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.
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
Sena and I produced a piece we had worked on before into publishable material. It portrays AI in newsrooms just before the rise of Generative AI. You can read the pre-print version here. Here is the abstract for Azimli, S. O., & Saka, E. (2024). Automated Journalism in Turkish Media Before the Rise of Generative … Read more
I have been honored to be a member of the EASA Media Anthropology Network from the outset. Our mailing list has hosted tens of e-seminars throughout the last 20 years. Currently, network members discuss the 20 years, and here is my contribution: On the 20th anniversary of Media Anthropology Network I was a graduate … Read more
It is in Turkish but here is a long summary in English: Short Summary for Where Is Artificial Intelligence Going? by Merlin The Future of Artificial Intelligence: Insights from Erkan Saka, Bilgi University Professor, on Artificial Intelligence Advancements 00:05 How Artificial Intelligence is impacting recruitment 01:44 AI limited in managing human emotions and human resources … Read more
I was invited to a talk at Fatih Municipality: Prof. Dr. Erkan Saka talked about the transformative effect of artificial intelligence technologies on individuals and the importance of artificial intelligence literacy in the “Artificial Intelligence Talks” program held at Neslişah Sultan Cultural Center. link I commented on “social media addiction” and proposed media literacy, etc … Read more
Today, I had the privilege of speaking at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation’s (FNF) Capacity Building Program in beautiful Bodrum, Turkey. The program, titled “Strengthening and Innovating the Future of Civil Society in an Evolving World,” brought together civil society leaders, academics, and innovators to explore how we can adapt and thrive in our rapidly changing … Read more
After a productive and collegial workshop environment and a few trips, I am back, and the classes for the new semester started yesterday. Let me here point out a few places we visited. I am glad I could unpin a few places I saved in my Google Maps lists. Hill of Crosses is majestic. I … Read more
I arrived in Vilnius yesterday to attend a workshop for the COST GRADE project. A little walking around led me to Level 9 on Google Maps. It’s a pretty city. I could not make it, but there are many walking tours. I recommend. I saw many groups walking around. And now the workshop starts. I am in … Read more
I was honored to be part of the opening speeches at Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2024. The meeting started today. Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2024 (#WMCEE) is an annual conference centered on Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia and other related projects) in countries of Central and Eastern Europe (more recently, also in Central Asia). It features presentations on Wikimedia projects, other wikis, … Read more
Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center organized another regional workshop, and I was happy to participate. I talked about elections and AI interferences. My main point is that concerns over AI interference are overblown at the moment, but there is a potential for growing interference in the future. The program included many experts and decision-makers in the … Read more
This is a short statement to TV100 TV channel. I have used ElevenLabs to dub it. I did not like the accent there but I was lazy to choose among the voices. ElevenLabs along with a few competing pioneers is in my recommended list for AI supported audio creation, dubbing etc.
I received an announcement of a book in which I was also cited. Simona Levi et al. Fake You – An Activist’s Guide to Defeating Disinformation Don’t blame the people; don’t blame the Internet; blame the power Governments, political parties, mass media, large corporations and fortunes: the monopolies of information manipulation and the threats to freedom … Read more
We had a productive roundtable on AI with a full house. It was one of the few panels/roundtables on AI, and although most anthropologists keep their distance from emerging technologies, we might have had a good reception (I was told the STS conference in Amsterdam just before the EASA would satisfy me with lots of … Read more