Barbara Prainsack

Exploring how data, technology, and solidarity shape our societies

About

I am a professor at the Department of Political Science at the University of Vienna in Austria

I also chair the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE), which advises the European Commission


Reflections on reading and writing

One of the most frustrating aspects of generative AI is the staleness of the writing that it produces. I feel that so many texts I read these days have no soul. I cannot put my fingers on exactly why.

The more soulless texts we read, the more important good human writing becomes. It does not need to be perfect to have a soul. Like human beings, scars and imperfections can make it come alive. They can make it beautiful.

In case it is helpful:

  1. I collated texts on good writing (in the social sciences specifically): https://barbaraprainsack.wordpress.com/2019/12/26/writing-well-in-the-social-sciences-recommended-readings/ (I will update it soon, I promise)

2. Here is my recipe for breaking through writers’ and other blocks. These blocks make us feel that writing is a chore rather than a pleasure. “Don’t write on Fridays”: https://nilq.qub.ac.uk/index.php/nilq/article/view/1198/972 ( 🙏 Mark Flear for inviting me to write this)