I was in İzmir today and will fly back to İstanbul in an hour. -in fact, I already flew- It was an opportunity to think about AI-powered smart city cases and data politics in general. In the end, I summarize my presentation. İzmir Planning Office (an entity officially affiliated with İzmir municipality) organized the event. … Read more
We have just returned from our Kars trip. Besides meeting very nice, hospitable people and visiting historical sites, I realize that Kars may rival Gaziantep. Many friends fly to Gaziantep for a weekend food fest, but why not spend some time in Kars? My top four were: Sarı Balık The Yellow Carp, also known as … Read more
Understanding the Information Environment: Insights from the Majority World Researchers around the world address shortcomings and provide recommendations on Global North approaches to research and policymaking. by Samantha Lai Published on December 12, 2024 Global North actors often research and shape the information ecosystems of the Majority World1—for example, by studying influence operations that target Majority … Read more
We, Sinem and I, have decided to celebrate the second anniversary of our marriage in Kars. Kars sounds magical, especially in winter. I have had my eyes on Kars since reading Orhan Pamuk’s Snow, which takes place in Kars. So far, Kars did not disappoint us at all, even though there is no snow! We … Read more
On Monday, Sinem and I attended the opening panel and workshop TÜRKİYE INTERNATIONAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FILM FESTIVAL that continues at İstanbul Gelişim University. As a duo, we discussed AI’s transformative role in media and then started a workshop on basic AI tools. I was honored to be part of this event, and special thanks go … Read more
While the house of Asad collapsed, I may have had the busiest week. This semester, I have two undergraduate courses and, some weeks, a doctoral seminar on Mondays. After a busy day and an online interview on AI and society, I was ready for the Tuesday event. German, Dutch, and Swedish consulates celebrate Human Rights … Read more
Visiting fellows lists at CAS can be found here. I will visit Munich as a fellow in January 2025, and Sinem will accompany me. Our Research group led by Prof. Udupa: Below the Radar? Messaging Apps, Encryption and the Enticement of Extreme Speech Online extreme speech and disinformation have emerged as a major problem for … Read more
Just finished watching Quo Vadis, Aida?. A heart-wrenching story: Aida is a translator for the UN in the small town of Srebrenica. When the Serbian army takes over the town, her family is among the thousands of citizens looking for shelter in the UN camp. A film, once again, reminding the complicity of international organizations … Read more
The video is in Turkish, but here are key timestamps linked to significant moments in the video: 00:00:01 – Introduction to Esat Kocadağ and the Origin of Espressolab 00:00:32 – Esat’s Early Journey and Connection to Coffee 00:01:35 – Opening the First Espressolab Store 00:04:30 – Transition from Hobby to Business Expansion 00:06:20 – International … Read more
It is a pity that Mastodon is not mentioned at all during the current hype for Bluesky. After the last American election, Bluesky has a real chance of taking off. I have created a list of Fact-Checkers and Global Voices Community members who are moving to Bluesky en masse. Turkish users seem to prefer Bluesky … Read more
Along with John Postill and Katrien Pype, I have become a convenor at the EASA Media Anthropology Network. Let’s see how it goes. I meant to contribute more for the next term, but John invited me in formally, and here I am.
This is a video in Turkish, but thanks to AI, you can easily get the transcription! I was busy with other projects and could not focus on SosyalKafa. But here comes a majestic return (!). Here are the key timestamps from the video “M. Remzi Sanverle Masonluk Hakkında Her Şey”: Introduction and importance of the … Read more
The title is to get your attention; it took more than a day:) I could not figure out why and tried to fix it, but one day, I was signed off from my Google account. For many days, I had to log in every time I used Google services and all other services, such as … Read more
I want to tell you about a situation that frustrated me. Recently, at a jury meeting, I came across a well-known, well-connected, and rich communicator in the telecommunications industry. When 5G was mentioned, he said something like this. “I was at a huge 5G summit abroad at the beginning of the pandemic. I hung out … Read more
I will be in Munich for a month in January 2024 to be part of this project: Below the Radar? Messaging Apps, Encryption and the Enticement of Extreme Speech The new CAS Research Group led by communication scientist Sahana Udupa Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München started yesterday. Online extreme speech and disinformation have emerged as a major problem … Read more