TrustTalk - It's all about Trust

Rebuild Trust between Science and Society

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Episode notes

Today’s guest, Robert Lepenies, the youngest university President in Europe, believes that there are major economic and political interests that fuel the denial of science. We should focus not only on the symptoms but also on the deeper underlying structures that allow denialism to thrive.

To maintain trust in science. scientists should actively address issues like science publications that become more focused on ranking and commercialization rather than the content of the research or industry-sponsored research.

He is a frequent user of social media platforms such as TikTok, Twitter (he is called "The TikTok Scientist"), and LinkedIn to disseminate scientific insights.

When talking about ChatGPT he advocates soul searching about what is the purpose of the texts we produce in science, asking ourselves, why do we produce it in the way that we produce it? Why is it valuable to write, understand, read, to critically reflect? And what is it that the machine can do and what is it that it can't do?

As to AI-generated output, he believes that traditional methods of evaluating research are not enough to establish trust, suggesting the need for an “extended peer community" involving a broader range of people and stakeholders in the evaluation process.