Podcast "Spark - Stories from Advocates for Global Change"

Stefan Schlegel shares how human rights are not a given but a fragile achievement that must be defended anew by each generation. With a deep passion for migration law and a drive to challenge conventional thinking, he explains why Switzerland’s delayed creation of a national human rights body matters now more than ever. From his reflections on bias and resilience to his vision for a more open society, Stefan’s insights offer a compelling look into the evolving landscape of human rights.

He states that human rights aren’t just laws in books—they’re living principles that need the younger generation’s voice, curiosity, and courage to keep evolving and protecting everyone, especially in times of change. He also reflects on ways to overcome bias and the importance of including different perspectives, one of which is by combining law with other fields such as economics and sociology.

Stefan Schlegel is a member of the Swiss Young Academy and the Director of the newly founded Swiss Human Rights Institution in Fribourg which specializes in migration law.

Innovative methods for studying digitalization and its social impacts

In this episode, we sit down with Prof. Tommaso Venturini, a social scientist from the Media Lab at the University of Geneva, to explore how social media is transforming our information landscape. He discusses his interdisciplinary approach to studying digital technologies, combining quantitative analysis of large datasets with qualitative deep dives into specific cases. We explore the evolution of internet culture—from the early promise of horizontal, democratic communication to today's algorithm-driven attention economy.

Tommaso gives his perspective on how recommendation algorithms have replaced traditional media gatekeepers, shifting the challenge from "access to speaking" to "access to listening" and why we should move past viewing young people as victims of technology (a pattern repeated with TV and video games) and focus on smarter regulation instead. He explains how internet culture resembles oral traditions, where information requires constant repetition to persist, and why the study of folklore can help understand internet subcultures and conspiracy theories. He also explains how he engages with citizens through his work at the Public Data Lab and Citizen Facts project. 

Have you ever wondered how false information spread online can influence democracy and the public’s trust in it? Or would you like to know what the work of a fact-checker looks like?

In this episode, we hear from Sophie Timmermann, head of the fact-checking unit at CORRECTIV, a non-profit investigative media outlet in Germany. She shares what it’s like to do fact-checking professionally, discusses the influence of social media and disinformation on democracy, and explains why “prebunking” might be one of our best defenses in the fight against the spread of false information on social media.

We hear about two influential reporting lines at CORRECTIV: fact-checking reports on Doppelganger, a Russian campaign to spread propaganda using European companies. And an investigation on the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party’s efforts to deport millions of people living in Germany.

Follow CORRECTIV on instagram, youtube, X, and whatsapp, and donate here to help their work.

The impact of social media in different aspects of life

In this episode we hear from a member of the Swiss Young Academy: Anna Jobin, a senior researcher and lecturer at the Interdisciplinary Human-IST Institute at University of Fribourg, the president of the Swiss Federal Media Commission. She talks about how social media impacts all aspects of life, even to people that are not necessarily active. 

Anna gives us her social scientist perspective on the ban of social media for kids under 16 year olds in Australia. She also discusses how public opinion can be shaped by algorithms that control social media. From conspiracy theories to the politics of regulating fake news, she challenges us to ask: who decides what’s true? Tune in for a thought-provoking conversation on critical thinking in the digital age.

The advent of AI in robotics, and systems research, and teaching

In this episode we hear from two members of the Swiss Young Academy: Pamela Delgado, Assistant Professor at the HES-SO and lecturer at EPFL, and Emmanuel Senft, research scientist and group leader at the Idiap Research Institute. They talk to us about important challenges and benefits of using AI in their research. From improving human-robot interactions to helping find ways to manage the growing need for computational resources powering our everyday lives.

Pamela and Emmanuel also give their insights on how new AI tools can help shape the AI researchers of tomorrow. They share what it takes for motivated individuals to get into this field, and how other branches of science like social and human sciences can help bring about new fields of AI research to face the challenges of tomorrow.

Exploring the evolution, impact and future use of AI

In this episode, Andrea Emilio Rizzoli, director of the Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence (IDSIA) and professor at the University of Applied Sciences of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), addresses the dual nature of AI in helping to solve global challenges, such as climate change, while also acknowledging the environmental impact of AI technologies. An impact that needs to be transparent to the public.

He discusses the evolution of AI from rule-based to data-driven approaches and the impact that the bias in training data might have, as well as what could constitute a useful regulation of AI.

Listen to Andrea talk about the importance of educating the next generation to become expert AI users, which should help increase productivity, however still develop core abilities that generative AI can do, as well as logical thinking.

For more information, visit the IDSIA website or follow Andrea on LinkedIn, Instagram as @andrearizzoli and Bluesky as @rizzoli.bsky.social.

How important was/is the human intervention for its adoption and future

In this episode, Silvia Quarteroni, Current Chief Transformation Officer & Head of Innovation at the Swiss Data Science Center (SDSC), talks about the origins and evolution of AI as well as the active part we all have in shaping its future.

She also discusses past, current and future possible applications of AI, with an accent on potential development of personalisation for medicine.

Listen to Silvia talk about the importance of embracing AI and how the professional path of many disciplines can lead to AI, due to the importance of solving problems in a pragmatic way.

For more information, visit the SDSC website or follow Silvia on LinkedIn.

How collaboration across disciplines and outside academia is needed to address climate change.

In this episode, Janet Hering, former Director of the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science & Technology (Eawag) and Professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETHZ) and Lausanne (EPFL), shares her experience in leading one of the world’s leading water research institute and working at the interface between science and policy. 

Learn how interdisciplinary research is needed to address climate change and its consequences, and how universities need to change to encourage collaborations between researchers and outside academia to have a practical impact.

Listen to Janet talk about her work at the interface between politics and science, the role of scientific institutions in society, how to include citizens in policy-making, and the power of young generations.

In this episode, Arnaud Nussbaumer-Laghzaoui, president of Avocat.e.s pour le climat and partner at Jacquemoud Stanislas, shares his experience in defending cases related to the climate crisis in Switzerland.

Dive into his work including defending the protesters who staged tennis matches in Credit Suisse branches, holding FIFA accountable for greenwashing practices during the 2022 world cup in Qatar, and an upcoming case against the Swiss government representing Swiss farmers impacted by climate change.

Learn about the creative legal work required for climate change cases, the growing role of young lawyers and judges, and why he continues to take on these complex cases.

This episode was recorded before the decision from the European Court on the case brought by the Senior Women for Climate Protection Switzerland against the Swiss government.

More information on Avocat.e.s pour le climat here, the Credit Suisse Protesters Trials here and  on the case against FIFA here.

Mirko Winkel, an artist from the Institute of Geography of the University of Bern, talks to our hosts Julia and Tanish about his work at the mLAB. It is a unique space that explores novel roles of art in geography research and community outreach. From using cartographic methods, to applying artistic mapping techniques in scientific studies, the mLAB fosters transdisciplinary collaboration and helps students bring creative ideas to life.

Discover how art made climate change more tangible through an immersive project in Bern focused on “heat islands” – urban areas that trap heat due to human intervention. In a project developed for Bümpliz, participants rode bikes equipped with thermometers to track temperature shifts across the city. They then analyzed the data with mathematical models in a Ansermetplatz square and experienced the cooling effect of noble infrastructure like a public pool and increased tree coverage in this notorious heat island. This project made climate science accessible and intuitive for the public and policy makers alike.

For more information, visit the mLAB website, and follow them on Facebook, Instagram (@mlab.unibern) and X https://x.com/bernmlab.

Hosts for this Episode: Julia Knuchel and Tanish Shinde