, and contribute to evidence-based policy formation. Submitted works should be original and not under consideration by other publishers.
Important dates:

Deadline for extended abstracts: 9 February 2024
Invitation to submit full paper: 26 February 2024
Deadline for full submissions: 27 September 2024
Peer review: October 2024 and onwards
Expected publication: Early autumn 2025

More Room for Language: Investigating the Effect of Retrieval on Language Models
2024-02-13 12:15 - 13:00 | UiO, Room 4118, Styrerom
The Language Technology Group (LTG) at University in Oslo is organising weekly RAG seminars. They do research on a number of topics related to Natural Language Processing (NLP), a subfield of Artificial Intelligence enabling computers to `make sense’ of human language. This weeks speakers for the LTG research seminar are David Samuel, Lucas Charpentier and Sondre Wold, PhD Candidates at the LTG.
They will present their work on investigating the effects of pretraining with retrieval on a language model.
The talk will be held in room 4118, Styrerom, from 12:15 to 13:00 on Tuesday 13th of February and also streamed on Zoom, you can join with this link: https://uio.zoom.us/j/66002313655?pwd=UlZBUnRPdG9zdytIWUxmczR3TlVOQT09
Abstract
Retrieval-augmented language models pose a promising alternative to standard language modeling. During pretraining, these models search in a corpus of documents for contextually relevant information that could aid the language modeling objective. We introduce an `ideal retrieval’ methodology to study these models in a fully controllable setting. We conduct an extensive evaluation to examine how retrieval augmentation affects the behavior of the underlying language model. Among other things, we observe that these models: {i) save substantially less world knowledge in their weights, (ii) are better in understanding local context and inter-word dependencies, but {iii) are worse in comprehending global context.

Launching NB-Whisper
2024-02-15 10:00 - 14:30 | Nasjonalbiblioteket – Store Auditorium, Henrik Ibsens gate 110, Oslo, 0254
Our partner, the National Library, invites you to a “launch seminar” for their newest speech-to-text model for Norwegian.
They have invited the police, Schibsted, and TV2 to share how they use speech-to-text. They have been part of their beta group and will discuss the model’s handling of Norwegian in various contexts.
After lunch, the seminar will become more technically oriented, especially suitable for those interested in deeper insights into the technical and linguistic aspects related to the development of such AI models.
The event is open to all and will be streamed on nb.no. To secure your spot, get your free ticket here!
Program
10:00 Welcome by Aslak Sira Myhre, National Library
Part 1: NB-Whisper and its usage
10:20 Brief introduction to Whisper by Per Egil Kummervold, National Library
10:30 Use of speech-to-text in the police by Bente Skattør, Police
10:50 Applications for speech recognition with NB-Whisper by Anders Haarr, Schibsted
11:10 Use and legal requirements for accessibility by Anne Cathrine Gotaas, TV2
11:30 Lunch break
Part 2: NB-Whisper: technological aspects
12:30 Status of ASR in Norwegian today by Marie Røsok, National Library
12:50 Evaluation and results by Per Egil Kummervold, National Library
13:10 How to build a dataset for training Whisper by Freddy Wetjen and Rolv-Arild Braaten, National Library
13:30 Advanced use of NB-Whisper by Per Egil Kummervold and Javier de la Rosa, National Library
14:00 Questions and discussion

Trends in news use and avoidance
2024-02-16 12:00 - 13:00 | MediaFutures, Media Futures HQ, 3rd floor, Bergen, 5008
In times of a rather negative-angled news landscape, NRK mapped Norwegians’ approach to news, and news avoidance, with extra focus on the young readers. With data from NRK’s ​​Youth survey, Reuters Digital News Report, Norsk Mediebarometer, Opinions UNG2024 and more, we see some new features in how news is consumed – and avoided.
On February 16th, MediaFutures work package 1 is inviting to a lunch seminar on the development of news use and avoidance.
The seminar will be held in Norwegian.
Seminar speaker is Ingvild Hjertaas, Media Researcher in NRK Analysis / NRK News. Ingvild worked 10 years in Aftenposten as product manager where she also was giving courses in digital tools and content production before she started in NRK in 2017. She has developed a highly effective understanding of what works and engages users online, and has played a key role in the development and operation of popular services such as quizzes and word games. The lunchseminar will start at 12 o’clock in MediaFutures office, 3rd floor in MCB. To join digital follow the link to zoom

