Communication Culture and Society

LEADERSHIP MAGAZINE 2023

COMMUNICATION Culture and Society

2023 BI Norwegian Business School

Illustration made by Adobe Firefly

Steering clear of our worst AI nightmares New ethical challenges for PR professionals s 16

Hvordan lede flerspråklige organisasjoner? s. 22

AI in arts – opportunity or threat? s. 36

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COMMUNICATION, CULTURE AND SOCIETY 2023

Professional enrichment for communicators Welcome to the latest issue of ”Communication, Culture and Society” – your gateway to the ever-evolving world of communication, culture, and ethics.

The magazine is produced by The Department of Communication and Culture at BI Norwegian Business School. In this edition, we embark on a journey through a diverse spectrum of thought-provoking topics. We explore the boundaries of human intelligence versus artificial intelligence in education, unlock the keys to creativity and innovation in creative industries, ponder the ethical implications of home surveillance technology, and delve into the evolving ethical challenges for PR professionals. We examine the potential perils and ethical considerations surrounding artificial intelligence, while sharing an

In 2014, the Institute for Communication and Culture and its Center for Corporate Communication launched the first version of its flagship magazine titled Communication for Leaders.

This 2023 edition represents a re-launch with a new name but still offering latest insights into the multitude of topics representing research and practice within the fields of communication and the arts and their important role within not only organizations but society.

The nearly 10 years since the first edition of this magazine have seen remarkable and often despairing change. These include changes in society from the impact of Covid-19; constant technological changes; changes in employee attitudes and loyalty; changes in demands for environmental solutions, equity, and diversity; and changes in world order from war and disinformation, just to name a few. These changes present major challenges to leaders in or-

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inspiring story of societal change brought about by an individual’s actions. We also dive into the intricate intersection of AI and the arts. In addition, we explore the importance of self-awareness in multicultural leadership, tackle questions of identity in multicultural societies, analyse communication trends, discuss effective leadership in multilingual organizations, offer insights into crafting and delivering compelling pitches, and explore unconventional but effective forms of communication that challenge traditional norms. ”Communication, Culture and Society” is your companion for exploring the intricate web of human interaction, technology, and innovation. Join us as we navigate these compelling discussions and discover new perspectives that will shape the way we connect and communicate in the 21st century.

Sut I Wong Professor in Communication and Management Head of Department of Communication and Culture

ganizations in the private and public sectors and in governments when it comes to communication. And these communication challenges can have significant impact on a leader’s ability to lead and to succeed.

Addressing these challenges requires a combination of effective communication skills, adaptability, empathy, and a deep understanding of the specific context in which a leader operates.

Leaders who can navigate these challenges successfully are better equipped to inspire and lead their teams toward shared goals. It is the aim of our team of researchers and scientists to support leaders in addressing these challenges through the insights provided here and in future editions.

Peggy Simcic Brønn Professor Emerita Department of Communication and Culture Founder of Center for Corporate Communication and the department magazine ‘Communication for Leaders’

COMMUNICATION, CULTURE AND SOCIETY 2023

Table of contents: SOCIETY AND CULTURE Hva er nøkkelen til mer innovasjon i kreativ næring?__________________________ 4 In Conversation with Morten Huse: Getting Everyone on Board_________________ 6 Når blir egentlig barn av innvandreforeldre norske nok?______________________ 10 How to pitch and make it stick__________________________________________12

COMMUNICATION PROFESSIONALS When noise is a good source of communication____________________________14 New ethical challenges for PR professionals________________________________16 Communication managers, here’s a tool worth your time_____________________18 15 years of strategic communication research: New report highlights the road ahead for communication professionals_________ 20

CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE Hvordan lede flerspråklige organisasjoner?________________________________ 22 How the office estranged and empowered queer women ____________________ 24 Ledelse av mangfold krever stor selvinnsikt________________________________ 26

TECHNOLOGY AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE How will artificial intelligence affect our work life? __________________________ 28 Er bachelorstudenter klokere enn ChatGPT?______________________________ 30 Steering clear of our worst artificial intelligence nightmares___________________ 32 Betaler du for å bli overvåket i din egen stue_______________________________ 34 AI in arts - opportunity or threat?_______________________________________ 36

NEWS FROM THE DEPARTMENT Knowledge provider in communication and culture ________________________ 38

Communication, Culture and Society is published by the Department of Communication and Culture at BI Norwegian Business School.

Editor: Mari Westrheim, Department of Corporate Communication and Outreach at BI Norwegian Business School.

Email: mari.westrheim@bi.no, Phone: +47 952 85 220.

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COMMUNICATION, CULTURE AND SOCIETY 2023

Hva er nøkkelen til mer innovasjon i kreativ næring?

Mer samlokalisering og samskaping innenfor kreativ næring bidrar til mer innovasjon og økt verdiskapning for sektoren.

Næringsklynger er samlinger av organisasjoner og bedrifter fra samme bransje eller næring.

Innenfor kreativ næring kan en slik klynge bestå av alt fra kunstnere, produsenter og designere til eventselskap og teknologibedrifter. Dette er perfekte forhold for synergi, altså at man får til mer sammen enn man ville fått til hver for seg.

MULIGHETER FOR KREATIV NÆRING Bakgrunnen for dette er at samlokalisering fremmer innovasjon og utvikling. Forskning viser at selskaper i næringsklynger skaper mer verdi, de vokser mer og er mer innovative. Disse prinsip-

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pene gjelder også for virksomheter innen kreativ næring.

Hvert år arrangerer BI Centre for Creative Industries konferansen Creative Industries Innovation Days. Årets konferanse hadde nettopp samlokalisering, samskaping og klyngedannelse som tema.

- Det er mindre strategiske klyngedannelser i kreativ næring enn i andre næringer, men det finnes en tett nettverksstruktur i næringen som i større grad bør utnyttes til samlokalisering, samarbeid og samskaping. Dette bør også skje på tvers av bransjer, så man kan utnytte hverandres res-

MAIKEN BERGHEIM Vitenskapelig assistent Institutt for kommunikasjon og kultur ANNE-BRITT GRAN Professor Handelshøyskolen BI

surser og kompetanser, sier leder for senteret og konferansier for konferansen, Anne-Britt Gran.

Hvordan kan slik samlokalisering se ut?

En av de største fordelene med å samle bedrifter og organisasjoner under samme tak er at man da kan dra nytte av hverandres ekspertise og nettverk. Når ulike perspektiver, ferdigheter og ressurser kombineres, blir mulighetsrommet stort.

De siste årene har det dukket opp flere såkalte coworking spaces, hvor ulike virksomheter sitter i samme kontorfellesskap. Et eksempel på dette er 657 Oslo, som er Norges største coworking space innen kreativ teknologi. Medlemmene der består av frilansere, entreprenører, selskaper og startups som alle jobber innenfor kreativ næring.

Dette kan medlemmene hos 657 Oslo vitne om. Under Creative Industries Innovation Days 2023 kunne flere fortelle at nettverket hadde ført til både nye oppdrag og flere samarbeidspartnere, også på tvers av fagfelt. Kontorfellesskapet ble beskrevet som en møteplass for et mylder av ulike fagmiljøer, hvor man får ideer og innspill

BETYDNINGEN AV Å VÆRE PÅ SAMME STED

COMMUNICATION, CULTURE AND SOCIETY 2023

fra andre bransjer enn sin egen.

Et slikt miljø gjør at hver enkelt virksomhet blir motivert til å tenke utenfor boksen. Dette skaper innovasjon.

RÅDGIVNING OG DIALOG LIKE VIKTIG SOM ØKONOMISK DRAHJELP Kreativ næring har en særegen logikk hvor den kunstneriske drivkraften ofte har større betydning enn den økonomiske.

For Kulturnæringsstiftelsen var dialog og rådgivning, som spiller på lag med aktørenes motivasjon og tenkemåte, like viktig som økonomisk støtte.

Mellom 2012 og 2018 delte stiftelsen ut 100 millioner kroner til innovasjon, promotering og infrastruktur innen kreativ næring. I tillegg bisto stiftelsen som rådgiver og kompetansepartner for de nordnorske virksomhetene som mottok støtte.

Under Creative Industries Innovations Days delte Bjørn Eirik Olsen, tidligere direktør for Kulturnæringsstiftelsen Sparebank 1 Nord-Norge sine erfaringer og meddelte: - Når aktører med helt ulike bakgrunner og kunnskaper klarer å føre en samskapende dialog, blir resultatet mer

kreativitet, flere oppdrag og - sist, men ikke minst - mer økonomisk inntjening,

KREATIV KULTURELL REVOLUSJON I HENNINGSVÆR Én av virksomhetene som mottok støtte og rådgivning fra Kulturnæringsstiftelsen er Trevarefabrikken i Henningsvær. Det gamle fabrikklokalet ble kjøpt opp av en kompisgjeng i 2014, og har i dag blitt en kulturell drivkraft i det fredede fiskeværet.

ringslivet, fortalte Andreas Kallay Hjelle, en av gründerne av fabrikken som nå er et sammensatt allhus med bl.a. musikkscene, pizzarestaurant, vinbar, hotell, sauna, arrangementslokaler og yogastudio. Konseptet har vist seg å være en suksess både for lokale og tilreisende.

Både Trevarefabrikken og 657 Oslo er inspirerende eksempler på samlokalisering og samskaping i praksis.

- Visjonen har siden start vært samskaping og vi har opplevd et stort engasjement fra både artister, kunstnere, frivillige og næ-

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COMMUNICATION, CULTURE AND SOCIETY 2023

In Conversation with Morten Huse:

Getting Everyone on Board Morten Huse is a Professor Emeritus at the Department of Communication and Culture at BI. His work, research, and activism on women on boards have contributed to lasting societal impact both domestically and internationally.

“When I was young, I did not necessarily plan to become a researcher.

However, I have always had a clear sense of justice. Throughout my life it has been fundamental to me to promote what I believe in. If I were to describe my motivation, I would say that I am driven by a will to challenge the status quo,” says Huse.

As a researcher, he has always been engaged in helping and bettering the conditions for weaker groups in society.

“While pursuing this work, I am not afraid to enter a fight or become disliked by others. I want my research to make a contribution to individuals and to society”, he adds.

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO STUDY WOMEN ON BOARDS? “The starting point of working with women on boards was that my ex-wife was a priest facing several challenges concerning her role as a woman in church. In the late 80s, she was one of the first married women to serve as a priest in a parish. I was the first man in South-Hålogaland diocese to be married to a priest!”

