We are delighted to announce the eighth episode of Earth to Research, the podcast created by our colleague Lucy Sabin for RE4GREEN, which opens up space for critical reflection on the growing presence of artificial intelligence in research and everyday practice.
Titled Slow AI-cademia, this episode features Mariana Fernández Mora of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, whose work challenges dominant narratives around AI through her project Slow AI. The conversation invites listeners to reconsider how algorithmic systems are shaping academic cultures, knowledge production, and ethical responsibility.
Rather than centring technical performance or efficiency, the episode foregrounds values, emotions, and intentions in our engagements with generative AI. Through speculative thinking and storytelling, Mariana proposes alternative ways of relating to algorithmic technologies—ones that are attentive to environmental limits, social justice, and more-than-human perspectives. Themes of consciousness, nature, and care run throughout, offering a clear departure from mainstream Silicon Valley imaginaries.
This episode will be of interest to students, early-career researchers, educators, research co-ordinators, and AI practitioners alike. It encourages listeners to slow down, question assumptions, and imagine different futures for AI in academia. The discussion concludes—appropriately—with a spell, reminding us that critical inquiry can also be playful, poetic, and transformative.
References
Fernández Mora, M. (2025). A spell for the unlearning machine. In Fernández Mora, M. (ed.), Restless grounds: Speculative futures on algorithmic technologies, 1, May.
UNEP (2024). AI has an environmental problem. Here’s what the world can do about that. September 21.
Find and listen to all episodes of Earth to Research on:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/28S05gUCjiCW5Cczdg22j1
Podbean: https://earthtoresearch.podbean.com/