interview

Virtual and augmented reality in education: huge benefits, but also ethical concerns
Over the last decade, people have been suggesting that digital immersive technologies (DITs) such as virtual reality and augmented reality could supplement - or even replace - a variety of education activities of schools and universities. These technologies can create lifelike virtual environments for the students. What are the opportunities, but also: what are the ...

Henry Ajder on generative AI: ‘We need a balance between excitement and supervision’
Henry Ajder is a renowned expert on generative artificial intelligence (AI) and deepfakes. He advises companies and governments including Adobe, Meta and the European Commission on the impact of AI on business and society. Ajder also hosted "The Future Will Be Synthesised", a BBC radio series on deepfakes and synthetic media. A German photographer has ...

Interview with Prof. Stuart Haszeldine on increasing carbon storage capacity
"50 Million tonnes of carbon storage capacity is welcome but it needs to be double that - we're already 50 years late on a 50 year problem", says Stuart Haszeldine, Scottish Carbon Capture and Storage Director and Professor of Carbon Capture and Storage at the University of Edinburgh (UK). Professor Haszeldine has over 35 years’ ...

‘Heavy red meat eaters could be CO2-taxed in the future’
"However, we also propose that fruit and vegetables should become more affordable." Interview with Eric Lambin, Chief Scientific Advisor to the European Commission, about the scientific consensus towards sustainable food consumption in the EU and the new scientific opinion on this topic. If you rate the nutritional quality and the state of sustainable food systems ...

The use of non-invasive brain stimulation for mental health and more: ethics and EU regulation
As part of an international research consortium (the EU-funded STIMCODE project), senior researcher Dr Moritz Julian Maier and his team have just developed recommendations on EU regulation and a code of conduct regarding non-invasive brain stimulation techniques: electrically or electromagnetically stimulating parts of the brain. Much needed, because such techniques are being used more and ...

Prof. Mike S. Schäfer on ChatGPT and other generative AI tools: ‘A gamechanger for science communication’
Mike S. Schäfer, Professor of Science Communication at the University of Zürich (Switzerland), has been investigating communication and artificial intelligence (AI) for several years. He is currently focussing on how the development of the technology and its impact on society are envisioned in public debates in China, the US and Germany. He has recently published ...

Tackling rare diseases together: Prof. Kjeld Schmiegelow proposes more collaboration and EU expert hubs
"Multinational rare disease expert hubs would speed up research, innovation and development", says Kjeld Schmiegelow, Professor of paediatrics and paediatric oncology at the Copenhagen University Hospital (Denmark). Together with his colleagues, he proposes an EU level framework for data sharing and scientific collaboration to tackle rare diseases. Prof. Schmiegelow will be one of the speakers of ...

Interview with researcher Felix Irmer on data journalism, society and distrust
"Data journalism, journalism informed by quantitative evidence, is an expanding field", says researcher Felix Irmer, of the Institute of Communication and Media Studies, Leipzig University (Germany). He was one of the speakers at the European Science-Media Hub Summer School from 6-10 June 2023. Data journalism can "transform large amounts of data and information into digestible ...