Considering himself a feminist, Huse wanted to increase women’s possibilities through working with women who want to support other women.

“My ex-wife had to fight many battles against colleagues as well as groups of conservative Christians in the parish - those who did

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MAIKEN BERGHEIM, Research Assistant Department of Communication and Culture

not want women to hold leading positions within the church. This made me concerned with women’s chances of getting powerful positions in society.”

He had already been involved as a board member for several years, and had written about boards in some student works. He also worked with boards from a consultant perspective. After a while, Huse wanted to investigate the theme from an academic lens, which resulted in his pursuit of a PhD from NHH. His doctoral thesis on board work was completed in 1994.

“My focus was on how boards in practice were working. A common misunderstanding is that the number of board members directly determines company results. However, what really matters is everything in between – how the boards function. In my work I have tried to show that board work goes beyond making direct conclusions from input to output. It is more than the number and background of the board members that influences company performance. I have applied agency theory, but also alternative theories to explore value creating board. My motivation has neither exclusively been to increase women’s opportunities nor to explore what may be best for the business. It has rather been to create value for society as a whole,” Huse explains.

COMMUNICATION, CULTURE AND SOCIETY 2023

HOW HAS YOUR WORK CONTRIBUTED TO CHANGING THE STRUCTURE OF WOMEN ON BOARDS IN NORWAY? “A large part of my scientific work has revolved around why women on boards matter, the effect of legislation and quotas, and how different social capital plays out in who gets board positions and who doesn’t,” says Huse.

There is also a political side to the researcher’s efforts. In the late 1990s, Huse was involved in discussions with the Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Equality on how to increase female representation in Norwegian boards.

“Different measures were discussed, and I contributed by evaluating some of them. Ultimately, it became clear that voluntary initiatives such as mentorship programmes were of little effect. At the time, I was the head of StyreAkademiet in Norway (The Norwegian Board Academy). Our national board consisted of the chairpersons of the local associations, and all local chairpersons were men. We then established Diversity Champion as a board position. In that way we got the first woman as a board member in the national association.”

When the Ministry’s consultation rounds on gender quotas started, Huse served as an expert and contributed scientific input to the debate.

“The consultations ultimately resulted in the Parliament implementing gender quota laws for publicly tradeable enterprises – ASA companies. The law at first formally presented in 2003, but not sanctioned until 2008. Today, Norwegian ASA companies are required to have gender balance in their boards. Forty percent of the least represented gender is usually considered as gender balance”, he adds.

HOW HAS YOUR WORK IMPACTED INTERNATIONAL GENDER QUOTA LAWS? “I have spent a considerable amount of time creating and developing national and international knowledge networks to help women attain board positions. Through these networks I mentor champions for change,” says Huse.

He emphasizes that he acts as a mentor, as opposed to a sponsor or a coach, seeking to serve as a discussion partner to help different actors achieve what they believe in. Throughout his career, Huse has served as a mentor for people who have actively aimed to change or implement quota laws in countries such as for example Italy, Germany, England, Spain, and Slovenia.

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COMMUNICATION, CULTURE AND SOCIETY 2023

“In Germany, there were two people in particular who reached out to me and wanted to work towards achieving a similar quota law in Germany as in Norway. We worked together to map out actors and supporters, and then bring about a collaboration with them.

These networks resulted in direct conversations with politicians”, Huse explains.

Throughout his career, Huse has held discussions and consultations with politicians in Spain, Scotland, Austria, and various other countries.

“What I have learned after working with this subject area in many countries is that there is no universal macro solution that works as a one-size-fits-all. One must always take into account and try to understand differences in both culture and circumstances. New measures and instruments are needed to match each individual case. How to proceed from there to implement these measures and instruments, is a completely separate field,” he says.

In recent years, the professor has therefore mostly been involved with action research.

“This means that while I am doing the research, I am simultaneously taking action by seeking transformative change.”

HOW HAS YOUR RESEARCH FINDINGS AFFECTED THE DIVERSITY AND COMPOSITION OF CORPORATE BOARDS? “I care about contributing to a more sustainable society. I therefore think it’s important to not only emphasize equality, but also equity.

Equality means that everyone is treated the same way, while equity means that everyone gets provided with what they need to succeed.

We need equal opportunities, not just equal representation,” Huse answers.

“In a study I did in Italy with my colleague Alessandra Rigolini, we found that different stages of sanctioning in terms of quota regulations influenced which attributes were valued when recruiting women for board positions. In the beginning, before any law had been formally presented, female board members were typically recruited through mimetic pressure. These women typically had familial ties to the company they served as board member. We characterized them as Berlusconi women. After the law had been introduced, but some time before the final sanctioning, the women were recruited based on normative pressure. Now women who were alumni from the leading Italian business school Bocconi University positioned themselves as board candidates. We therefore characterized them as Bocconi women. In the final phase, just before the law became sanctioned, coercive pressure caused new selection methods to appear. The women being recruited in this period could be characterized as Businesswomen, as they all had experience as senior managers. This research therefore shows that which social capital was valued changed with quota regulations,” he explains.

Morten Huse’s most recent book about women on boards was published in 2023 and is titled “Diversity and Corporate Governance”.

In this book, societal perspectives are at the core. “If we want to cultivate a sustainable society, we need everyone to contribute, he argues. “To me, it is extremely important to ensure a high degree of equity. This leads me to often support alternative thinkers. When it comes to leaders, and what characterizes a good leader, I think we all benefit from giving opportunities to a more varied group of people, and thus allow these people to become talented at what they do”, he concludes.

Morten Huse has published many highly cited contributions about women on boards and was in Germany called the “golden skirts” professor for his work on women on boards. He has published papers about the attributes of the candidates becoming board members following the implementation of quota regulations in Norway as well as in Italy.

His research shows that women who get appointed to board positions often constitute a specific “type”. Which “type” of female board member is the most dominating one is often a direct result of quota regulations.

llustration Photo

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COMMUNICATION, CULTURE AND SOCIETY 2023

Når blir egentlig barn av innvandrerforeldre, norske nok?

Hva ligger i det å være norsk og identifisere seg med norskhet?

Navn og betegnelser kommer til kort i å beskrive opplevelsen av kulturell og nasjonal identitet i en multikulturell samtid.

Norskfødte med innvandrerforeldre, norsk nok eller bare norsk. Betegnelser på nasjonalog flerkulturell identitet treffer mer eller mindre godt alt etter hvem du spør.

Når blir man norsk, hvis man er født i Norge og fortsatt betegnes som norskfødt med innvandrerforeldre? Når er man egentlig bare norsk? Disse spørsmålene oppsto i en diskusjon ved BIs program Multicultural Leadership.

HVORDAN VIL DU BLI BETEGNET? I forlengelse av denne diskusjonen kom vi, en av studentgruppene på kurset, over flere rapporter og artikler fra Integrerings- og mangfoldsdirektoratet og Statistisk Sentralbyrå.

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KATHARINA JAKHELLN SEMB Regissør og prosjektleder ELIZABET GILLEBERG Product Marketing Manager HEGE F. HOFF Markedssjef alle studenter ved Multicultural Leadership, BI

Disse benyttet betegnelsen norskfødte med innvandrerforeldre om personer som er født i Norge av to utenlandsfødte foreldre, og som har fire utenlandsfødte besteforeldre. Vi opplevde å reagere ganske forskjellig på betegnelsen. Elizabet, som har makedonske foreldre som flyttet til Norge før hun ble født, syntes betegnelsen var helt grei, mens en annen opplevde at med denne definisjonen ville jo hennes barn aldri defineres som norske!

skje heller ikke tilhørighet til en gruppe man knyttes til, selv om man per definisjon passer inn under den.

Det er uansett utfordrende å treffe helt riktig når man skal omtale et større antall mennesker som én samlet gruppe. Som individ identifiserer man seg ikke automatisk med måten man i en gitt sammenheng blir beskrevet på av andre. Og man føler kan-

Diskusjonen om norskhet begrenser seg på ingen måte til et klasserom på BI. I innlegget Norsk nok for de svina i Avisa Oslo fra januar i fjor skrev journalisten Ahmed Fawad Ashrafs: «Lenge har jeg lett etter oppskriften på hva som gjør meg

Individets opplevelse og beskrivelse av egen identitet og tilhørighet er kanskje en helt annen. En betegnelse kan følgelig oppleves som generaliserende, at den forsterker stereotypier og er fordomsfull. I sum, kjernen av den identitetspolitiske debatten.

NORSK NOK FOR DE SVINA?

norsk nok. Å avslutte jakten har vært dypt befriende». Artikkelen utløste en omfattende og opphetet debatt om innvandreres opplevelse av sin nasjonale og kulturelle identitet, hva det vil si å være norsk og i hvilken grad man opplever seg norsk eller ei. En av motdebattantene, Abid Raja, beskrev det å være norsk som en følelse, og det å støtte opp om felleskapet og grunnleggende verdier i samfunnet VG 2022.

Bølgen av artikler og debattinnlegg resulterte i antologien Norsk nok: Tekster om identitet og tilhørighet fra 2022 med bidrag fra over tyve forfattere hvor langt de fleste hadde deltatt i debatten.

KJÆRT BARN, MANGE NAVN? Tidligere leder av den såkalte B-

COMMUNICATION, CULTURE AND SOCIETY 2023

gjengen, Ghulam Abbas, forklarer i biografien Gudfaren at han og hans brødre så på seg selv som både pakistanere, norskpakistanere og norske. I tillegg ble de av andre omtalt som pakkis og utlending. Kjært barn har mange navn? Det er i hvert fall mange måter å omtale egen og andres identitet på, der noen er mer nedsettende enn andre. For Ashraf er det en lettelse å tillate seg det å ikke føle seg norsk, mens det for Abid Raja er fundamentalt viktig å føle stolthet over det å være norsk. Det handler om å søke etter en balanse – å skape sin egen identitet som inkluderer begge kulturer. Usman Chaudhry uttrykker dette i diktet Bindestrek fra diktsamlingen Kall meg pakkis, jeg vet du vil:

[…] Ingenting gratis har jeg fått.

Muslim, mann, pakkis, ingen jackpot.

Vet du hva? Fuck det.

Jeg skal greie det. Jeg skal eie det.

Jeg skal elske det.

