33. AI For Science Communication: Prof Mike S. Schäfer on AI's promises, pitfalls, and pink slime

View the full show notes, including a summary of practical tips on the Amplifying Research website: https://www.amplifyingresearch.com/podcast/33-mike-schafer

 

How is generative AI transforming the way research is communicated and understood by different audiences? Prof Mike S. Schäfer gives us a state of the union on the rapidly evolving world of AI and science communication.

Mike is a professor of science communication, the director of CHESS (Centre for Higher Education and Science Studies), and head of the Department of Communication and Media Research at the University of Zurich.

"In science communication, dialogue often, by many, is seen as the best way of doing science communication, but the challenge is having a dialogue with people who are not interested in science to begin with... It's difficult to scale up if you actually want to do face-to-face dialogue. And AI is great at that." -- Mike Schäfer

Whether you're a research leader looking to build your team's communication capacity or an individual researcher seeking to develop your skills, this episode offers practical advice on making training work for the long term.

 

Our conversation covers:

• How the general public is increasingly using tools like ChatGPT to get answers about science

• The characteristics of early AI adopters and concerns about digital divides in AI literacy

• How AI hallucinations and "pink slime" could impact scientific knowledge

• The ways that ChatGPT and other models conceptualise and communicate science

• Practical applications for researchers to experiment with AI in their communication efforts

• The future of AI in science communication and the importance of keeping "humans in the loop"

 

Find Mike online:

• LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikesschaefer

• CHESS — https://www.chess.uzh.ch/en.html