The debate on generative AI seems stuck, circling around questions of cheating, authenticity and technology. It is often framed in overtly moralistic terms, where the focus lies on when and how one is “allowed” to use it for text production. Yet the more decisive question concerns something else: what happens to judgement, understanding and responsibility when people choose to outsource their own thinking? Of course one should use generative AI, but … Is it acceptable to use generative AI to write texts? And if so, when and in what way? Are you “authentic” if you let AI generate a text…
Subversivt
A discontinued preliminary investigation into sexual harassment has sparked strong reactions. When an offence does not lead to prosecution, the victim is often given a brief explanation: it cannot be proven. Yet in an era in which the justice system is simultaneously investing in powerful analytical tools capable of mapping connections across vast datasets, a question of legitimacy arises. How is the citizen to understand and relate to the distinction between serious investigative failure, prioritisation, and negligence when it is never clarified? “Over the course of a single day, a man repeatedly sent me (grossly) sexual images and video clips,…
When one of Sweden’s most security-critical authorities seeks expertise in American cloud technology, it reveals more than a simple recruitment need. Open sources, legal dependencies and geopolitics intertwine to form an uncomfortable question: just how sovereign is our digital preparedness? “Do you want to make a difference to society and contribute to Sweden’s independence in the world? We are now looking for an Azure technician with a focus on the development, operation and management of FRA’s cloud solutions. Does this sound like something for you? Apply now!” This is the wording of an advertisement issued by the National Defence Radio…
That the Swedish Public Employment Service’s Director of IT has appeared in advertising for a supplier has been described as reputation exploitation. But the real problem is neither brands nor marketing, but the subtle, symbolic influence that creates loyalty and undue advantages far beyond money and gifts. Principally right – but the wrong problem is identified The Director of IT at the Swedish Public Employment Service has been suspended. He appeared in advertising for Capgemini, one of the agency’s IT suppliers. That is, of course, both right and proper. In principle, at least. Parul Sharma, Secretary-General of the Institute Against…
When Stockholm rejected the United States’ demand to abolish its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes, it risked more than diplomatic displeasure. Sweden’s dependence on American cloud services means that a capricious US administration could, quite literally, shut down large parts of Swedish public administration at the press of a button. This is not primarily a question of technology. It is a question of national security. In May 2025, Stockholm City Council rejected a request from the US Embassy that the city dismantle its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes. I do not know precisely which applications Stockholm uses or…
We are increasingly abdicating personal responsibility and relying instead on public interventions. This signals a disastrous shift towards learned helplessness, leaving us unable to act when no helpers are nearby. This trend threatens not only to erode our individual capacity to handle crises, but also to weaken society’s structural self-confidence and diminish our collective moral courage, writes Hanna-Karin Grensman. “The safety chat is proving a success on public transport.” That is how the impact of the chat service, which since 2020 has enabled passengers to communicate directly with SL’s safety control centre, has been described. In concrete terms, it has…
What do we really mean when we say that someone is “bad in bed”? The idea sounds self-evident, yet it rests on a simplified and often misleading understanding of sexuality as performance rather than interaction. In practice, it creates insecurity, constrains agency, and makes intimacy more controlled and less free. It is time to stop rating people and start talking about compatibility instead. “I have a very high sex drive and need good partners to be satisfied. I’d never risk developing feelings for someone who later turned out to be bad in bed or poorly endowed.” Some people have a…
Trelleborg’s decision not to employ people who refuse to shake hands with members of the opposite sex is entirely reasonable. Refusing to shake hands is an ideological statement, and ideological special interests should not be allowed to take precedence over secular values. In Sweden, we make a fist and raise our thumb to signal approval. Try the same gesture in parts of the Middle East and it may be perceived as obscene or deeply offensive. A gesture, in other words, is never merely a gesture. It carries connotations and cultural associations that shape its meaning and determine how it is…
Bodily autonomy—the right to decide what happens to one’s own body—is affirmed in the United Nations’ human rights framework and ought to be regarded as inviolable. In reality, however, it proves to be largely theoretical. The Swedish state routinely grants itself extensive powers at the expense of its citizens. Do you believe that you own your body? That it is yours to do with as you wish? That you have a right to bodily autonomy? It is a popular belief. Yet upon closer examination, one is forced to conclude that it is largely untrue. Although human rights principles emphasise bodily…
Today’s parents are often forced to choose between teaching their children to do the right thing and giving them the best possible chance of succeeding in life. That is the consequence of a society in which being moral, diligent, kind and fair is far from always rewarded. People often say that your views on parenting change once you have children of your own. As an expectant parent, I expected as much. What I did not expect was the constant tension between conventional morality and giving my children the tools they need to succeed in contemporary society. Time and again, it…