This article explores the evolving phenomenon of science communication in social media and the norms and values that shape these online spaces. We interviewed science communicators on TikTok, one of the most popular social media platforms globally, about using generative AI to produce science-related social media content.
As generative AI applications in science proliferate they prompt a self-reflection on work routines in scientific knowledge production. At the same time, scientific institutions, publishing bodies, and funding agencies are confronted with both regulatory challenges and the task of promoting the use of generative AI in line with good scientific practice.
In this opinion piece Isabella Hermann reflects on AI and how the general perception of it is shaped by pop-culturel archetypes, represented for example in movies.
In this short analysis, Sami Nenno takes a closer look at the content of fact-checks and misinformation in Germany.
In this interview Theresa Züger gives exciting insights about the risks and opportunities AI bears for research work and talked about tools her team is developing.
Introduction In this blog post I dive into the integration of TikTok as a methodological tool for doing ethnographic research on social media influencers.
The expectation to communicate In 2019, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research called for a cultural shift toward communicating science (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, 2019). The former Federal Minister of Education and Research, Anja Karliczek, urged scientists to communicate their research continuously and classified communication as a central task for universities and research organizations (Karliczek, 2020).
What actually happens to science when it opens up? From your perspective as a science researcher, can you describe why this perspective is important? I believe that science takes place in a social environment and certain images of science emerge or have emerged, which are questioned in many respects in a digital and now increasingly open context or are subject to tensions.
Science communication is often considered equal with public relations or media coverage. However, the phenomenon is significantly more complex, and its most important aspects are not given enough attention. For instance, science includes how science can not only communicate but also interact with societal groups, and the potential impacts this can have on the perception of research in the public eye.
Niels Mede on how the rise of populist politics affects academic work, science communication practices of scholars engaging in public discourse and ways to address these challenges.