Bindestrek-menneske.

Som følge av mange tiår med innvandring gjennomgår det norske samfunnet en identitetstransformasjon. Det er ikke bare vi som tilpasser oss samfunnet, samfunnet må også tilpasse seg oss. Og oss, vår norskhet, er langt fra statisk. Om noen år oppleves kanskje begrepet norskfødte med innvandrerforeldre utdatert fra offisielt hold og nye betegnelser vokser frem.

Ifølge filosofen Charles Taylor er anerkjennelsen vi mennesker gir hverandre ikke kun høflig-

het, men dekker et fundamentalt menneskelig behov. Derfor kan det å føle seg misrepresentert av samfunnet rundt oppleves både reduserende og undertrykkende.

egen identitet skal kunne speiles med et enkelt ord? Kanskje norsk nok får holde?

Navn og betegnelser er forenklende og nødvendige for å effektivisere vår kommunikasjon med hverandre. Men er det optimistisk å tro at det rike, komplekse mysteriet som er vår

Taylor, C. (1995). The Politics of Recognition. I The Politics of Recognition (s. 25–74). Princeton University Press. https://doi. org/10.1515/9781400821402004

REFERANSE:

Studentene på BIs executive masterprogram Multicultural Leadership lærer om mangfoldsledelse, og kunsten å manøvrere seg gjennom ulike multikulturelle og multireligiøse utfordringer i arbeidslivet. Som en del av kurset blir studentene utfordret til å skrive en kronikk om sine nyervervede innsikter. Dette er en av kronikkene fra kullet som fullførte kurset våren 2023.

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“How to Pitch – and Make It Stick” Cracking the Pitch Code: Blending Communication, Psychology, and Neuroscience for Success The mastery of pitching remains a significant litmus test of skilled business professionals. Whether it’s merchants negotiating trades or individuals competing in pitch-a-thons to make their mark in the digital world, effective pitching is a constant need.

Pitching occurs in different formats, ranging from concise self-introductions or elevator pitches that can lead to lifechanging meetings, to mediumformat pitches that capture key ideas and engage the audience.

Lastly, long pitch formats lasting one to two hours demand significant preparation and marathonic grit from hopeful entrepreneurs.

Many believe pitching arises either as an innate talent, or something acquired through

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constant repetition. However, in the class Pitching, Persuasion and Communication Skills, that I teach, neither are prerequisites to successfully sell an idea. What truly matters is understanding what sticks.

UNLOCKING THE SCIENCE: BLENDING COMMUNICATION, PSYCHOLOGY, AND NEUROSCIENCE Learning individual tactics of successful salespersons or from experienced entrepreneurs is no longer just an art form. Today, it is the subject of significant development. While the communication sciences have long described the nuances of the sender/receiver - emerging research sheds further insight to the art of pitching. Pitching theory often falls into two camps — the affective which can be

ANN SUNG-AN LEE Lecturer Department of Communication and Culture

translated as “passion”, “gut feelings”, triggering emotions, creating narratives, and the cognitive, that concerns preparing a business plan, fielding questions, financials.

However, in the book “The Science of Selling”, author David Hoffeld transforms the notion of selling by combining elements in diverse scientific disciplines.

The communication theory approach, for example, measures how open a person is to accept and being influenced by an idea. Cognitive psychology and behavioral economics provide further insight into how buying decisions and values are conditioned. Hoffeld marries a third, relatively unexplored realm of neuroscience—to how our brain perceives and retains information. His conclusion? The way we

perceive selling can be changed from an innate gift to a calculated method accessible to all.

SHOW, DON’T TELL The most common pitching problem I see, is heavy reliance on either the affect or the cognitive side. Typically, extroverts rely on their charisma and confidence to deliver a pitch that lacks substance. On the other hand, I see pitches overloaded with technical details and complex processes, reflecting an engineer’s approach. Both types of pitches are usually quickly rejected by perceptive investors.

In our class, we counteract the common misconception that the appearance of “entrepreneurial passion” carries more clout. In an interesting qualitative study from the University of

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Washington, it found that preparedness consistently gained more investment from venture capitalists. Knowing our stuff is equally important, if not more, to the affective delivery of our message. Successful pitches use concrete and simple illustrations to visualize an idea over abstract fluff.

APPEALING TO THE INNER CROCODILE Most of us have not really learned to read written text aloud.

We act as if we package information correctly and drop it off, the receiver will automatically understand and absorb our message. Experts on a topic become their worst own enemy, losing sight of the audience’s experience. Plenty of examples both in the business world, and even in business school classrooms,

sadly reinforce this habit. We invest a whole lot of time to transmitting content than in the quality of the transmission, or in aligning delivery with how we humans actually think.

Research once again gives insight behind what lasts and why. One of the useful models in my course is the notion of the Crocodile Brain. Neuroscience shows our brain developed in three stages: the old brain, nicknamed the “croc brain”, to the mid-brain, and finally to the neo-cortex. The croc brain initially filters all incoming messages, and produces our most primal, instinctive emotions — before passing it up to our more developed parts of our brain for sorting.

Our croc brain hates anything overly complicated and sifts information as a matter of survival. Imagine pitching your idea to a brain that was developed five million years back in time.

Sounds tough?

The insight is enlightening.

While good pitching takes work, paradoxically, one should demand as little work as possible from your listeners and their croc brains. Next time you feel as if you carry the sympathy-level and attention-span of a twoyear old: relax! It’s only your croc brain speaking. Being attuned to how our audience reacts to your sales pitch can maximize value exchanged; understanding the influence one wields in honing the craft of pitching is empowering.

REFERENCES: Hoffeld, David. Science of Selling: Proven strategies to make your pitch, influence decisions, and close the deal. Penguin Books,2011.

Xiao-Ping Chen, Xin Yao & Suresh Kotha. “Entrepreneur passion and preparedness in business plan presentations: a persuasion analysis of venture capitalists’ funding decision.”

Academy of Management Journal 2009, Vol. 52, No. 1, 199–214 Klaff, Oren. Pitch Anything: An Innovative Method for Presenting, Persuading, and Winning the Deal. US: McGraw-Hill, 2011.

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When noise is a good source of communication Identify what affects your message.

All over the world, scientists are plugged in to high-tech equipment listening for sounds from outer space. They use advanced methods to listening for patterns in the sounds. So far, the researchers have only heard noise, beeps and crackles. But if they find repeated patterns in that noise, it could indicate that there are living beings out there.

If we could be just as attentive to what we perceive as mere noise when we communicate with others, we might find patterns of meaning. Someone may be trying to make us understand something.

COMMUNICATING IN A WORLD FULL OF NOISE When communication takes place on digital surfaces, strangers from completely different environments are connected in an instant. This increases the amount of information, but it

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also increases the noise – signals we don’t understand - just like beeps and crackles from outer space. We often treat this increase as a tiring disturbance, causing us to miss out on insights and information.

The fact that we speak different languages, such as Norwegian, Spanish, Arabic and Chinese, is only one side of the “lost in translation” story. The noise also has other sources.

That we understand things differently, may also spring from differences between generations, gender and ethnicity, as well as differences in position, values, experiences and preferences.

Both digitization and diversity cause much more ”noise on the line” in today’s communication.

Most of the time, we address this by clarifying and simplifying our message. But an alternative approach, that we challenge you

BENEDICTE BRØGGER Professor MARK BROWN Associate Professor Department of communication and culture

to explore here, is the opposite, namely, to work with the noise.

UNDERSTAND COMMUNICATION AS RITUALS Communication is often thought of as the transfer of information between sender and receiver. In reality it takes place in far more complex ways, and in an almost ritual-like manner.

Understanding communication as rituals allows us to recognize that communicating is more than just information exchange. Instead, we need to understand communication as deeply intertwined with the social and cultural aspects of human interaction. The ritual perspective acknowledges the role of symbols, shared meanings, and cultural practices in shaping communication patterns and reinforcing social bonds.

For example, when Norwegians say «there is no such thing as bad weather» they are confirming a cultural commitment to the natural landscape in which they live. And when boys call each other by the term “bro”, they are affirming a collective loyalty to each other.

These elements may be perceived as noise or disturbances to someone who does not understand the meaning behind them. But if you do, you acquire a deeper understanding of all the different layers that have been communicated to you. You will find that the noise may not be noise at all. Having an active approach to noise therefore makes communication much richer, but also more demanding to master.

WHAT AFFECTS YOUR COMMUNICATION? To understand the level and

COMMUNICATION, CULTURE AND SOCIETY 2023

sources of noise in your own communication, try to think about a recent message you sent out that was not quite understood by your audience.

1. Was the individual or audience with whom you were communicating strangers to you?

2. Where did the communication take place? Specifically, which platform or channel did you use: Facebook, TikTok, Signal, Wechat, WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, Snapchat, intranet, email, phone, letter, etc.?

When the message was not understood, it may simply be because they (or you) don’t fully master the medium. Did you master the channel you chose to communicate in?

3. There are many possible uses of communication: Entertainment, information dissemination, education, friendship,

love, sales, advertising, etc. and sometimes we start communicating without thinking carefully about its purpose.

Was the purpose of your communication clear to you?

4. Were you speaking a foreign language?

5. Were you using images, colours, fonts, symbols, emojis etc. as part of the message?

If you did, any additional element increased the chances that the person you are having a conversation with has different interpretations than the ones you intended.

6. Are you a self-taught communicator?

If you answer yes to most of the questions in bold, the amount of noise might have been high. It’s no wonder that the message was not clearly perceived.

differently? How did the ’noise’ produced by the various elements of the ritual affect your opportunities to get your message across?

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

lities of a systematic approach to interpretation of meaning.

Acquiring this sensitivity takes a good deal of training, but it will improve your chances of getting the message across.

We can become better communicators by recognizing that communication is a co-creation of meaning. It starts with language – yes, but is also affected by ‘culture’, action, and media.

Our awareness of the sources of ‘noise’ improves the possibi-

The new course Communicating across domains developed by Benedicte Brøgger and Mark Brown, is part of the institute’s master’s programme in digital communication, In the course we explore ”noise” by analyzing communication as rituals. By making ourselves more self-aware we can increase our effectiveness as communicators.

What could you have done

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COMMUNICATION, CULTURE AND SOCIETY 2023

ANSGAR ZERFASS Professor Department of communication and culture JENS HAGELSTEIN Research associate Leipzig University

The digital transformation has provided communicators with new practices and opportunities, but do these also come with ethical challenges?