Realizing AIs Potential at the Workplace - Can Copilot Unlock its Opportunities?
2024-02-21 08:30 - 10:00 | Terminushall, Jernbanebakken, 5015 Bergen
Bergen Chamber of Commerce and Industry is hosting a meeting on AI at work. Amongst many others, also MediaFutures Associate Professor Samia Touileb is holding a speech about Limitations and Ethical Considerations Surrounding Language Models.
Many have started to explore AI in the form of ChatGPT and similar services over the past year. We have seen countless videos depicting how fantastic it will be to have artificial intelligence on our side, and some have already begun implementing what many are eagerly awaiting: Copilot. Copilot is predicted to revolutionize the workday for many, and the Bergen Chamber of Commerce and Industry is excited to invite you to a live demonstration of this groundbreaking tool that not only promises to streamline but truly transform the way we work.
The meeting will begin with an introduction to Copilot, hold by Lars-Christian Ryland, Senior manager i KPMG and Marie Killi, Associate i KPMG. Later on Hans-Fredrik Pedersen from Microsoft Norge will demonstrate Copilot and sit in a panel discussion with Samia Touileb.
Please register here before the 20th of February to join the event.

UiB AI #9 Trustworthy AI
2024-03-08 10:00 - 12:00 | Storsalen, Nygårdsgaten 5, første etasje.
How do we work with trust in artificial intelligence? Meet our researchers and participate in the next UiB AI seminar!
Artificial intelligence today is maybe not yet human-centric, but it is definitely human collaborative. That means that people use AI to augment their abilities: the spam filter saves me time, the route finder helps me orient, the speech to text helps me caption videos, the video editor helps me change from vertical to horizontal format without losing the important objects in the video. Also, AI requires constant human support: to clean, label and overall preprocess data for learning algorithms, to identify and correct mistakes, to do the unusual non-typical tasks that an AI cannot handle. Much has been said about the trustworthiness of AI in recent years. Trust is a relational property between people that can facilitate or hinder collaboration. Trustworthiness is a value that we would AI to be aligned with.
The department of Information Science and Media Studies and the faculty of social sciences is concerned with the social and collaborative aspects and properties of AI. In this edition of the UiB AI seminar series, they showcase four research examples on how they work with trust and AI. The short presentations will be followed by a panel debate.
Program
Creating Embodied Artificial Trustworthiness
by Ragnhild Mølster (presenter) and Jens Elmelund Kjeldsen
Should we trust the world with a IP-hungry AI in it?
by Richard Misek
Trustworthy journalism through AI
by Andreas Lothe Opdahl, based on a paper
Trust but verify
by Rustam Galimullin

Panel: should we seek trustworthiness for AI or for its human collaborators?
Participants: TBD
Moderator: Marija Slavkovik

Women in AI 2024
2024-03-08 18:00 - 20:00 | Domus Bibliotheca, Karl Johans gate 47, 0162, Oslo
On the 8th of March, MediaFutures partner NORA invites to the Women in AI celebration at Domus Bibliotheca, Oslo. The event will also be streamed live.
Doors open at 17:30 – mineral water, refreshments & canapes will be served.
Register here
Together with our partners, NORA has dedicated efforts towards supporting universities, university colleges, research institutions, startups, companies and individual researchers who wish to discuss and address the diversity and gender gap in AI research, education and in industry. By focusing on the topic and by providing a platform for open discussion, NORA aims to develop and support initiatives that can increase the inclusion of a more diverse workforce in AI. Together, we can inspire a more inclusive agenda within the otherwise male-dominated field of AI and ensure equal access and equal opportunities for future generations. Our collective goal should be to bring awareness by promoting female role models, and by portraying the breadth of opportunities for AI in society at large.
On the 8th of March, we invite you to join us for an evening event where we discuss the situation of gender and diversity in AI today and measures needed in effort to tackle inequality and mitigate bias in the field of artificial intelligence.
During this Women and AI event, we will bring together representatives from industry and research to address the gender disparity in AI in Norway and the world today, and discuss initiatives to ensure inclusivity and diversity in AI for the future.
Program:

Time
Speaker

18:00-18:10
Welcome!

