The Long May: Fourth Stop, Vienna

I am just back from a two-day workshop in Vienna. I am intellectually energized, as these small-scale workshops are the most productive academic sessions. It was an official meeting of the EASA Media Anthropology Network. It was great to catch up with some of the members I already knew and meet new academics. You can … Read more

How AI Reshapes Our Access to Knowledge: Notes from My İstanbul Aydın University Talk

I was invited to a talk at İstanbul Aydın University’s event last week. That allowed me to list AI’s role in accessing information. I have formatted my speech notes into content for this blog. Contemporary knowledge landscapes are increasingly characterized by overwhelming information density, posing significant challenges to human cognitive capacities. Artificial intelligence systems now … Read more

The Long May Continues: Third Stop, Trabzon

We stopped by Trabzon University as part of the EU delegation disinformation project. I have a Trabzonspor jersey! Prof. Mehmet Emir Yıldız (L) honored me by saying that he had actually read my writings when he was writing his dissertation. The weather was fantastic. I had a late-night stroll at the main square. It was … Read more

The Long May Continues: Second Stop, Ankara

Our second stop on my May schedule was a workshop in Ankara. A group of NGO activists and some technicians met to brainstorm about using technology in civil society. It was organized by a collective.   Sinem and I were so tired that we could not visit any particular places, but could only meet a … Read more

A Long May Begins: First Stop, Diyarbakır

May 2025 will be full of traveling, both domestic and international. After Yozgat, my next stop was Diyarbakır (Dicle University) as part of the EU delegation seminars on disinformation. In fact, this was two days ago, but for the sake of narrative (!) I added the Diyarbakır trip to the long May (I am writing … Read more

Unboxing IV: Fragments of Memory – From a 1988 Fanzine to Some Other Pieces of a Life

With an increasingly busy schedule (May will be overwhelming) and CIV 7 playing, I could not find much time to unbox for a while. There is also the problem of storage. Where will I put the boxes? I am redesigning my office space and also our apartment. In the meantime, here are some findings: 1988 … Read more

A summary of my interview at NTV: “How to Prevent Information Pollution About Artificial Intelligence?”

How to Prevent Information Pollution About Artificial Intelligence? – Digital Brain, April 17, 2025 Time Interval: 00:00:00 – 00:26:28 Summary 🧠 What Is AI Literacy and Why It Matters The interview explores the growing importance of AI literacy, emphasizing that with the proliferation of AI applications, societies need to understand, use, and manage these tools … Read more

My birthday presentation on Generative AI and Disinformation (!)

It was my birthday yesterday, and I am 49 now. As my close friends know, I prefer my routine life. I am a bit stressed with non-routine days, and accordingly, I am not excited to celebrate my birthday at all. Still, it is good to be beloved, and I know that I have my people … Read more

In Wroclaw, for a COST meeting

As Türkiye is embroiled in boycotts and other political clashes, I am spending a few days in Wroclaw, Poland, for a COST meeting. I recently joined this project and find it relevant to my research agenda. The RELINK2 Action will intensify existing networking efforts of scholars from different disciplinary backgrounds and countries in the EU … Read more

TikTok, Pikachu, and Pots & Pans: Inside Turkey’s 2025 Pre-Eid Youth-Led Protest Movement After İmamoğlu’s Arrest

As we are in the middle of the long Eid break, let me list what I have observed during the protests. In the meantime, 301 student demonstrators are still imprisoned, and there is a massive one-day economic boycott against (2 April) of all kinds of shopping.   Despite mainstream media censorship, the protests could be … Read more

I am quoted in this article: “Integrating GenAI into communication education for ‘generation prompt’: an exploration of academics’ perspectives …in Turkiye”

Dear Bilge and her colleagues interviewed me, among other experts and academics, for the article: Şenyüz, B., Özgen, E., & Oğuzcan, A. U. (2025). Integrating GenAI into communication education for ‘generation prompt’: an exploration of academics’ perspectives on its benefits, challenges, and future prospects in Turkiye. Encontros Bibli: revista eletrônica de biblioteconomia e ciência da … Read more

Unboxing- The email message that had informed me about my admission to Rice Anthro…

19 February 2001 Among myriad tasks and projects, I continue unboxing my personal history. Here is the print of the email from Prof. George Marcus. He announced my acceptance to the Rice Anthropology PhD program. I remember that day vividly. I got the message while working as a TA at the Bilgi Media Department. It … Read more

Newly released: Open educational materials for “Sustainability, circular economy, and creative computing”

I was also part of the preparation. Introduction Why did we create this material? Currently, there is an increasing concern about sustainability and robustness of complex infrastructures upon which many of our day-to-day activities depend. In the European Union, the term circular economy is a well-established element of the European Green Deal, describing a transformation … Read more

Unboxing/Unpacking a personal history

I am feeling strong doses of nostalgia after taking my personal belongings from my parents’ storage place. Like many families in İstanbul, my parents finally decided to move away from their apartments because of the expected major earthquake. Istanbul is in a frenzy of urban renewal, and the building they lived in for 45 years … Read more

I am very pleased to announce my edited volume: “Understanding Generative AI in a Cultural Context”

This begins a series of edited volumes with my doctoral students and a wider community of scholars I work with. We are already working on a new title, but this is the first cherished one! I have uploaded the preface and extended content to Academia.edu. The official site here, I case you would like to … Read more