By Elisa Lello and Niccolò Bertuzzi. Scientific knowledge and traditional epistemic authorities are the object of growing skepticism in Western societies. Scholars contextualized such a phenomenon into a wider coming to light of an anti-science or post-truth era, in a debate centred on the concepts of epistemic populism and, in particular, 'science-related populism '. Our study focused on popular dissent toward compulsory vaccination and pandemic management policies during the Covid-19 pandemic, a topic which is generally identified, and also by Mede and Schäfer’s work , as a crucial example of science-related populism. We focus on Italy, the first Western country to be hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and one that, according to the Oxford University Stringency Index, has taken particularly stringent measures to tackle the health crisis. Our work We started from a paradox that has been little studied. While the association of these protests with the right, even the extreme righ...
By Yuqi Zhu and Jianxun Chu. Image generated by DALL·E and author Have you ever found yourself saying (or at least trying to say) “thank you” to AI assistants, like ChatGPT? If so, have you ever been shocked and wondered why you feel the urge to do so for something that, technically speaking, is lifeless ? After all, there’s no essential difference between AI and other tools in life, like a car, a laptop, or a vacuum cleaner. Yet, that urge just came out of nowhere after receiving a genius answer from AI that fixed the bugs bothering you, or after hearing genuine words from AI when you needed someone to talk to. Is it a common thing, or just a weird act, and does it reflect something deeper? Based on our study recently published on Public Understanding of Science , you’re definitely not alone. Screenshot from Her (2013): a conversation between Theodore (protagonist) and Samantha (AI assistant) A public debate on gratitude toward AI Early in the rise of generative AI, ...