18:10-18:20
Speaker: Ajla Gasal,
Chief editor at the non-profit Sciencious, ambassador of the Norwegian WiSTEM chapter, TEDx speaker, author and active member of her student government.

18:20-18:40
Keynote 1:
Hilde G. Corneliussen, Research Professor and Research Leader, Vestlandsforsking

18:40-19:00
Keynote 2:
Ieva Martinkenaite, SVP, Head of Research and Innovation

19:00-19:20
Keynote 3:
Rebecca Wiborg Seyfarth, VP Engineering, Völur

19:20-20:00
Panel discussion

20:00-21:00
Networking and mingling

Media Innovation Xchange. EU Conference on Digital Transformation and Media Innovation
2024-03-13 08:00 - 2024-03-14 17:00 | digital
Immerse yourself in the future of European media and join the event in Brussels (or digitally) on March 13-14, 2024, for a conference on the digital transformation and innovation of the media sector. The media sector is in a constant state of flux, with many technological advances emerging at a rapid pace, bringing forth significant opportunities as well as unprecedented challenges. On March 13 and 14, the Flanders Department of Culture, Youth and Media delves deeper into this during the Media Innovation Xchange conference in Brussels. Policymakers and stakeholders from both Belgium and other EU member states will have the opportunity to exchange knowledge and expertise, gain inspiration, and establish international contacts.

What can you expect?
Enjoy a line-up of inspiring speakers and fascinating showcases and explore the rapid advancements and challenges in media brought forth by technological innovations. See the program in the link below.
You can expect topics such as:

European video game sector and media crossovers
Artificial intelligence (AI) and Extended Reality (XR)
Data driven media industry
Innovation to counter, detect and refute disinformation
European broadcasters: staying relevant through technology and innovation
Reaching younger audiences

To join online, please register at the bottom of the page in the link below.

News personalization with "Curate"
2024-04-05 13:00 - 14:00 | MediaFutures, Media Futures HQ, 3rd floor, Bergen, 5008
MediaFutures invites to a seminar on news personalization with Schibsted in MediaFutures headquarter, MCB, 3rd floor. The seminar will also be streamed.
The Curate project has been created to enable Schibsted media outlets to craft an optimal content selection for each individual user, delivering content tailored precisely to their preferences, in the appropriate format, location, and timing, all while upholding the journalistic integrity of the mission. Originally developed to curate Aftenposten’s front page in Norway, Curate has evolved into the central recommendation system for over 50 news brands within the Schibsted and Polaris Media groups.
Christoph Schmitz, Product Manager of Curate and Jacob Welander, Data Scientist at Schibsted will tell us in this seminar about the project itself, what has been done so far and how Schibsted has been utilizing such technology innovating media experience.
Join the meeting on zoom:
https://uib.zoom.us/j/69494993779?pwd=c0k3YXZ2MDduYnhoT2FUM09WNHNKdz09