To map moral problems connected to new digital tools and options, we surveyed 2,324 practitioners in the field of PR and communication across Europe.

Ethical encounters appear to be on the rise. As much as 64,8 % of the respondents said they had experienced at least one moral challenge in their work within the past 12 months. Compared to a survey from 2012, this number has increased.

problematic about each one of them: • Social media influencers - Influencers are used for promotional messages, but communication professionals must be cautious about the messages’ transparency and authenticity.

NEW DIGITAL OPPORTUNITIES COME WITH DILEMMAS

• Corporate influencers - When employees state opinions in social media, do they communicate their own opinion or their organization’s? Moral issues can arise when employees suppress their personal opinion.

So, let us first have a closer look at what the new communication options are and what can be

• Public wikis – Since public wikis can affect an organiza-

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New ethical chal tion’s reputation, PR professionals should monitor them, but editing the wiki entries about their own organization is considered unethical.

• Social bots – Automated programs used to engage in social media, both in a good or bad way. They can easily be mistaken as humans and influence the discussion and the opinion of other users.

• Big data, profiling and targeting – Advanced data mining can enable more targeted communication, but collecting big data comes with dilemmas of personal data privacy.

“86% of the respondents stated that an important tool to cope with moral dilemmas are their personal values and beliefs, followed by ethical guidelines from their respective organization. Only half of the survey´s respondents stated they had ethical training during their career or education.”

STATE OF THE MODERN PR ETHICS Two out of three PR professionals stated that the use of social bots to generate feedback and followers on social media is ethically challen-

COMMUNICATION, CULTURE AND SOCIETY 2023

lenges for PR professionals ging. In addition, more than half of the respondents were concerned about the exploitation of users’ personal data in social media, paying influencers, and using sponsored content.

Our survey points out that the older the professionals are, the more critical they are about digital communication tools from an ethical perspective. We also saw that political circumstances play a role. PR professionals in countries suffering from high levels of corruption face more moral challenges in their daily work, compared to those working in less corrupt countries.

HOW TO ADDRESS THESE PROBLEMS

be aware of the challenge and facilitate courses.

Unfortunately, there is not a one-size-fits-all solution. First and foremost, professional associations must keep their ethical guidelines up to date to keep up with the development of new technology. The guidelines should cover a wide range of topics in digital communication, including transparency, labelling of paid content, sponsors or influencers, and responsibilities for communication in social media.

Educational institutions also have a responsibility. Earlier studies have pointed out a lack of dedicated ethics courses in the field of public relations. As for our survey, only 17% of the respondents have had training within the last year. New courses should be offered and cover real-life examples, rather than abstract theory.

Organizations should adopt and customize their own guidelines according to their strategy and purpose. Managers should

REFERENCES: Hagelstein, J., Einwiller, S., & Zerfass, A. (2021). The ethical dimension of public relations in Europe: Digital channels, moral challenges, resources and training. Public Relations Review, 42 (4), doi:10.1016/j. pubrev.2021.102063

One thing is clear, the development of these technologies will not stop, and neither will the need for ethical guidance on different levels to tackle them.

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COMMUNICATION, CULTURE AND SOCIETY 2023

Communication managers, here’s a tool worth your time To really understand and validate your communication departments contribution to organizational success, try the business model approach.

In today’s complex and fastpaced communication landscape, communication practitioners face the challenge of making the most of limited resources while aligning their efforts with organizational goals.

Within the competition for budgets, communication managers rival with other internal functions such as marketing or human resources. What then, can be a useful approach that disclose how your unit helps reach the organization’s mission, and simultaneously clarifies your department’s licence to operate?

EXPLORING THE BUSINESS MODEL CONCEPT Together with a team of experienced management consultants, Ansgar Zerfass, a professor of communication and leadership at both BI Norwegian Business School and Leipzig University, wanted to explore the concept of business models. Might it prove useful in the strategic work of communication departments?

A compelling question. But what is a business model?

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In short, it explains how an organization operates, creates value, generates revenue, and sustains itself. It encompasses the strategies, activities, and resources needed to deliver products or services and achieve profitability and success.

ADAPTING BUSINESS MODELS TO COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENTS Most typically, business models are designed for organizations to operate in markets, where they create value for customers and generate revenue for shareholders.

However, applying business models to communication departments needs a slightly different perspective. Instead of serving external customers, the communication department mostly provides value to internal clients or partners within the organization. The value of the communication departments’ labour is also often captured elsewhere in the organisation. For example, effective internal communication can enhance employee motivation, productivity, and even reduce recruitment

LINN MEIDELL DYBDAHL Science communication adviser

costs – which helps those in charge of production or human resources to fulfil their goals.

WHY ARE BUSINESS MODELS HANDY FOR COMMUNICATION PRACTITIONERS? Adopting a business model approach for communications offers several specific advantages.

Firstly, it clarifies the valueadding activities of the com-

munication department, making it easier to explain to top executives. By aligning with higherlevel business models and strategies, communication leaders can demonstrate the value their department brings to the organization and its stakeholders.

Secondly, business models provide a counterpoint to the “one best way” ideology often

A business model for a communication department describes the basic principle of how the unit operates, what services and products it provides, how it creates value for an organization, and what revenues and resources are allocated.

The Communication Business Model comprises four elements that help to describe, discuss, and further develop the entire value creation process of the department: 1. Resources and Revenues – Which assets are made available for the communication unit and how are they allocated?

2. Operations – Which tasks, processes, assets and infra structures are managed within the unit, and how are they implemented and maintained?

3. Activities and Products – What is delivered by the units?

4. Value creation – Which intangible and tangible values does the unit create for the organization?

COMMUNICATION, CULTURE AND SOCIETY 2023

discussed in the profession, acknowledging that different organizations and units within them may require unique strategies for value creation. Recognizing this diversity allows communication departments to tailor their efforts according to the specific needs and objectives of their organization.

TESTING THE APPROACH IN PRACTISE To demonstrate the practical application of the Communication Business Model for communication departments, Professor Zerfass and consultancy Lautenbach Sass conducted a pilot project together with Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, a renowned group of research organizations in Germany. It has more than 70 communication units in different institutes and locations, encompassing more than 450 dedicated communication practitioners. What was their experience?

Although not all communication staff at Fraunhofer were acquainted with the business model concept, it proved to be a helpful way for them to reflect

on the activities, set-ups, and priorities in different communication units. The approach had several advantages that set it apart from other management tools. Instead of taking the perspective of external stakeholders, it checked whether the needs of internal clients were met.

The researchers also identified four typical business models for communication within this group of research organizations, which highlights there are multiple ways a communication department can operate to create value.

A USEFUL STRATEGIC TOOL FOR MANAGERS AND THEIR TEAMS So, is the business model approach worth the time for communication managers and their teams? Yes, definitely!

By adopting this systematic approach that considers internal value creation, resource allocation, and alignment with organizational goals, communication departments can secure support from top executives and enhance their impact and organizational standing. What is not to like?

REFERENCES: Zerfass, A., & Link, J. (2024). Business models for communication departments: A comprehensive approach to analyzing, explaining and innovating communication management in organizations. Journal of Communication Management, Vol. 28. Available for download at https://bit.ly/Postprint-CBM

Link, J., Vaassen, F., Lautenbach, C. & Zerfass, A. (2022). A mixedmethod approach to assess business models of communication departments: Insights from a pilot study. Paper presented at the EUPRERA Annual Congress 2022, Vienna, Austria, 21–24 September 2022.

Promoting communications with the perfect pitch Want a convincing explanation of what your department does? Answer these questions in less than 100 words, and try pitching it to anybody in your organization: 1. What is our mandate within the organization and from whom do we get our resources (resources)?

2. How does our communication unit work (operating model)?

3. What specific outputs do we create and for whom (products and services)?

4. How do we contribute to the success of the organization and what values do we create (value creation)?

5. How do we, as a communication unit, benefit from the success of our work for the organization (revenues)?

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COMMUNICATION, CULTURE AND SOCIETY 2023

15 years of strategic communication research:

New report highlights the road ahead for communication professionals What are the top trends communication professionals should be aware of in the coming years?

A new report published this year attempts to answer this question. The European Communication Monitor 2023 (ECM 2023) gathers 15 years of longitudinal data from almost 40,000 respondents in 50 countries, offering an in-depth analysis of the strategic communication field in Europe. In other words, it’s packed with valuable insights that communication professionals can use to their advantage.

We’ve gathered some of the main takeaways from the report below. They illustrate top trends, challenges and tendencies that are both currently influencing the field, and that will impact the industry in the future. Knowing

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how to maneuver these shifts is therefore crucial for ensuring success on the road ahead for strategic communicators.

ADVANCED TECH AND DATA USE One thing is clear - big sprints in AI technology, access to big data, and the development of advanced digital tools are changing the communication field.

Big data, for instance, ensures access to new and powerful possibilities for analytics regarding stakeholders, outreach and engagement. Processes such as evaluation of communication campaigns are thus becoming more nuanced and a whole lot easier.

MAIKEN BERGHEIM Research Assistant

Furthermore, routines thatpreviously had to be done manually, can now be digitized. This frees up time that can be used elsewhere. Tasks and processes should therefore be redesigned to match this digital reality.

This means that communication managers should work strategically to break down structural barriers hindering digital transformation. In this era of digital advancements, adaptability and innovation are key for success in the communication industry.

STOPPING MISINFORMATION AND DISTRUST However, not all new tools are necessarily useful to adopt wit-

hout critical assessment. A new dilemma for professional communicators is undoubtedly the normalization of autonomous forms of communication assisted by AI. Huge leaps in AI technology is adding to the spread of misinformation and distrust that we are already witnessing in many spheres of society. Fake news, misinformation, and disinformation is harming trust in organizations and institutions.

Communicators should therefore have a nuanced understanding of how declining trust is impacting the communication field, and how we can combat this. Building and maintaining trust needs to be of high priority in all aspects of the communi-

COMMUNICATION, CULTURE AND SOCIETY 2023

cation process.

Clear ethics guidelines that regulate the use of certain AI tools are also needed to maneuver the increasing amount of moral dilemmas present within the field.

DEMAND FOR NEW COMPETENCIES FOR COMMUNICATION PRACTITIONERS Executing strategic communication that manages to engage a large number of stakeholders is no easy task. Doing this in an increasingly global, digital, and mediatized world doesn’t make things easier. In order to meet a growing number of demands, professional communicators therefore need to prioritize de-

veloping their skills, knowledge and competencies.

