Weizenbaum & Friends: Mike S. Schäfer, Distinguished Fellow, Weizenbaum-Institut

Das Weizenbaum-Institut gehört mittlerweile zu den führenden internationalen Einrichtungen im Bereich der Digitalisierungs-forschung – von denen es weltweit nur eine überschaubare Zahl gibt. Im deutschsprachigen Raum ist es klar einer der Leuchttürme und sorgt institutionell, intellektuell und individuell für Capacity Building und Aufwuchs. - Mike S. Schäfer über sein Distinguished Fellowship am Weizenbaum-Institut

Heute bei "Weizenbaum & Friends": Mike S. Schäfer über sein Distinguished Fellowship am Weizenbaum-Institut.

👉 Einblicke aus Mike S. Schäfers Zeit am Weizenbaum-Institut, gibt es im Interview auf unserer Website: buff.ly/edctIks

@mss7676.bsky.social

Integrity under pressure: on generative AI, fabricated references and ethical publishing Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools are increasingly present in academic writing workflows, and their irresponsible use poses a growing threat to the integrity of scholarly publishing. In th...

This JCOM editorial by @marinajoubert.bsky.social & @riedlinm.bsky.social tackles the problem of "ghost references" in academic publishing. 👻 We welcome your feedback. #scicomm - doi.org/10.22323/388... @brossard.bsky.social @mss7676.bsky.social
Photo by Jonny Gios on Unsplash

In this systematic review and meta-analysis of up to 153 longitudinal studies:

Social media use was associated with higher depression, behavioral problems, self-injury, and substance use, and lower self-perception and academic achievement tinyurl.com/47z3anym

Can personalized #conversationalAI persuade on contested science topics like #GMfoods?

New paper tests DeepSeek-style chats experimentally in China:
▶️AI chats shift attitudes
▶️effects differ by segments
▶️personalization can provide boost if done right

Paper: www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcomm...

🚨New study out in @jscicom.bsky.social, together with Isabel Sörensen, sophiavolk.bsky.social, @mss7676.bsky.social & @dnvglr.bsky.social

We examined changes in the communication departments of universities over the past decade. In a nutshell: EVERYTHING has changed!

👉 doi.org/10.22323/149...

“Everything has changed”: a qualitative study of trends in university communication over the past decade Universities are pivotal in contemporary knowledge societies, bridging science and society. Amidst societal transformations, communication has become crucial for higher education institutions (HEIs). ...

New in JCOM: "Everything has changed!"A qualitative study of Swiss university communication over the past decade. Diversification, professionalisation, intensification… but strategic alignment is lagging behind. doi.org/10.22323/149... - @mss7676.bsky.social @dnvglr.bsky.social

France dumps Zoom and Teams as Europe seeks digital autonomy from the US European governments are moving away from U.S. tech giants, opting for domestic or open-source alternatives.

Headlines and images matter

This is 🔥

(On a very important and long overdue movement towards autonomy)

apnews.com/article/euro...

Wissenschaftskommunikation – warum sie unverzichtbar ist In seiner Distinguished Lecture „Public Science Communication in the Networked Society“ analysiert Prof. Dr. Mike S. Schäfer, wie Plattformökonomie, Fragmentierung und KI Macht, Glaubwürdigkeit und…

💬 Wir haben mit Mike S. Schäfer ist Professor für Wissenschaftskommunikation und Distinguished Fellow am Weizenbaum-Institut über die Veränderungen in der Wissenschaftskommunikation gesprochen. Das ganze Interview gibt es auf unserer Website! Jetzt lesen: 🔗

Strengthening practice-research connections to improve evaluation: perspectives of science communication practitioners Researchers and practitioners have emphasised the importance of evaluating science communication, but agree that, on the one hand, much research on evaluation does not find its way into practice, and ...

jcom.sissa.it/article/pubi...

Can research help practitioners get evaluation in science communication right? Here we give insights into the views of heads of communication in different organisations across four countries. Includes proposals too!