Mobilisation seminar on AI for trust and sustainability
2024-04-10 10:00 - 14:00 | Storsalen, Nygårdsgaten 5, første etasje.
In connection with the upcoming announcement of the AI billion, the Research and Innovation Department at UiB (Forsknings- og innovasjonsavdelingen FIA) invites academic communities researching artificial intelligence to a mobilization seminar. The purpose is to highlight AI environments and center initiatives at UiB, and identify opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration in future work.
The Research Council’s board decided at the meeting on February 7th that the Government’s billion-dollar investment “AI for Trust and Sustainability” will be announced in the form of 4-6 centers for artificial intelligence. The centers will be 5-year thematic, challenge-driven initiatives, promoting interdisciplinary, interinstitutional, and cross-sectoral collaboration. The announcement is divided into two parts, with a mandatory outline in the first step, to be submitted by June 7, 2024. Here you can read more about how the Research Council envisions the focus of the centers in each of the three main areas – societal consequences, technological development, and innovative use.
The keynote speaker at the event will be Anne Kjersti Fahlvik, Director of the Research Council’s area, followed by a question and answer session after her presentation.
We will also facilitate opportunities for environments interested in coordinating an AI center and planning to apply for the announcement to present a brief pitch with their idea for a center application in plenary. There will be ample opportunity to explore collaboration and synergies with other AI environments at UiB and external stakeholders and potential partners through a networking lunch session. All academic communities with an AI profile are invited to this event, and we encourage everyone interested in participating in a center application to join. Those wishing to present their pitch for an AI center on stage should register this in the registration form by April 2nd.
The deadline for registration for the general public is extended to April 5th.
**Program:**
**10:00-11:00**
– **Welcome and Information about the Announcement**
– Welcome by Vice-Rector Pinar Heggernes, UiB
– Presentation by Anne Kjersti Fahlvik, Director of Innovation in Business and Public Sector, Research Council
– Q&A Session
**11:00-11:20**
– **Coffee Break**
**11:20-12:55**
– **AI Center and Research Center Applications**
– Support System and Application Process at UiB by Birgit Falch, Research and Innovation Department, and Alexander Oltu, IT Department
– What Does it Entail to Apply for a Research Center? TBA
– Pitches for Research Centers for Artificial Intelligence at UiB
– Upon registration, participants in the seminar who wish to coordinate a center application are encouraged to indicate whether they will pitch their idea for an artificial intelligence center to the audience. The purpose of idea pitching is to open up collaboration opportunities and invite stakeholders and academic communities interested in contributing to further develop the idea.
**12:55-13:00**
– **Conclusion, Introduction to Lunch and Networking**
**13:00-14:00**
– **Lunch and Networking in the Lounge outside the Main Hall, with Opportunity for Posters/Stands**

CuttingEdgeAI: Open Norwegian language models as common property.
2024-04-12 13:00 - 15:15 | Domus Bibliotheca, Karl Johans gate 47, 0162, Oslo
Earlier this month, MediaFutures professor Lilja Øvrelid and Erik Velldal released in collaboration with other partners several Norwegian language models openly available and trained on open data. These have now been downloaded over 6000 times and put into active use. Now, NORA is organising a launch event, where they will present the models alongside their collaborators and discuss the way forward for open Norwegian language models as common property.
What to expect:
Large Language Models (LLMs) are the technology behind services like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, or Microsoft Copilot. These are examples of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms that can seemingly independently create text, images, sound, or even video. The underlying technology is large-scale machine learning, a combination of vast amounts of data and computational power. The data these models are trained on is crucial for their behavior, including knowledge of language, values, and sociocultural contexts.
Generative AI will continue to have profound effects on society. The development is dominated by large American technology companies, mostly behind closed doors, where smaller languages like Norwegian are not a priority. It is necessary for Norway to take action to preserve our digital autonomy. We need open Norwegian language models that more accurately reflect Scandinavian culture and values.
This event provides insights into the technology and ongoing efforts, including those at the University of Oslo and the National Library, to offer open generative language models specifically tailored to the Norwegian language for use in both research and commercial development. Several Norwegian language models trained on the European supercomputer LUMI were made openly available in February 2024. Within a few weeks, these models were downloaded thousands of times.
You can register for the event by clicking on the link below event tags.
Program:

Tid
Tittel
Foredragsholder

12:30 – 13:00
Registrering

13:00 – 13:05
Velkommen
Klas Pettersen, NORA.

