Olivier Driessens

@odriessens
210 Followers
216 Following
165 Posts
Media sociologist / Associate Prof
@uni_copenhagen
studying #Media_social_change #futures #DigitalTransformation
Orcidhttps://orcid.org/my-orcid?orcid=0000-0003-0933-419X
Olivier DriessensFeb 2, 2025
Frank PasqualeFeb 2, 2025
It’s “technology designed less to do every human thing for you than to replace all those human things with itself, and then sell that function back to you as a monthly subscription. This device will play with and talk to your child; this furry mouthless robot with enormous attentive eyes will replace your pet; your coffee is ready and your clothes for the day have been picked out for you.”
https://defector.com/the-future-is-too-easy
The Future Is Too Easy | Defector

LAS VEGAS — There is something unstable at the most basic level about any space with too much capitalism happening in it. The air is all wrong, there’s simultaneously too much in it and not enough of it. Everyone I spoke to about the Consumer Electronics Show before I went to it earlier this month…

Olivier DriessensFeb 2, 2025
Robert W. GehlFeb 1, 2025

Latest FOSS Academic: Introducing the Network of Alternative Social Media Researchers!

https://fossacademic.tech/2025/02/01/asmNet.html

This is a new hub for academic researchers who study alternative social media.

Pretty apropos for Global Switch Day!

#FOSSAcademic #AlternativeSocialMedia
#GlobalSwitchDay

Introducing: the Network of Alernative Social Media Researchers

For years, researching alternative social media has been a bit lonely. But not anymore! Over the past few months, I’ve been recruiting people to join an email list for academics who study alternative social media, broadly conceived. Every week or so, I’d send an update about the state of ASM, and folks would share articles they’ve written. It’s gone quite well, and now we’re going public with it!

FOSS Academic
Olivier DriessensFeb 2, 2025
Prof. Emily M. Bender(she/her)Feb 2, 2025

How about a little good news in this *gestures around*... you can now get ebooks via bookshop.org, including THE AI CON! (Available May 13, but you can pre-order now.)

https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-ai-con-how-to-fight-big-tech-s-hype-and-create-the-future-we-want-alex-hanna/22044744?ean=9780063418554&digital=t

w/ @alex

Olivier DriessensFeb 2, 2025
Michael VealeFeb 2, 2025
questionable infrastructure for technology of questionable application value made compatible with urgent environmental requirements by more unproven technology. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-ai-deepseek-chatgpt-john-kousinioris-1.7445782
Alberta's $100B AI data centre plan 'in no way' undermined by DeepSeek shakeup, province says | CBC News

Alberta’s ambitious plans to see $100 billion worth of artificial intelligence data centre infrastructure built in the province over the next five years are still on track despite a recent development that shocked technology shares earlier this week.

CBC
Olivier DriessensJan 16, 2025
Show threadPaul SchoeJan 16, 2025

That #Pixelfed is now in the Top 10 of most downloaded APPs in the USA, also means that we, as a Fediverse community, have to come together.

If you see a link somewhere, PLEASE support your PIXELFED server. Even when it is just with $2, $10 or $50.

Their operational costs are surely skyrocketing and we have to make sure that this does not become a Fediverse debacle but a Fediverse success story.

EDIT: I just received this link:
https://pixelfed.org/support-our-project

@jaredwhite
#Fediverse #TopApp #Support

Support Pixelfed

We're an open source project that is funded by people like you!

Pixelfed
Olivier DriessensDec 4, 2024
mr.w0bb1tDec 4, 2024

How much water does #AI consume? The public deserves to know · We should not let AI models guzzle our vital and finite water resources ..

👉🏻 https://oecd.ai/en/wonk/how-much-water-does-ai-consume

How much water does AI consume? The public deserves to know

Air pollution and carbon emissions are well-known environmental costs of AI. But water consumption is also an issue.

Olivier DriessensNov 13, 2024
Show threadEDRiNov 13, 2024

8/9 The biggest loser of the night was arguably the planet, with "clean & green" being the new buzzwords 🌎

The appetite for more data & more processing was clear, with markets put ahead of climate goals.

"Innovation" is built on the graveyard of climate justice 🪦

Olivier DriessensNov 13, 2024
EDRiNov 13, 2024
1/9 After 3+ hours of a fairly predictable hearing of future Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen yesterday, here are our key takeaways about implications for our #digital #HumanRights ... 🧵
Olivier DriessensNov 13, 2024
Michael FosterNov 13, 2024

Big news and a great step from The Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/nov/13/why-the-guardian-is-no-longer-posting-on-x

#press #journalism #X
#SocialMedia

Why the Guardian is no longer posting on X

We will stop posting from our official editorial accounts on the platform, but X users can still share our articles

The Guardian
Olivier DriessensNov 11, 2024
May Keable 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️Oct 27, 2024
I think that fact that we're using AI to write emails because we find it hard and AI to summarise emails because we can't be bothered to read them suggests that we should take a look at how we communicate rather than boiling the oceans to have LLMs hallucinate at each other on our behalf.