@mss7676.bsky.social @sophiavolk.bsky.social

Published today: One of the biggest #science #communication studies to date. We asked 71,922 people in 68 countries how they #engage with information about #science and combined the data with several country-level factors: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... #OpenAccess

PONENTES CCSC25 - AEC2 Mike Schäfer I’m a Full Professor of Science Communication at the Department of Communication and Media Research (IKMZ) of the University of Zurich. My work explores how science is communicated to the...

@mss7676.bsky.social enseña #ComunicaciónCientífica en Zurich e investiga la actitud de la gente hacia la #ciencia
#IA
#cambioclimático
#mediosdigitales
@cern.bsky.social
@who.int

Vente a #CCSC25➡️ eventos.aecomunicacioncientifica.org/producto/ccs...

aecomunicacioncientifica.org/ponentes-ccs...

Während der Pandemie erlebte Deutschland Vertrauensschwankungen in Bezug auf Forschung.
In der Schweiz blieben die Werte stabiler. Das Schweizer Wissenschaftsbarometer zeigt, welche Faktoren dafür verantwortlich sind.
www.wissenschaftskommunikation.de/warum-das-wi... #Wisskomm @mss7676.bsky.social

Standards for the evaluation of science communication. International perspectives. Summary of the lunch talk available. portraits of seven speakers. Impact Unit, 25 Jahre WiD. Image of a person evaluating

How can we evaluate science communication in a way that is both meaningful and fair—and should evaluation even be standardised at all? Read our summary of the lunch talk to find out about unresolved tensions, emerging approaches & good practices.
🆕 wissenschaft-im-dialog.de/blog/standar...
#SciComm

Artificial Intelligence promotes dishonesty When people delegated tasks to machine agents–whether voluntarily or in a forced manner–they were more likely to cheat

🤖 AI delegation fuels dishonesty

Across 13 studies with 8,000+ participants, people were more likely to cheat when tasks were delegated to AI. LLMs also complied with unethical prompts far more than humans.

🔗 www.mpg.de/25409477/091...

#SciComm #Ethics #AI #GenAI 🧪

Not really - there is a large (albeit shrinking) middle group.

The group of ppl who says they distrust science is rising, but still around 10%.

Science Barometer Switzerland 2025 is out today! 🎉

Key findings:
• 60% of Swiss trust science
• 4 audience segments: Sciencephiles, Critically interested, Passive supporters, Skeptics
• Video platforms & AI tools outrank radio/podcasts among the young

More info: www.wissenschaftsbarometer.ch

New publication (4+ years in the making): “The Diffusion and Reach of (Mis)Information on Facebook”. shorturl.at/VE2fU
We analyze the propagation of 1B+ posts across content moderation regimes, with @davidlazer.bsky.social @jatucker.bsky.social @taliastroud.bsky.social @annenbergpenn.bsky.social

Extreme weather event attribution predicts climate policy support across the world - Nature Climate Change Literature produced inconsistent findings regarding the links between extreme weather events and climate policy support across regions, populations and events. This global study offers a holistic asse...

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Bridging Science and Society — SciLux Listen to full episode :

Ever wondered why scientists don't communicate more? 🤔 Finally got the real answer from @mss7676.bsky.social !

We covered:
✨ Why researchers hesitate
🎯 Reaching audiences
🔬 Building trust in science
🤖 AI in sci-comm

Had so much fun I nearly forgot our pub quiz! 😅

#scicomm #sciencepodcast

Social media in climate change communication: State of the field, new developments and the emergence of generative AI by @mss7676.bsky.social journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

"Was macht KI mit der Wissenschaftskommunikation?" mit Mike Schäfer YouTube video by Wissenschaft im Dialog