13:05 – 13:20
Hvordan fungerer GPT-språkmaskineriet
Stephan Oepen, UiO.

13:20 – 13:45
Lansering av nye store og åpne norske språkmodeller
Lilja Øvrelid, UiO;
Erik Velldal, UiO;
Andrey Kutuzov, UiO;
David Samuel, UiO.

13:45 – 13:55
Digitale norske språkdata ved Nasjonalbiblioteket
Svein Arne Brygfjeld, NB.

13:55 – 14:10
Hvordan bruke norske språkmodeller i praksis? Erfaringer fra Schibsted
Simen Eide, Leder for Schibsteds AI Enablement Program.

14:10 – 14:20
LUMI: Lagrings- og beregningsinfrastruktur for storskala KI
Gunnar Bøe, Managing Director, Sigma2.

14:20 – 15:10
Panelsamtale: Samfunnsbehov og risikoer knyttet til store språkmodeller
Moderator: Klas Pettersen
Panelister:
– Aslak Sira Myhre, NB
– Gunnar Bøe, Sigma2
– Lilja Øvrelid, UiO
– Sven Størmer Thaulow, Schibsted
– Åse Wetås, Språkrådet

15:10 – 15:15
Avslutning

Building to learn, not to launch
2024-04-16 14:15 - 16:00 | Lauritz Meltzers Hus, - SV-bygget - Fosswinckelsgate 6 - - Auditorium Storetinget 1st floor, Bergen
April 16, Lasse Mejlvang Tvedt, and Christopher Pearsell-Ross from Futures Lab will hold a guest lecture in professor Frode Guribyes course, where they talk about how Schibsted works with prototyping and AI to make new applications.
Join Lasse Mejlvang Tvedt, Senior Creative Technologist, and Christopher Pearsell-Ross, Senior UX Designer, to learn more about how Schibsted Futures Lab uses strategic foresight, speculative design, and technical prototyping to explore AI and emerging user interfaces. Their work spans virtual avatars, automated news summarisation, conversational interfaces, automated AI agents, and spatial computing.
Schibsted Futures Lab was established almost two years ago with the intention to explore scenarios that may impact Schibsted. Schibsted Futures Lab is headed by Andreas Bengtsson, who was one one the panel participants at MediaFutures Annual Meeting 2023.
““And note: The name is Schibsted Futures Lab, not Future Lab. The “s” in the name underlines that there are multiple possible futures, not only one. We don’t pretend to know the answer, but will be exploring different directions,” says Andreas Bengtsson at the launch of Futures Lab.
The lecture is open for all and takes place at Lauritz Meltzers Hus in SV-bygget, Auditorium Storetinget 1st floor. No sign up required.

Christie Conference 2024
2024-04-23 08:00 - 17:00 | UiB Universitetsaulaen and online
The Christie Conference aims to be UiB’s key forum connecting research, politics, administration, culture, society, and business. Held annually in late April at the University Aula, it’s named after Wilhelm Frimann Koren Christie, founder of Bergen Museum, a prominent political figure, and a bridge between the museum and societal stakeholders. On Tuesday, April 23rd, the Christie Conference 2024 takes place at the University Aula.
This year, our focus turns to Europe, asking: What will Europe look like in 10 years, and how can Bergen and Norway influence its development?
Future of Europe – What Opportunities Lie Ahead?
Europe is a vital part of our identity, offering some of the best in art, culture, research, and humanism. Since the Second World War, and particularly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, cooperation, shared institutions, and efforts toward peaceful coexistence have made significant progress. Geopolitical changes, such as the pandemic, rising nationalism, deglobalization, and the conflict in Ukraine, have altered this trajectory. Norway now faces a different Europe than it did just five years ago.
At the Christie Conference, we look forward and discuss:
Does Europe possess the tools needed to tackle future challenges? What role does Norway play as an energy supplier, an industrial nation, and in security policy? How can Bergen and Norway contribute to the future of Europe?
We invite you to engaging discussions among key figures in research, society, business, and culture.
The final program and registration will be available in February, but mark your calendars for April 23, 2024.

