Have you used any AI this week, NAME?

About a quarter of the Dutch population actively uses generative AI tools (like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini), according to the Bureau of Statistics (CBS), and our prime minister is one of them, which caused a stir in the Dutch AI debate last week.

Dutch writer Francis Esfandiari admitted in a controversial op-ed that she uses AI and isn't ashamed of it, AI leaders themselves endorse slowing down the technology, and I just read another Instagram post in AI language by someone advocating for authenticity.

Three things came to mind: 1. Everything is constantly changing. The use of the technology and the way we talk about it shifts weekly. 2. We need to widen the lens and create stories that acknowledge complexity. 3. Fearmongering narratives paralyze us all. More on this below.

Tuesday at 12 PM/noon CET I'm organizing a live Zoom meeting about the well-being program The Human Pace. Register here.

Sanne

DEEP DIVE

Do we need to change the conversation around AI?

Dutch author Roxane van Iperen writes in an op-ed that "we talk about AI in the wrong way", and we "underestimate what is currently at stake". She mentions how "Big Tech's colonization of our minds" results in "a flitting mind that darts from one stimulus to the next". The lack of ability to concentrate eventually affects how we draw connections and understand the world. Or, in other words, AI influences the fabric of a democratic society.

The comparison she makes refers to decolonial critique without mentioning it. She describes AI as a (mono)culture spread by a handful of billionaires who adhere to an ideology of techno-fascism. Her solution is for universities and other educational institutions to build "a counter-culture rooted in local soil". The way she describes it — "a place that still makes room for human friction, doubt, debate, physical contact, slowing down, purposelessness, reading, and philosophizing" — sounds exactly like… a public library.

And that's my problem with many of the contributions I read about AI. It's not that I disrespect authors like Van Iperen. I'd even say she's one of the bigger thinkers of our country. What's being missed is that a lot of the fearmongering about this new technology eventually leads to solutions that already exist and that need more attention.

Instead of writing a big part of your article about the problem with a possible solution as an afterthought, it's more interesting and effective to center the approach. Solutions journalism does that and gives the reader agency.

Blaming Big Tech ignores the real question

I see a similar reflex in the debate about social media. Digital strategy adviser Ilyaz Nasrullah wrote in the newspaper Trouw about Elon Musk's supposed influence on the AfD victory in Germany. Musk has shown his longtime support for this far-right political party, but Nasrullah writes that blaming the fascist tech-bros whose social media platforms channel far-right ideas means ignoring the real question: "How is it possible that people want more far-right ideas in the first place?"

He refers to 9/11 and how, in many Western countries, the us-versus-them mindset has become mainstream, especially reflected in islamophobia. Politicians from left to right fueled the idea that societal problems have roots in ethnicity, and so people now think the solution is ethnic cleansing, Nasrullah states.

His point — that it's the politicians in the middle who normalized this extreme way of thinking, paving the way for the far-right — links to what I've written before about racism: the straight-up, in-your-face racists aren't the issue. They're loud and clear; you know where to find them. It's the people who are moderately anti-racist but never really act on it who prevent change from happening.

Words can only do so much.

The public library as a solution

The public library is a complex space. I've loved going there ever since college and spent many afternoons reading and working there instead of the university library, just for the atmosphere among people from all walks of life, and because I could read ten magazines for free.

Public libraries are growing in popularity in the Netherlands: 3.8 million people were members in 2025 (population of 17 million), a 3% increase from the year before. Libraries organize activities from reading clubs to debates, language courses, and technical classes. "We're the living room of the city where everyone can walk in," a director is quoted in Trouw. She goes further: "We are the Keeper of Democracy," emphasizing the pluriformity of information and the fact that it's a neutral space.

Funnily enough, the article mentions a 17-year-old who gets her book tips from TikTok, where she follows book community accounts. Social media accounts aren't all bad, I guess. Library staff also share that there's a huge offline trend of people wanting less screen time.

The Source Library

A few weeks ago, I read about the Source Library, which makes previously untranslated Renaissance texts accessible online. Assistant professor of Positive AI Derek Lomas is the initiator, and in his work he asks how psychology and design can shape AI systems that contribute to our well-being, our learning, and our idea of beauty. He feels a huge responsibility around AI:

His inspiration comes from philosopher, priest, and doctor Marsilio Ficino, who in the fifteenth century translated the complete works of Plato — texts that weren't accessible at the time, and which went on to hugely influence Western thinking.

He found there are still many Renaissance texts left untranslated, so he started doing that himself while studying in Oxford. When GPT-4 arrived, it accelerated: "I envisioned reading and understanding Indian and Chinese philosophers, or taking in ideas from other languages."

The Source Library is now online, with over 15,000 books in more than 55 languages — mostly spiritual books that trigger the imagination, the professor says. He hopes it ultimately leads to a new renaissance:

Critics say translating texts isn't the same as interpreting them: we still need historical knowledge and deep insight into ways of thinking radically different from our techno-rationalist approach to reality.

The library as an approach to a problem is a good example of solutions journalism. After reading this, you might think: what other texts could we translate using AI? What kind of library could we set up ourselves? How can we go beyond fearmongering and islamophobia? It inspires action without becoming an activist piece of writing.

What this looks like for media leaders

Look at stories with a solutions journalism lens. Don't just immediately assume the problem, but pause and thoroughly research it. Once you know all aspects of an issue, you can then look at who is trying to solve it. Multiple ideas will come up, and you pick one to investigate deeper.

That's, in short, how solutions journalism works. And the world screams for more of it. As a newsroom leader or communication manager, it's important to implement this method and not just leave it to one enthusiastic reporter or colleague. So, as a leader, create the framework in which it can flourish. It will contribute to constructive discussions in editorial meetings and challenge everyone to think beyond the problem.

The leader's job is to slow the fearmongering reflex down before it spreads through the team and reaches the audiences. It's a different pace than most of us are used to. It's the human pace needed to slow AI down: focus on what is actually happening and what we can learn from it.

Create your own pace

The first official testimonial of the well-being program The Human Pace is there, and I couldn't be happier! The launch price of $197 USD is available until 9 October. Don't be late!

See you next week!

Sanne