A symposium at Balliol college gathered insights from experts on AI’s role in news organisations and the implications of the technology for our information ecosystem — On the 25th of May 2023, a half-day symposium on the use of AI in news organisations took place within the serene setting of Balliol College, seeking to foster discussions between industry experts, academics, and students. Organized and moderated by Felix M. Simon of the Oxford Internet Institute, the eventfeatured…

Every year, it is time for my list of some of my favourite new Christmas albums as well as a couple of books I particularly enjoyed over the last year (see also the 2019, 2020 & 2021 editions). As usual, I did not get as much reading done as I…

Like every year, it is time for my list of some of my favourite new Christmas albums as well as a couple of books I read for pleasure and particularly enjoyed over the last year (see also the 2020 & 2019 edition). While I did not get as much reading…

Last year, I listed some of my favourite Christmas music and a re-cap of the books I particularly enjoyed. Well, here we go again. …

The Internet is often declared the sole cause of radicalisation and extremism. But there are many factors contributing to both — Is the Internet a radicalizing force? Does it lead to more politically motivated violence? These are questions that flare up again and again after terrorist attacks, especially when it is discovered that the perpetrator(s) have been very active online. …

Film companies are following Netflix by using big data to make big decisions — yet it could cut down on the risk-taking that makes classics — “Nobody knows anything,” wrote legendary Hollywood screenwriter William Goldman in 1983. “Not one person in the entire motion picture field knows for a certainty what’s going to work. Every time out it’s a guess and, if you’re lucky, an educated one.” Nearly 40 years later, Hollywood studios are still making…

A personal ‘Best of’ of festive music, scholarship and other readings — Over on Twitter, I created a little thread (in a bout of festive procrastination) of some of my favourite (academic) books of the year, spiced up with my best-loved jazzy interpretations of various Christmas songs. …

The Amazon, parts of Africa and the Arctic were recently burning. Indonesia is planning to relocate its capital because Jakarta is slowly going under. No matter where you look, the signs of the climate crisis are for everyone to see. …

How Instagram is changing political communication — and what that might mean for democracy as we know it. — Livestreams, sticker and Elizabeth Warren drinking beer in her kitchen: Instagram is the latest fad among social media-savvy politicians. But why is the political world suddenly crazy about using the platform — and what consequences does this have for political communication as we know it? “There is no secret recipe…