Overview of Serendipity in Recommender Systems
2024-04-26 11:15 - 12:00 | MediaFutures, Media Futures HQ, 3rd floor, Bergen, 5008
MediaFutures and UiBs research group DARS which stands for Behavioral Data Analytics & Recommender Systems, is inviting to a seminar with the postdoctoral researcher Denis Kotkov from the University of Helsinki. Kotkov is working on recommender systems, exploratory search, user experience and machine learning.
In this seminar he will provide an overview of the Serendipity in Recommender Systems.
Abstract:
“Have you ever wondered why services like Spotify, Netflix or YouTube keep showing you recommendations on the same topic over and over again? One of the reasons for that is the lack of serendipity in recommender systems of these services. Recommender systems are software tools that suggest items, such as audio recordings or videos, of interest to users. Meanwhile, serendipity is the property of these systems, which indicates the degree, to which they suggest items that pleasantly surprise users. In this talk, I will provide an overview of serendipity in recommender systems. In particular, I will talk about how the concept of serendipity has been defined and measured in recommender systems, and what experiments have been conducted to investigate this concept. I will also touch on recommendation algorithms designed to suggest serendipitous items and discuss future directions of the top.”
More about Denis Kotkov.
The talk will take place at MediaFutures headquarter and takes 30 minutes, plus a 15-minute-long Q&A session. The seminar will also be streamed. You can find the link below.

NMD: AI and the media industry: Where do we stand? Where do we go?
2024-05-02 10:00 - 14:00 | Dovregubben, Grieghallen
When OpenAI launched ChatGPT in November 2022, it sparked a rapid democratization of generative AI technology. It also marked the beginning of a new era for the media industry.
This session is lead by technology and news leaders from four major Norwegian media companies sharing the impact that the rapid AI development has had on their companies and the media industry in general so far.
MediaFutures Steering Board Member Pål Nedregotten (NRK), Juan Carlos Lopez Calvet (Schibsted), Jan Thoresen (Labrador CMS), and Markus Jensen (Amedia) will delve into the challenges and opportunities that AI technology brings them. How has the technology changed the way they work? What are the biggest differences in their AI strategies? And, importantly, what lies ahead for AI in Norwegian media production?
The conversation will be moderated by Sofie Braseth Guldbrandsen, editorial project manager at Aftenposten and chair of Nona.
This session is part of the Nordic Media Days and requires a conference ticket.

NMD: Media Survey 2024: American Conditions
2024-05-02 12:45 - 2024-05-04 13:45 | Grieghallen
As part of this years Nordic Media Days, MediaFutures associate professor Erik Knudsen will present the Medieundersøkelse.
Fall 2024 marks another presidential election in the United States, prompting this year’s Media Survey to delve into the media habits of the American populace and their level of trust in the press. How and from where do Americans gather political information – and how critical are they of their sources? How do they perceive the degree of freedom of expression and societal polarization? Are they affected by cancel culture, and if so, how? The responses from the U.S. will be juxtaposed against the critical media literacy of the Norwegian population. Are we inching towards what can be termed “American conditions”? Are there segments of the population with media habits more aligned with those of Americans than others? We will also explore the extent to which Norwegian and American populations feel represented in media coverage. Do they have a voice in societal debates, and do they find it useful to exercise their right to vote? The survey also examines how artificial intelligence has influenced media coverage, trust in the media, and media literacy. What are journalists’ attitudes towards this tool compared to the average citizen on the street? Are Norwegian media professionals, Norwegians, and Americans equally adept at distinguishing between content created by AI and by humans?
The 2024 Media Survey is conducted among a representative sample of the population in the United States, as well as members of the Norwegian Union of Journalists, the Norwegian Editors’ Association, and a selection of other individuals in Norway.