For many, the technical advances mentioned above represent a competence gap that hinders successful implementation and usage. It is therefore important that communication managers understand the different knowledge levels among their staff, and ensure that everyone is prepared for a greater reliance on communication technology (CommTech), big data and AI in modern work environments.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE REPORT The ECM 2023 is organized by the European Public Relations Education and Research Association (EUPRERA) and the European Association of Communication Directors (EACD), supported by partner Cision, digital communications partner Fink & Fuchs, and national partners The Nordic Alliance for Communication and Management #NORA at BI Norwegian Business School and CECOMS in Italy. The research team consists of Ansgar Zerfass, Ralph Tench, Dejan Verčič, Ángeles Moreno, Alexander Buhmann & Jens Hagelstein.

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COMMUNICATION, CULTURE AND SOCIETY 2023

Hvordan lede flerspråklige organisasjoner? Økt globalisering og samarbeid på tvers av landegrenser gir nye språkbehov i næringslivet.

Likevel blir flerspråklighet ofte glemt når det kommer til internasjonal business og ledelse.

En bedrifts holdning til språk og språkstyring er en strategisk beslutning som er tett knyttet til overordnet strategi. Språk gjennomsyrer alle aspekter av en bedrifts forretningsaktiviteter, og er dermed en viktig del av det å lede bedrifter med flerspråklige ansatte.

Språkstyring handler om å iverksette tiltak som ivaretar, og fremmer, kommunikasjon mellom ansatte.

ENGELSK SOM KONSERNSPRÅK Skandinaver ligger konsekvent på toppen av internasjonale rangeringer når det gjelder engelskkunnskaper, og bruken av engelsk er utbredt i næringslivet. For mange bedrifter blir det derfor naturlig å bruke engelsk som konsernspråk for å håndtere språklig mangfold blant ansatte.

Men å bytte til engelsk er ikke alltid problemfritt. Da Statoil ASA (nå Equinor ASA) bestemte seg

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for å implementere engelsk som sitt eneste offisielle konsernspråk sommeren 2010, var selskapets partnere og leverandører i Norge slett ikke på linje med den nye språkpolitikken. Etter hvert kom Språkrådet også på banen, og påpekte at Statoils praksis var i strid med regjeringens språkpolitiske plattform. Dermed ble Statoil tvunget til å gå bort fra den ensidige engelske språkpolitikken.

GURO REFSUM SANDEN Førsteamanuensis Institutt for kommunikasjon og kultur

ansattes språklige behov. Her handler det om å legge til rette for et godt språklig miljø internt i bedriften.

mennesker. Språkstyring er ledelse av menneskelige ressurser, men likevel ofte glemt som et sentralt område innenfor personalledelse.

Eksempelet viser at en bedrifts språkpraksis er omfattende, og angår ikke bare selskapet selv.

Når sentrale bransjeaktører velger å kommunisere på andre språk enn nasjonalspråket, påvirker dette også mange parter utenfor selskapet.

Språkopplæring, bruk av eksterne eller interne oversettere, selektiv rekruttering, strategisk bruk av språkkyndige medarbeidere, eller bruk av tekniske verktøy og maskinoversettelse, er alle eksempler på tiltak ledelsen kan iverksette for å støtte opp under bedriftens overordnede språkpolitikk. Et helhetlig syn på språk og kommunikasjon er nødvendig for en velfungerende språkstrategi – en strategi utformet for å kunne oppnå organisatoriske fordeler gjennom strategisk bruk av språk.

En bedrifts språkpolitikk påvirker alle som jobber for, eller kommer til å jobbe for, bedriften.

Det er en av de mest omfattende politikker en organisasjon kan iverksette. Uavhengig av ansattes posisjon i organisasjonshierarkiet, deres arbeidsoppgaver, fysiske plassering, bakgrunn, og karrieremål, har de alle én ting til felles: de trenger å kommunisere med sine kolleger, og de gjør det gjennom bruk av språk. Nettopp derfor vil en språkpolitikk berøre samtlige ansatte, i større eller mindre grad.

SPRÅKLIGE LEDELSESVERKTØY

LEDELSE AV MENNESKELIGE RESSURSER

SPRÅK SPLITTER OG FORENER

I tillegg til bedriftens språkpolitikk, er det ofte nødvendig å gjennomføre ulike aktiviteter eller initiativer for å imøtekomme

Språk er alltid tilknyttet menneskene som kommuni-serer gjennom språkene, derfor handler språkstyring om å administrere

En bedrifts språkpolitikk representerer en standard der ansatte blir evaluert i henhold til deres språkkunnskaper. Det er

COMMUNICATION, CULTURE AND SOCIETY 2023

et velkjent fenomen at språk både kan splitte og forene; det gjelder også på arbeidsplassen.

Vi gjenkjenner kolleger som snakker samme språk som oss og vi tenker på dem som en av oss, mens vi tenker på kolleger med andre språklige bakgrunner som utenforstående. Utfordringer med å bli forstått, samarbeid og gruppedynamikker, maktforskyvelse og maktmisbruk er alle dokumenterte følger av en ny språkpolitikk.

Nettopp derfor kan mangelfull eller upassende språk-styring være kilde til utford-ringer som kan hemme den generelle produktiviteten til flerspråklige organisasjoner. For å unngå dette, er det viktig å ta hensyn til ansattes språklige behov, og utarbeide fleksible språkpolitikker som støtter medarbeiderne i deres arbeidshverdag.

REFERANSER Sanden, G. R. (2020). Language policy and corporate law: A case study from Norway.

Nordic Journal of Linguistics, 43(1), 59-91.

Sanden, G. R., & Kankaanranta, A. (2018). “English is an unwritten rule here”: Non-formalised language policies in multinational corporations. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 23(4), 544-566.

Welch, D., Welch, L., & Piekkari, R. (2005). Speaking in tongues: The importance of language in international management processes. International Studies of Management & Organization, 35(1), 10-27.

SPRÅKSTYRING Når en bedrift utformer og iverksetter tiltak for å regulere ansattes bruk av språk på arbeidsplassen, er dette en form for språkstyring. Slik styring kommer ofte som følge av en strategisk evaluering av organisasjonens språkbehov, for eksempel i forbindelse med internasjonal ekspansjon.

SPRÅKPOLITIKK Blant norske bedrifter er det i dag blitt vanlig å utøve språkstyring gjennom språkpolitikker. Engelsk som konsernspråk er nettopp en slik type språkpolitikk som angir regler for bruken av engelsk blant bedriftens ansatte.

En språkpolitikk kan komme i mange ulike formater: alt fra regler, forskrifter og direktiver, til etablert språkpraksis, og uformelle retningslinjer. Forskning har vist at begrepet språkpolitikk i bedrifter brukes til å beskrive mange ulike tilfeller av språklig kontroll. Disse politikkene kan være formaliserte i form av skriftlige dokumenter, gjerne godkjent av toppledelsen, men språkpolitikker finnes også i ikke-formaliserte former, i noen tilfeller som en uskreven regel om at «her bruker vi engelsk».

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COMMUNICATION, CULTURE AND SOCIETY 2023

How the office estranged and empowered queer women Historically, the office was both a heterosexual straitjacket and a space where queer women could support themselves and become independent.

From the 1870s and onwards, businesses experienced an increasing feminization of office work. In 1920, women comprised around 40 percent of office workers in Norway. The office provided important opportunities for unmarried women.

As a business historian I have long been interested in the rise of the modern office and the multifaceted cultural history of office life. This is how the young Sigrid Undset (1882-1949) captured my attention. For ten years she worked at the office of an engineering firm in the Norwegian capital then called Kristiania.

Unexpectedly Undset led me to explore office culture though a queer lens.

QUEERING SIGRID UNDSET Subsequently, I wrote a book about Sigrid Undset, who is of course more famous as Norway’s Nobel Prize winning author. In the 1920s, she became celebrated worldwide for her masterly medieval novels such as the Kristin Lavransdatter triology.

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In my book I am attempting to “queer” the prominent novelist by posing the heretical question: was the lifelong Swedish pen friend Dea Hedberg Sigrid Undset’s great, unfulfilled love? While working as a typist at the engineering office, the young Sigrid Undset shared her experiences in letters to Dea, whom she developed strong feelings for.

We cannot know for certain whether Undset was gay, but the Dea letters and the literature contain so many “queer” indications that I felt obliged to write the book. The findings offer new perspectives into the life and work of a figure who for years was regarded as a conservative and non-feminist voice in Norwegian public life.

THE WAITING ROOM OF MARRIAGE Sigrid Undset was educated at the Kristiania School of Commerce (Kristiania Handelsgymnasium), where she acquired many of the formal language and writing skills that would define

her professional life. Since 1879, the school had accepted women into one-year afternoon classes.

Female and male students were taught different things adapted to gendered roles at work.

A monotonous “almost machine-like” work seemed to fit female nature, according to the school’s management. Mechanical typewriting was thought to be perfect because it did not require any thinking. Furthermore, office ladies were paid less because they were expected to be single and not have to provide for others.

For young women, office work meant a chance to provide for oneself. Still, the expectation was clear: the office was considered the waiting room of marriage.

When an office lady married, the next step was to quit her job and be financially supported by her husband.

Eventually, Undset did marry, and then she got divorced. The boring typist work was abando-

CHRISTINE MYRVANG Professor Department of Communication and Culture

ned, although she was a highly appreciated low-paid employee.

She devoted herself to writing, as well as providing for her family and household, in the end as a single mother and a devoted catholic.

FORBIDDEN LOVE Against all odds, many women remained office workers their entire working lives. For gay women who did not want a husband the office presented an opportunity for independence.

This came at a price both socially and mentally. For the businesses they were stable and valuable workers. However, it was often assumed there was something odd with these old spinsters who remained in “the waiting room”.

In the 19th Century it was not unusual for members of the same gender to express intimacy and devotion. In letters, men could acknowledge strong feelings for one another, and on the street, they could be seen walking arm in arm. Young women kissed and hugged pu-

COMMUNICATION, CULTURE AND SOCIETY 2023

blicly without anything more being implied. Undset’s novel Jenny (1911), with a devastating suicidal ending, had illuminated such close friendships.

