KnowledgeCreates (VidenSkaber)

By Ghita Nidam Møller

The far-fetched idea of a dystopic future with AI has been discarded. And forget about a boycott because AI is here to stay. In fact, it has already been around for seventy years, which means a wealth of experience exists and there’s an abundance of world-class researchers in the field.

Thirty-six of these scientists toured Denmark in 2024, inviting people to participate in the KnowledgeCreates project to provide a collaborative meeting place guided by one overarching question: How is AI changing our society?

Countless opportunities and challenges have arisen since ChatGPT shook the world in 2022 and made AI public property. In one fell swoop, everything we thought possible was put on standby, a lurking vision of our worst nightmares and most amazing dreams imposed on us once the internet first became commonplace.

Is it cheating or learning, for example, if students only understand the curriculum after AI has proffered a helping hand? Is it a good or a bad thing if AI can flex its muscles to wade through public sector issues and make protracted waiting times a thing of the past? What factors drive the conversation and decision making? What biases prevail when we, almost unnoticed, invite tech giants and chatbots into our legal system, healthcare, love lives and classrooms? In other words, what do we gain and what do we lose?

It is not a zero-sum game. That’s why KnowledgeCreates has scrutinized everything we know and don’t know in a series of workshops, debates, articles, videos and podcasts. The common denominator is that science challenges and addresses the opportunities and fears that have arisen, with concrete issues pushing and pulling at science regarding office work, hospitals, courtrooms, family and our unavoidable digital companion, the public sector MitID system.

This dynamic is quite unique, asserts Associate Professor of Philosophy Sune Hannibal Holm, PhD, Department of Food and Resource Economics at the University of Copenhagen. Holm tried out the workshop format with volunteers at Mino Danmark, an interest group that works to improve opportunities for minority ethic Danies and to give them a stronger voice and participation in society.

“For me, the group was highly relevant to the work I do but one that I rarely meet in my daily work. The setup was incredibly valuable,” Holm says, emphasising that it provided a completely new form of interaction compared to traditional presentations. He adds that:

“You don’t often see this format. It worked well that, as a researcher, you were able to follow first-hand what the participants were talking about.”

This is how solutions and answers are jointly created but, just as importantly, how new questions are raised. This approach can be rewarding for all kinds of researchers, which is why Holm ardently recommends that everyone try it.

The finale: KnowledgeCreates is also a community

AI is there on our screens but KnowledgeCreates gathered participants virtually and face to face to discuss how people spend time together digitally and physically. From the towns of Aabenraa, Odder and Randers to the cities of Odense, Aarhus and Copenhagen, 36 researchers and over 8,000 people listened, played and discussed what AI has to offer. Much of the material has been stored and is freely available in our articles, podcasts and videos.

Join us, for example on a tour of various scientific disciplines ranging from computer science and language technology to art, psychology and traffic research. We’ll take you behind the scenes of an experimental space that showcases current issues and the most extreme situation where robots, deepfakes and algorithms replace our legislators, judges, doctors, teachers and artists.

Everything came together at the grand finale, which took place in two of Aarhus University’s main auditoriums, . Susanne Ditlevsen, president of the Royal Academy, conjured the spirit of the season and warmed up the stage for the final inputs from nine researchers in this round. Professor of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management Rasmus Fensholt talked about trees – or rather, he emphasised how AI can monitor whether buying carbon credits has a positive effect on the number of trees in the world. Luckily, he also elaborates on this in our podcast, where he and Professor Christian Igel unite computer science and natural science to address the issue of whether AI can save mother nature. Big gaping pitfalls exist but opportunities also abound.

All this can make your head spin, which is why KnowledgeCreates has enjoyed the presence of “The Neverending Story”, an art installation and interactive storytelling universe that communicates about AI. “The Neverending Story” has travelled with KnowledgeCreates workshops across Denmark, giving participants the opportunity to experiment with AI and contribute to one long, vibrant story told in text and images. From start to finish participants have become the co-authors of a story with today’s star of science: AI.

“The images that the model created as we tried to continue to write the story were impressive. It was incredibly interesting when we changed the parameters, and also fun and fantastic to learn about AI while playing with it,” says Vagn Niss, IT coordinator of the DaneAge Association, who left his mark on the story at the workshop in Hjallese.

This experience and co-ownership continue Science Museums as part of the “World Images” exhibition.

Although the search to find answers addressing the current theme is over for now, KnowledgeCreates will continue in 2025 to unite everyday life with science in ways that appeal to the eye, mind and heart. Sign up for the KnowledgeCreates newsletter to catch the latest news.

If you’re thirsty for more, check out KnowledgeCreates’ previous theme, which explored how science and everyday people addressed the question of how we will live in the future. To learn more see our articles, podcasts and videos.