Here's some of my thoughts on the new Radboud "Strategy & Ambitions". A university's strategy MUST be determined by, and widely supported by, students, professors and other employees. Our key value used to be "sustainability": You have a part to play! Sure, advertisement bureaus were paid, cringe movies were filmed, social media campaigns were launched, but at least sustainability was something we all can support.
https://www.ru.nl/en/you-have-a-part-to-play🧵 1/7
You have a part to play. | Radboud University
With You have a part to play, Radboud University drew attention to sustainability. Read about this campaign and contribute to a more sustainable world.
That changed! Our key value sustainability is now "sustainability and AI". The strategy repeats the narrative from Big Tech. AI is "developing rapidly and penetrating more and more areas of society and science", "AI directly impacts our region and society", and AI "can help us make our processes more efficient and enhance the quality of our services".
https://www.ru.nl/en/about-us/mission-and-strategy/strategy-and-ambitions/sustainability-and-ai🧵 2/7
Sustainability and AI are and will remain important topics | Radboud University
AI and sustainability are and will remain important topics for us as a university.
This narrative, "AI changes everything", is problematic. It's the narrative put forward by OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, Google, and let's be clear why: If you invest trillions in new technology without any clear return, of course, you would have to claim that it changes everything. In reality however, more than a trillion Euro is invested in autonomous agentic chatbots that are correct slightly more often, and that do no longer persuade people to commit suicide.
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Djoerd Hiemstra 🍉
Bo Tally