At the turn of the Century, romantic same-sex friendships were challenged as medical science began to take an interest in sexual deviance. Morality and public decency were on the agenda. Criminology and psychiatry were considered overlapping sciences, and in particular men’s sexual relations with men were considered dangerous and even illegal. This was not entirely new, but it was firmly asserted by the Norwegian penal code of 1902.

Women’s sexuality was less discussed. Did they even have a sex drive?

COMPULSORY HETEROSEXUALITY When women entered the office space, they gendered it in new ways. Relations between men and women played out across their desks, as they sat close together casting glances at each other. Masculinity and femininity were important themes in office culture, and gender was produced and practiced along strong normative expectations. As the feminist poet Adrienne Rich has pointed out, compulsory heterosexuality has been the basis of an idealized relationship between genders.

In a letter to Dea in the summer of 1901, Sigrid Undset shared what it felt like to socialize with a female office colleague and her small group of women friends, who mostly spoke about hunting for a man:

“The conversation, the banter, the jokes. Everything was about ‘him’. This looming ‘him’ one is jokingly assumed to be thinking about when making a mistake sewing or forgetting something, this ‘he’ one is putting up playing cards for, ‘fortune telling books’ and ‘sympathy books’, ‘happiness letters’ one purchases from a blind person on the streets are about ‘him’ – in the periphery of the conversation he appears, yet not a single young lady, unless she is in love with a certain person, dares to be self-aware that she according to nature’s reasonable or unreasonable scheme is created in order to get a man.”

These types of heteronormative conversations defined office culture, as shown in many novels and short stories from the decades around 1900.

According to the stereotypes, women dreamed about office

romance, while men had their masculinity affirmed through female attention.

THE PRICE OF THE OFFICE CULTURE The connection between business history, gender and sexuality has not always been obvious.

Still, it is clear that strong social norms have played out at the office, with consequences for business culture and performances. Over time, the norms have become challenged. New opportunities have emerged, for example when women were given the chance to provide for themselves and live without a man.

The past is a reminder that we need to be aware of the cultural and normative expectations at work today, and how different people experience these. The office worker Undset felt like an outsider, and as a woman her tasks were so dull and repetitive that she quit and became a writer. Through her writing she could challenge and express herself, and she wrote fiction about the alienation of office life, as well as exploring more general themes such as shame, remorse, and troublesome love.

The fact that a gifted woman like Sigrid Undset quit office work was great news for Norwegian cultural life. However, as a valuable asset this was an obvious loss to the company she worked for. Discrimination and conformity are not for good business. That is one important lesson to be learned from office history.

SELECTED SOURCES Julie Berebitsky: Sex and the Office. A History og Gender, Power, and Desire. Yale University Press 2012.

Christine Myrvang: Tause kilders tale. Var Dea Sigrid Undsets store, uforløste kjærlighet? Universitetsforlaget 2020.

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COMMUNICATION, CULTURE AND SOCIETY 2023

Ledelse av mangfold krever stor selvinnsikt ELISABETH ABRAHAMSEN Avdelingsleder, Ås videregående skole CATHRINE KURE FINNE Senior forsker, Nofima CECILIE LINDFLATEN Rektor, Larvik kulturskole

Start med å bli bevisst dine fordommer

Arbeidslivet i Norge blir mer og mer multikulturelt. Dagens lederstillinger krever derfor stadig mer mellommenneskelig forståelse og økt kunnskap om andre kulturer. Å basere egen forståelse på kunnskapen om menneskene og samfunnet vi selv vokste opp med, holder ikke lenger.

Endringene er så omfattende at det som leder kan føles vanskelig å vite hvor man skal begynne. Etter å ha gjennomført BI nye executives kurs Multicultural Leadership er vårt råd klart: Begynn med deg selv!

LEKER LIKE KOLLEGER MEST? Når vi møter nye mennesker, registrer hjernen vår raskt kjennetegn som kjønn, alder og hudfarge. Det er da de dukker opp – de assosiasjonene vi ikke tenker over at vi en gang har.

Assosiasjonene vi får kan være påvirket av for eksempel egen bakgrunn, kultur eller personlige opplevelser. De ligger også til grunn for våre holdninger.

Forskning viser at jo mer selvbevisst du er, jo bedre kan du lede andre. Den samme forskningen viser også at hele 95% av oss mener at vi er svært selvbevisste, men at ikke mer enn 10% - 15% av oss faktisk er det.

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Vi sier jo gjerne at det er spennende med mennesker fra andre kulturer eller miljøer, og at de beriker arbeidsmiljøet, men forskning viser at folk er mer positive til mennesker som er likere dem selv. Faktisk er det slik at jo mer vi ligner hverandre, jo mer kontakt er vi villige til å ha. Identifiserer du deg som medlem av en gruppe, vil du favorisere medlemmer i samme gruppe fremfor ikkemedlemmer.

FREMTIDENS LEDER Dagens og fremtidens ledere skal lede ansatte med en helt annen bakgrunn enn dem selv.

Hvordan vi klarer å møte våre medarbeidere og hvem vi rekrutterer, vil være avgjørende for hvor effektivt og godt lederskapet blir. Forestillinger basert på stereotypier kan stå i veien for godt lederskap og føre til diskriminering og dårlig arbeidsmiljø.

Selv i miljøer med høyt utdannede, som generelt er mer positive til innvandrere enn de med lavere utdanning, forekommer rasisme og diskriminering. Det kan være direkte diskriminering ved ansettelser, eller små episoder med misforstått humor eller kommentarer som gjør at ansatte trekker seg unna. Kanskje du har assosiasjoner og fordommer du ikke er klar over? Først

når vi kjenner til våre ubevisste antakelser, kan vi gjøre noe med dem og ta gode valg basert på objektive kriterier.

AVDEKK EGNE FORDOMMER Bedre selvinnsikt blir derfor essensielt. The Implicit Association Test er et verktøy vi kan bruke for å avsløre eventuelle antakelser og fordommer vi måtte ha.

Testen måler styrken på assosiasjoner mellom konsepter og vurderinger eller stereotypier. I starten av Multicultural Leadership kurset tok alle studentene en slik test. Målet var å finne ut om vi hadde noen ubevisste preferanser når det kom til religiøs tilhørighet. Poenget var ikke å dele resultatene, men å bli mer selvbevisste. Det ble en tankevekkende øvelse!

Først når de ubevisste preferansene er avdekket, kan vi ta neste steg og finne gode metoder for å blokkere dem ut når avgjørelser skal tas. Ikke bare vil dette kunne være med på å forhindre diskriminering og å bevare et godt arbeidsmiljø, det vil også bidra til effektiv ledelse.

Som ledere vet vi at å ansette den riktige medarbeideren er avgjørende for at arbeidet blir utført på en god måte. Da kan ikke ubevisste fordommer være grunnen til at vi avslår gode søk-

ere eller forfremmer feil medarbeider.

Stadig mer multikulturelle arbeidsplasser stiller nye krav til dagens ledere. Kjennskap til ulike perspektiver er nødvendig for å møte flerkulturelle utfordringer på arbeidsplassen. Vi må forstå og ha kunnskap om mennesker fra mange ulike kulturer og sist, men ikke minst, sier vi som Aristoteles: “Å kjenne deg selv er begynnelsen av all visdom”

REFERANSER: Eurich, T. (2018, januar 4). What Self-Awareness Really Is (and How to Cultivate It). Harvard Business Review. https://hbr. org/2018/01/what-self-awareness-really-is-and-how-tocultivate-it Moghaddam, F. M. Multiculturalism and intergroup relations: Psychological implications for democracy in global context. American Psychological Association.

Project implicit. (u.å.). Take a Test. https://implicit.harvard. edu/implicit/takeatest.html

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How will artificial intelligence affect our work life?

To grasp how artificial intelligence (AI) will affect our work life and to truly embrace its transformative power, we need to understand how AI and human work practices influence each other.

Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to be a pressing topic, perhaps more so now than ever with the recent buzz around AI applications such as ChatGPT; a language model chatbot with the ability to generate “human-like” text based on a user’s inputs.

Technologies like this and other AI applications are likely to have significant consequences for both daily and work practices. But the potential of AI is complicated and is only realized through an understanding of the work context, practices, and how AI interacts with them.

NEW GENERATIONS OF AI HAVE SELF-LEARNING CAPABILITIES There are several ongoing conversations about how we should approach AI technologies, especially due to developments in the more recent generations of AI systems. These systems are empowered by so-called “deep learning”, which is a machine learning approach that teaches computers to do what comes naturally to humans, in essence through “learning by doing”. In other words, these systems have self-learning capabilities, which are often based on large datasets analysed by the technologies. The inherent technological functions of deep learning (e.g. self-learning and inherent opacity of these systems) matter when trying to predict how AI may change our work practices. Nevertheless, we also need to look at the specific contexts in which such technologies are used.

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CHRISTOPH LUTZ Professor Department of Communication and Culture EMMA SKJELTEN DAASVATN Research Assistant Department of Communication and Culture

PRACTICE-BASED THEORIES OFFER VALUABLE INSIGHTS INTO AI IN THE WORKPLACE, PARTICULARLY IN FOUR KEY ASPECTS: 1. The Interplay of AI Models, Data, and Work Practices AI models and data sets are not standalone entities; they derive their characteristics from their relationships with each other and are shaped by people’s work practices. These complex models and vast data sets don’t possess inherent qualities or identities; they emerge through the work practices that create and maintain them. For instance, if we are developing AI models to prioritize tasks in a project, the distinctions made within the data set are likely influenced by work practices. This could involve considering relationships between project complexity and resource allocation.

2. Adapting AI models to evolving work practices Work practices evolve over time, and so should AI models and data. Just like priorities change in a project, the criteria for AI models must adapt as we gain more knowledge and experience. This poses a challenge for AI, as the data it relies on may change, necessitating updates to the models. It raises questions such as, ”How quickly do circumstances change?” or ”Which relationships are more dynamic while others remain relatively stable?”

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3. Navigating blurred boundaries in work and AI The boundaries between different aspects of work can become blurred. The relationships between entities are shaped by work practices, and this can lead to ambiguity. Just as project requirements may have fuzzy edges, it’s not always clear where one aspect ends, and another begins. These blurred boundaries often raise ethical questions and expose power dynamics within the data, AI models, and work practices. For example, when prioritizing tasks, we may need to examine what factors determine the importance of one task over another and if certain work practices or groups hold more influence in shaping these priorities.