NMD: ChatGPT, Copilot & Bard – How do Large Language Models Work?
2024-05-02 16:00 - 16:40 | Troldtog, Grieghallen
Large language models have taken over Norwegian media companies, and the technology is being used in increasingly more phases of news production, from idea development, transcription, translation, to summarization.
But what exactly is a language model, and how do they work? Samia Touileb is an associate professor in language technology at the Department of Information and Media Studies at the University of Bergen, works in SFI MediaFutures and is an expert on language models. In this session, she will “open the hood” and show us what lies inside the large language models.
What is so-called deep learning? What architectures are hidden between our input and the model’s output? Where are the language models’ training data sourced from? And what ethical blind spots and problematic biases exist in this data?
The session is part of the Nordic Media Days and required a conference ticket.

Master Student Demonstration
2024-05-03 10:00 - 12:30 | Media City Bergen, Atrium
UiBs media network Teklab is organising the first ever Master Student Demo at the program for media and interaction design (MIX). The event will take place in the Atrium in Media City Bergen from 10.00 to 12.30 on Friday May 3rd.
This is an event in the newly established “Innovation Days” at the MIX program. This time around our master students will present their value propositions and minimum viable prototypes. The audience will give them input and help them to learn as much as possible about the potential for value creation in their projects. The event is free for all, but you have to register. The deadline for lunch registration is Thursday May 2nd at 12.00. Please register here and you will get a free lunch.
The “Innovation Days” is a joint effort from alle the teachers at MIX plus the administration and the students themselves. The event is organized by the program board for the media and interaction design (MIX) program at the Department of Information Science and Media Studies, with professor Lars Nyre as the main organizer. The Infomedia department and TekLab sponsors the event with a free lunch for participants and audience alike
Program schedule
The event takes place in the Atrium of Media City Bergen on Friday May 3rd from 10.00 – 12.30.
10.00 – 10.05. Introduction by MIX program chair Lars Nyre.
10.05 – 10.30. “Introduction to Open Innovation: Harnessing Collective Intelligence for Innovative Solutions”. Lecture by Joao Ribeiro.
10.30 – 11.00. Demo of value propositions by the first year students (MIX303). Introduction by Joao Ribeiro. The students will stand in front of their posters and explain their project and talk to audience members. There will be around 15 separate projects (see details below).
11.00 – 11.30. Demo of minimum viable prototypes by the second year students (MIX350). Introduction by Joao Ribeiro. The students will stand in front of their posters and technical equipment (f.ex. computer screens and VR gear) and explain their projects. The audience members will be able to test the prototypes themselves. There will be 7 separate projects (see details below).
11.30 – 12.30. Free lunch and countinued mingling around the stands. Conclusion by UiB Innovation Pilots Johannes Helleve and Stine Lines.