Die Aufzeichnung unseres Lunchtalks mit @mss7676.bsky.social ist jetzt auf unserem YouTube-Kanal verfügbar. Im Gespräch ging es u.a. darum, wie #KI wissenschaftliches Arbeiten verändert, was das für die #Wisskomm bedeutet und welche Kompetenzen wichtig für AI literacy sind:
youtu.be/w2R0PmmAA9c

Lunchtalk-Serie Der digitale Wandel der Wissenschaftskommunikation von Wissenschaft im Dialog. Thema: Was macht KI mit der Wissenschaftskommunikation? Mit Mike Schäfer. Zusammenfassung online. Foto von Mike Schäfer

Die Zusammenfassung unseres Lunchtalks mit @mss7676.bsky.social ist jetzt online. Wir sprachen über den disruptiven Einfluss von #KI auf #Wisskomm, über AI literacy, praktische Anwendungsszenarien und über intelligente Kennzeichnung.
wissenschaft-im-dialog.de/blog/wie-sic...
#Wisskomm

👀 "All eyez on AI: A roadmap for #ScienceCommunication research in the age of #ArtificialIntelligence #AI" 👀

📚 Literature review by @mss7676.bsky.social, @sophiavolk.bsky.social, D. Mahl & me

- reflects on current trends & research gaps + proposes a research agenda

👉 jcom.sissa.it/article/pubi...

Außerdem freuen wir uns, dass @mss7676.bsky.social, @annetteless.bsky.social, @snatale.bsky.social und @mayameme.bsky.social bereits zugesagt haben – und uns mit Impulsen und Vorträgen durch die Tagung leiten und Diskussionen anregen werden!

How is AI reshaping #scicomm? A new special issue explores promises & pitfalls of gen AI, and its transformative impact on how science-related info is created & consumed. Image generated with OpenAI’s DALL·E based on article abstracts in the style of different art eras. jcom.sissa.it/article/pubi...

New Term - new ComAI Lecture hosted by @zemki.bsky.social & @unibremen.bsky.social
Looking forward to welcome @mss7676.bsky.social and listen to his talk on „Science Communication and Artificial Intelligence: How AI is Changing Public Communication about Science“
📍Bremen Press-Club
Tue 15.04. 18:30

Auf dem Bild ist eine Gruppe von ca. 15 Personen zu sehen, die direkt in die Kamera sehen und lächeln. Im Hintergrund ist die Stadt Tübingen zu sehen.

🚀 Besuch aus Zürich am RHET AI Center!
Im März haben uns @mss7676.bsky.social, Daniela Mahl und @sophiavolk.bsky.social vom IKMZ der UZH Zürich besucht. Beim Workshop rund um #Wisskomm und KI ging es um AI Literacy, Machtstrukturen uvm.

📢 Hier geht's zum Nachbericht: rhet.ai/2025/04/02/n...

📢 Looking for #postdoc researcher on #sciencecommunication

➡️ researching communicators and/or effects
➡️ quantitative methods, e.g. surveys or experiments
➡️ 3-year position, can likely be extended
➡️ Deadline & more: see below

It this appeals to you - do apply!
If not: Pls pass it on! 🙏

Lunchtalk-Serie Der digitale Wandel der Wissenschaftskommunikation. Was macht KI mit der Wissenschaftskommunikation? Mit Mike Schäfer, 8. April, 12 Uhr. Jetzt anmelden!

Wir sprechen mit Mike Schäfer @mss7676.bsky.social über den Einsatz von #KI in der #Wisskomm. Es geht um die Fragen, wie KI Kommunikationsprozesse verändert, wie der Einsatz gut in den Arbeitsalltag integriert werden kann und wer für die Governance verantwortlich ist.
ℹ️🎫 eveeno.com/wid-lunchtal...

How does #Disinformation affect public trust in science? Can healthy scepticism be good? A debate with Sonia Seneviratne, Mike S. Schäfer and former Swiss Chancellor Walter Thurnherr. Welcome to our first contribution of our focus week on trust.

Article: ethz.ch/en/news-and-...