4. AI adaptation challenges in a shifting world AI models tend to rely on historical data while operating in a world where data structures and work practices constantly evolve. This raises the question of how well AI can adapt to these changing relationships. By closely monitoring emerging work practices associated with data and AI models, we can identify critical issues that may arise if our models fail to keep up with evolving relationships. A practice-centered perspective

prompts us to ask which relationships are most significant and how the practices that create and maintain them are organized.

The article is based on a special issue entitled “Artificial intelligence in the work context”, which was published in the Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology (JASIST). The special issue focuses on the mutual transformations of AI and work practices.

In essence, it stresses that in order to benefit from AI in the workplace, it is essential to understand the interplay between AI models, data and work practices. By adopting a practice-centered approach, we can navigate the challenges and seize the opportunities presented by this rapidly advancing technology.

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COMMUNICATION, CULTURE AND SOCIETY 2023

Er bachelorstudenter klokere enn ChatGPT? Kunstig intelligens kan løse mange oppgaver, men på noen områder er det fortsatt mangelfullt.

TOR BANG Teaching professor Institutt for kommunikasjon og kultur

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Som foreleser, og spesielt som kursansvarlig, har jeg et ansvar for å lage kurs som kan bidra til studenters faglige og menneskelige utvikling. Jeg er så heldig at jeg har fått ansvar for et fjerdesemesterkurs, «Digital makt og avmakt» i bachelorprogrammet «Digital kommunikasjon og markedsføring».

Ett av kursets formål er å utvikle studentenes bevissthet omkring kritisk tenkning i møte med digitale utfordringer. I et par år har vi derfor hatt et konstruktivt samarbeid med Eskil Grendahl Sivertsen, forsker ved Forsvarets Forskningsinstitutt. Hans team er helt i front innen forskning på psykologisk beredskap på makronivå. De stiller spørsmål om publikum er i stand til å iden-

tifisere falske nettsteder, eller digitale nyheter, gjerne produsert i uvennlig hensikt av trollfabrikker som Glavset, en agent støttet av Wagnergruppens avdøde leder Jevgenij Prigozjin.

Et kanskje naivt, ikke spesielt årvåkent publikum vil sannsynligvis ikke gjenkjenne nyheter som finner vei under redaksjoners kritiske radar, men som iblant blir gjengitt av nettsteder som steigan.no.

STUDENTERS MØTE MED AI Vårsemesteret 2023 stod i AIs tegn, spesielt programmene ChatGPT, og det mindre omtalte Bard, som utvikles av forskere i Alphabet-sfæren.

I en tredelt eksamen ba vi

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studentene først skrive et executive summary til ledergruppen i en tenkt eller reell organisasjon, forklare det essensielle ved ChatGPT, argumentere for slike tjenesters relevante bruksområder, og peke på etiske og andre motforestillinger ved bruk.

Mange pekte på forskning, helsesektoren og finansbransjen som samfunnssektorer som var godt egnet for å kunne trekke nytte av kunstig intelligens. Så godt som alle var bekymret for potensialet for overvåkning, og nye muligheter for digital kriminalitet.

Feltets globale logikk gjorde at vi kunne be studentene lene seg på ukonvensjonelle kilder.

Ikke uventet brukte mange av

dem amerikanske kilder, spesielt The New York Times’ glimrende teknologi-spalte.

Som andre deloppgave skulle studentene bestille et ChatGPTgenerert executive summary likt det de hadde levert til første del.

Oppgaven var deretter å identifisere fem områder med likheter og ulikheter mellom deres egenkomponerte tekster, og den ChatGPT-genererte.

Mange var forbløffet over likhetene mellom de to teksttypene. Noen mente at AI-teksten var kaldere og mer forankret i en retorikk utelukkende preget av logisk fremstilling. ChatGPT la liten vekt på motforestillinger og etiske utfordringer. Studentenes egne tekster var oftere mer

personlige, mer undrende, og, sammenlignet med AI, mer inviterende til motforestillinger. I en egenevaluering, skrev mange at de mente at deres egne tekster var bedre enn den AI-genererte.

Som sensor så jeg poengene deres og var som regel enig.

I siste del av eksamen skulle studentene identifisere dominerende trender i det offentlige ordskiftet om AI. Mange pekte på skepsis og redsel, men også på teknologioptimisme og for eksempel muligheten for å løse kreftgåten. Et flertall av studentene hevet seg over den noe uinformerte samtalen som har preget nyhetsbildet om AI. De ble de bedt om å diskutere fremveksten av AI i en samfunnsvitenskapelig kontekst, for eksempel

makt og maktforskyvning, globalisering, og teorier om teknologisk determinisme.

Besvarelsenes kvalitet tyder på at våre unge studenter i hovedsak har utviklet god innsikt, kunnskap og ferdigheter på et felt som ligger helt i front i den digitale tjenestestrømmen.

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COMMUNICATION, CULTURE AND SOCIETY 2023

Steering clear of our worst artificial intelligence nightmares A giant leap for mankind, without doubt, but will artificial intelligence be a friend or foe? The trick may lie in better involving the public in scrutinizing AI’s problematic aspects.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly used in many public and private spheres of human life. Fields such as law enforcement, financial markets, social media, or autonomous machines and robotics have made great strides in recent years through a new paradigm of machine learning – deep learning.

This is raising concerns regarding human autonomy, agency, fairness, and justice. Among them the very practical fears that for instance unconscious discrimination against certain groups of people, as well as more philosophical ones in that deep learning systems are notoriously hard to debug.

AI developers, media, and civil

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society need to engage and work together to overcome the poor transparency and accountability of new AI technologies.

THE GOOD, THE BAD OR THE UGLY? Like other innovations in, e.g. nuclear power or bioengineering, AI can both offer smart solutions and leave us with tricky problems. On the one hand, AI deliver improved organisational performance and decisions and can for example help set diagnosis and treat poorly understood diseases.

On the other hand, as Elon Musk said in a meeting with senators in Sept. 2023: ”The consequences of AI going wrong are severe, so we have to be

ALEXANDER BUHMANN Associate Professor CHRISTIAN FIESELER Professor Department of communication and culture

proactive rather than reactive.”

Like humans, AIs can fail their intended goals. This can be because the training data they use may be biased or because their recommendations and decisions may yield unintended and negative consequences.

and inclusive form of discussion that seeks the attainable consensus. Ideally, ethical businesses engage with local actors, governments, and civil society to foster better understanding and responsible processes for innovation through deliberation.

INCLUSIVE DISCUSSIONS AND CAREFUL CONSIDERATIONS

However, for reasons of selfinterest, power imbalances, and information advantages, businesses are seemingly unlikely to solve AI challenges deliberatively.

How can we foster artificial intelligence that is not harmful but beneficial to human life?

Communication plays a crucial role in addressing this question.

Research in both business and technology ethics has emphasized the value of public engagement and deliberation for shaping responsible innovation. This means a thoughtful

IS IT POSSIBLE TO SHINE LIGHT INTO BLACK BOXES? Even if private sector innovators were committed to communicate with stakeholders to ensure fair and responsible innovation, AI – as a technology – seemingly complicates such efforts be-

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Made by ai

cause of its opacity, that is its poor transparency, explainability, and accountability.

This is because machine-learning algorithms may, for practical purposes, be inaccessible and beyond our ability to understand.

This is not only to laypersons but oftentimes also, at least in everyday practice, to the organisations that own and employ them, and even to system programmers and specialists.

However, opacity of AI must not serve as an excuse to resist scrutiny of AI in public discourse.

To show pathways forward, we first relate the ideal requirements for deliberation to the specific conditions for AI opacity.

These for instance comprise the principle that every voice should, within reasonable limits, be given the opportunity to be heard.

To make this work in practice, we highlight the responsibilities of key actors such as AI developers, media, NGOs, and activists.

Through deliberative exploration and evaluation of responsible AI implementations, a more transparent and accountable AI is achieved.

OPEN DEMOCRATIC DISCUSSIONS NEEDED

role, if this role is performed well, with a deliberative stance.

To overcome common deficits found in AI innovation, AI developers should openly share technological shortcomings and let media and engaged citizens contribute in the debate forward.

Together, this should strengthen the bottom-up identification, problematization, and inter-pretation of AI in practice to make progress in this domain more responsible in the long run.

REFERENCE: Buhmann, A. and C. Fieseler (2021). ”Towards a deliberative framework for responsible innovation in artificial intelligence.”

Technology in Society 64: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2020.101475 (open access)

We advocate to bridge the gap between the experts with technical knowledge to inspect AI, and the potentially impacted public at large. Journalism and activism can take a translation

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COMMUNICATION, CULTURE AND SOCIETY 2023

Betaler du for å bli overvåket i din egen stue?

Smarthøyttalere lar oss styre musikk, registrere avtaler og søke etter informasjon på nettet ved bruk av vår egen stemme. Men om smarthøyttaleren lytter til hva vi sier, hvem andre gjør det?

Få brukere ser ut til å bry seg.

Mikrofoner som smuglytter til private samtaler i hjemmet tilhører en fortid med kald krig og spioner, eller?

Sannheten er at overvåkningsteknologi i dag er en synlig del av hverdagen vår. Utstyret blir ikke lenger hemmelig plantet i hjemmet. I stedet både kjøper og installerer vi i dag enheter med overvåkingsteknologi av egen fri vilje.

Smarthøyttalere er stemmestyrte mobile enheter som bruker kunstig intelligens og språkbehandling til å hjelpe med daglige gjøremål. Salget av disse høyttalerne øker over hele verden. Det er nå mange slike produkter tilgjengelig på markedet, og store selskaper

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som Apple, Amazon og Google produserer alle egne høyttalersystemer.

LETTVINTHET PÅ BEKOSTNING AV PERSONVERN? Denne teknologien gjør utvilsomt hverdagen enklere, så hvorfor bry seg om personvern?

Når smarthøyttalere er påslått forblir de i en lyttemodus. Med andre ord tar høyttaleren kontinuerlig opptak av alt som blir sagt i nærheten. Deretter blir lydmaterialet sendt til produsenten for lagring og prosessering.

“Alltid på”-lyttefunksjonen utgjør dermed en risiko for personvernet til brukere.