Webinar on EU elections and how to prevent interference
2024-05-03 12:15 - 15:30 | digital
The EU elections, Europe Day, Victory Day and Eurovision are approaching – and so are the opportunities for spreading false information and fomenting polarization. That’s why Faktabari, in cooperation with its NORDIS partners, is organizing a free webinar for journalists on the EU elections and election interference on May 3.
The webinar will be held on International Press Freedom Day from 12:15 to 15:30. The webinar to be held on May 3 has an interesting coverage of both domestic and Nordic experts. All Finnish journalists and journalist students who want to update their knowledge about EU elections, disinformation and fact-checking tools are welcome to the lines.
Also MediaFutures Ph.D candidate Sohail Khan is present and will present his research on deep fake detection as well as NORDIS.2, a project he works on together with UiB-infomedia associate professor Duc-Tien Dang-Nguyen.
Between 2022 and 2023, the Norwegian fact-checking organization played a crucial role in providing guidance to MediaFutures’ PhD candidate, Sohail Ahmed Khan, as he developed two prototypes: an image classifier and a language detector. Both tools have earned great acclaim among fact checkers and journalists, including those operating in war-torn Ukraine. One of the tools Sohail will showcase at the webinar is the tank classifier.
The event is hosted and held mainly in Finnish. Sohail Ahmed Khan will speak in English.
Program:
12.15–12.30
Opening Words
Pipsa Havula & Joonas Pörsti/ Faktabaari
12.30–13.00
What kind of disinformation narratives circulate about the EU? What can we learn from the Eurovision Song Contest?
Andreas Önnerfors/ Director of Fact-Checking Program at Sweden’s Fojo Institute
13.00–13.30
What is important for journalists to know before the EU elections?
Niina Saloranta/ Press Officer at the European Parliament’s Finland Office. Saloranta provides an overview of the EU institutions, how decision-making works, what happens before and after the elections, and gives examples of journalists’ sources of information.
13.30–13.50
How to find EU news.
Hannele Muilu/ Yle’s Brussels Correspondent
13.50–14.00
Break
14.00–14.15
What is EFCSN? How is the European fact-checking network preparing for the elections?
Thomas Hedin/ Managing Editor at Tjekdet and Board Member of EFCSN
14.15–14:35
AI tools for journalists.
Sohail Ahmed Khan/ PhD Candidate at the Department of Information Science and Media Studies, University of Bergen. The University of Bergen/MediaFutures has developed AI tools in collaboration with the Norwegian fact-checking organization Faktisk to assist journalists. Sohail Ahmed Khan presents them.
14.35–14:55
Insights into the Digivaalivahti project by Faktabaari and CheckFirst and their findings so far.
Pipsa Havula & Guillaume Kuster
14:55–15:30
Summary of the most important fact-checking tools currently available
Katja Lehtisaari, University Lecturer in Journalism at Tampere University, discusses fact-checking courses for journalism students and future collaboration within the NORDIS project framework.
Future plans
The event concludes at 15:30.
To register for the webinar, please follow the link.

Academic breakfast with Erik Knudsen
2024-05-23 09:00 - 09:45 | Vrimearealet, SV-bygget, 3.etasje
The SV-faculty invites all students and employees at UiB to attend Erik Knudsens presentation about news avoiders in Norway.
Have you found yourself consciously avoiding news or specific news topics over the past year? For instance, have you refrained from clicking on stories about the dire situations in Ukraine or Gaza? If so, you’re not alone. New figures from the Media Survey 2024 reveal that a whopping 34 percent of Norwegians are classified as “news avoiders.” Is it a democratic issue that so many people are dodging the news? Should news avoiders feel guilty? Erik Knudsen doesn’t think so. He discusses his research on people’s selective media consumption and news avoidance, citing results from the Media Survey 2024 recently presented at the Nordic Media Days. Knudsen will also offer insights from an ongoing MediaFutures study on whether so-called “constructive news” – solution-oriented news that emphasizes hope and possibilities over negativity – could serve as a kind of “antidote” to reduce news avoidance.
Erik Knudsen is an associate professor at the Department of Information and Media Studies and works as work package 1 leader in SFI MediaFutures.

Ethical considerations regarding the use of AI
2024-05-29 11:00 - 2024-05-30 17:00 | Kode Permanenten, Nordahl Bruns gate 9, Bergen
Western Norwegian Film Centre, in collaboration with the Zephyr Media Fund, BIFF, and the Film Association, invites you to industry days and a film festival at Kode Permanenten on May 29th and 30th in Bergen, where we gather the film industry in the region for inspiring lectures, presentations of fresh film and TV projects, and professional updates!

Associate Professor Samia Touileb from the University of Bergen will shed light on ethical considerations regarding the use of AI. What challenges may arise from the use of tools like ChatGPT and OpenAI in the development of a film idea, contracts, or a script? And will it hinder artistic creativity if one must consider these ethical issues?
Samia Touileb is an associate professor in language technology at the Department of Information and Media Studies and holds a master’s degree in artificial intelligence and a doctorate in language technology. She has previously been a researcher at MediaFutures – UiB and a postdoctoral fellow at the Language Technology Group (LTG) at the Department of Informatics at the University of Oslo.
Her research interests include fairness and justice in language technology models, information extraction, automatic summarization generation, and the application of language technology and machine learning methods in social science research.