Christoph Lutz og Gemma Newlands, begge forskere ved

LINN DYBDAHL, Kommunikasjonsrådgiver MAIKEN BERGHEIM Vitenskapelig assistent Institutt for kommunikasjon og kultur

Senter for internett og samfunn på BI, jobber med problemstillinger knyttet til digitalisering og ny internetteknologi. I en fersk studie undersøker de hvilke bekymringer brukere av smarthøytalere har knyttet til personvern.

I tillegg ser de på hvordan disse bekymringene påvirker brukerne til å aktivt ivareta personvernet sitt.

“På den ene siden kan denne teknologien gjøre hverdagen enklere, mer effektiv og mer underholdende. På den andre siden har den potensiale til å true personvernet vårt og låse oss inn i kommersielle økosystemer”, sier Christoph Lutz.

FÅ BEKYMRINGER RUNDT PERSONVERN Lutz og Newlands gjennom-

førte en nettbasert spørreundersøkelse av 367 smarthøyttalerbrukere fra Storbritannia. Ut ifra denne fant de ut at respondentene totalt sett bare var lite til moderat bekymret for personvernet sitt.

Den vanligste bekymringen var at entreprenører og tredjepartsutviklere skulle få tilgang til å utnytte brukerdata samlet opp av høyttaleren. Respondentene var minst bekymret for brudd på sosialt personvern, som overvåking av familiemedlemmer.

FÅ IVARETAR PERSONVERNET SITT AKTIVT Undersøkelsen til Lutz og Newlands viser også at brukerne gjorde lite for å ivareta personvernet sitt. Smarthøyttaleren

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hadde blitt del av hverdagen, noe som førte til at få gikk aktivt inn for å begrense overvåkningspotensialet.

Mer enn halvparten av respondentene slo aldri av smarthøytaleren når den ikke var i bruk, og hele 72 % slo den aldri av under sensitive samtaler.

I tillegg var det svært få respondenter som gjennomgikk eller slettet informasjonen som var samlet inn av smarthøytaleren eller lagret i Alexa-, Googleeller Apple-brukerprofilen deres.

gjør noe med det. Lutz og Newlands kaller denne motstridende oppførselen som ”personvernkynisme”. Vi velger å ignorere eventuelle bekymringer slik at vi kan ta i bruk ny teknologi.

REFERANSE: Christoph Lutz & Gemma Newlands (2021) Privacy and smart speakers: A multi-dimensional approach, The Information Society, 37:3, 147-162, DOI:10.108 0/01972243.2021.1897914

”En kombinasjon av å ut-vikle mer personvernvennlig teknologi, implementere mer effektiv regulering og øke makten hos brukerne, er nødvendig for å takle disse utfordringene”, konkluderer Lutz.

KYNISME KNYTTET TIL PERSONVERN? Til tross for at vi vet at teknologier kan true personvernet vårt, ser det ikke ut til at mange av oss

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COMMUNICATION, CULTURE AND SOCIETY 2023

AI in arts – opportunity or threat?

Artificial intelligence has a profound impact on arts. What does this mean for artists, and how can AI technology open new arenas for artistic expression?

Art produced by artificial intelligence (AI) has received a lot of attention in the news and on social media, in the last years.

It’s easy to understand why.

Text-to-image services such as Midjourney and Dall-E can generate images of just about anything, in just about any style, and in astonishingly high quality.

This has sparked questions about the implications AI technology may have for artists, both now and in the future.

REDEFINING HUMAN-ROBOT INTERACTION IN THE ARTS In a world where human-machine interaction is increasingly entwined, traditional understandings of artistry and creativity is shaken up.

Victor Renza, a researcher at BI’s Nordic Center for Internet and Society (NCIS), explores the underlying logic of how artists and robots cooperate.

In his work, he examines how combining art and technology can change how people interact

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MAIKEN BERGHEIM Research Assistant, Department of communication and culture

with robots and how this affects the arts.

fear that artists will become redundant in the future.

According to Renza, the fascinating thing about AI art is that it is opening new ways of exploring the technology.

On the other hand, we see the formation of a new movement of artists who use the technology to explore and expand their creative realms. These artists actively incorporate artificial intelligence technology in their works, merging machine interaction into their artistic practice.

“Through the use of AI in the arts, we are evidencing a much more meaningful form of human-robot-interaction, that is not just reframed to words and verbal forms, but also artistic and interactive expressions”, Renza explains. An exploration of this interaction might lead to new understandings of how we use and reflect on this rapidly evolving technology.

THREE FUNDAMENTAL LOGICS OF HOW TO MAKE USE OF AI

RESISTING OR EMBRACING AI

In his research, Renza has mapped out three fundamental logics explaining the interaction between AI-generators and the artists who choose to utilize this technology.

However, creative human-robot-interaction is not met with open arms in all artistic scenes.

AI-art generators are facing scrutiny from many voices in the contemporary art world. Renza argues that, on the one hand, there are those who question AI-artworks’ originality, or who

1. The first logic revolves around experimentation, playing and exploring, where artists use the technology to expand their own creative capabilities. In this regard, AI is a tool that artists use as part of their

creative process, but Renza also argues that the interaction could be considered an artwork as well.

2. The second logic is focused on further developing the technology. In this use, artists aim to improve and push the limits of the AI programme in question. This is because by using and interacting with the AI, the artists simultaneously advance the creative potential of it.

3. Finally, for the third logic, creative human robot interaction can be a way for artists to increase our common understanding of how we relate to and use AI technology. By examining this theme through an artistic and interpretive lens, artists help us navigate and make sense of the rapid development of a new technology that many find both fascinating and frightening. In this regard, artistic exploration

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Made with Adobe Firefly

of AI is a way to further contextualize and process the implications this technology has at the present, and may hold in the future.

THE HUMAN TOUCH WILL STILL BE ESSENTIAL One understanding of AI-generated art is that the art pieces lack human touch, or are in some way separated from human

action. Renza argues for the opposite.

Firstly, the artworks are generated on prompts chosen by the artists. Several attempts and tinkering may be needed to generate the desired outcome.

Then, the generated work might get extracted to be altered or perfected manually by the artist. It is also up to the artists to

contextualize the piece, and thus add meaning to the work in question.

In this way, AI art is in fact greatly influenced by human action.

Renza therefore pro-poses that intellectual and creative work from human artists is needed to create any successful creative collaboration with AI robots.

As stated earlier, it might also

be that this interaction itself proves to be the actual work of art, going beyond the material piece created through the human-machine collaboration.

The human touch is therefore essential, not redundant.

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COMMUNICATION, CULTURE AND SOCIETY 2023

Knowledge provider in commun

EDUCATIONAL OFFERS Bachelor’s programs • Creative Industries Management • Digital Communication and Marketing The department of communication and culture is one of BIs nine departments. By engaging with students, dialog and collaborations with partners we develop and disseminate knowledge based on communication and cultural challenges of the sustainable future where digitalization is central.

The institute has a particular focus on: • internal and external communication in organizations and at leadership level.

• development of new knowledge and programs based on future communication challenges, with a focus on digitalization.

• understanding the significance of communication and cultural differences for individuals and organizations, including cultural management, educational leadership, and personal development.

Master of Science: • Master of Science in Digital Communication Management.

Excecutive Bachelor and Master of Management programs: • Leading in Digitized Workplaces • Responsible AI Leadership • Multicultural leadership • Retorikk, Kommunikasjon og ledelse • Ledelse, makt og mening • Consulting • Storytelling som strategisk verktøy In addition, the institute offers educational programs in school and kindergarten management at the bachelor’s and master’s levels in collaboration with the Norwegian Directorate for Education and several foreign universities.

RESEARCH CENTERS

The institute has two research centers and two research hubs conducting various studies and leading major research projects funded by the EU’s research program and the Norwegian Research Council.

Center for Creative Industries (BI:CCI) A research group dedicated to strengthening and promoting research on the creative industries in a Norwegian and international context.

Nordic Centre for Internet and Society A globally-oriented research centre, dedicated to understanding the influence of new internet technologies on working life and society.

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Center for Innovation in Education (CIED) Focuses on research, acquiring knowledge and insight into how politicians, owners and leaders can best contribute to the development and improvement of kindergartens and schools.

The Nordic Alliance for Communication and Management (NORA) Leveraging communication as a strategic driver of sustainable organizational performance and success in a changing world.

COMMUNICATION, CULTURE AND SOCIETY 2023

n ication and culture NEW FACES AT THE DEPARTMENT The Department of Communication and Culture boasts researchers of the absolute highest calibre. To maintain this position, we must regularly recruit new researchers and lecturers.

Here are five of our newest colleagues: Helga Norheim is Associate Professor at BI and works with educational management within the field of Early Childhood Education and Care. Her research interests revolve around quality, leadership and parent-teacher partnerships in Early Childhood Education and Care.

Yunhao Xiao is currently pursuing a Ph.D. specializing in Strategy, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation. His research centers on the evolving work patterns in response to the rapid development of information and communication technologies and digital transformation. His aim is to envision future work possibilities, such as digital nomadism, and explore their implications.

NUMBERS AND FACTS FROM THE DEPARTMENT • 46 employees.

• International environment – 13 nationalities are represented • 58 % of the employees are women.

• The department has several positions with specialized expertise, and some of the employees also work in the private sector or at other universities/colleges, including Harvard University, University of St. Gallen, Rotterdam School of Management Erasmus University, Universitet I Oslo, NTNU, Universitet I stavanger, Høgskolen I Innlandet, OsloMet, Norges Musikkhøgskole, Høyskolen Kristiania, Aarhus Universitetet and Universitetet I Leipzig.

The department has research collaborations with many prestigious universities in Europe and the USA, including Harvard University Law School, Oxford University, University of St. Gallen, Copenhagen Business School, The Trinity College Dublin and NTNU.

Guro Refsum Sanden is Associate Professor, and her research focuses on the role of language and communication in multinational corporations, and the relationship between national language policies and corporate law. Before entering academia, Guro held various industry positions, including management trainee in the Scandinavian insurance company Tryg.

Victor Renza is a PhD candidate and affiliated to BI’s Centre for Creative Industries (BI:CCI) and The Nordic Centre for Internet and Society (NCIS). His work focuses on exploring the intersection of the arts and technology and its impact on organisational contexts, society and individuals.

Cecilie Evertsen is an Adjunct Lecturer at BI, and her research and area of expertise is the implementation of early childhood interventions and interaction quality for children’s development. She is a permanent employee at the University of Stavanger at the National Center for Learning Environment and Behavioral Research.

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