Emma Frans puts generative AI in focus at Kunskap För Livet 2026

The Faculty of Pharmacy welcomes researcher and author Emma Frans to Kunskap För Livet 2026 at Uppsala University’s Grand Auditorium. Emma Frans – who is currently promoting her new book Mental Upgrade: Navigating an Era of Smart Technology and Human Stupidity – has been awarded the Stora Journalistpriset for her efforts to help people distinguish science from nonsense, and has twice been named Science Communicator of the Year. At Kunskap För Livet, Emma will give Uppsala's high school students insights into how we can use AI as a tool – without letting technology think, choose and live for us.

“Generative AI is here to stay, and it presents us with both opportunities and challenges. We therefore need to learn together how to use this new technology in the right way, including the ability to actively and critically evaluate AI-generated information. Therefor, we are very pleased to welcome Emma Frans to Kunskap För Livet and give us perspectives that we will all benefit greatly from,” says Dean Anja Sandström.

No one denies that generative AI makes life considerably easier. Today, we have a personal assistant that never says no. Help with homework, discussing feelings or simply prompting a few cool images? No problem! But is there a risk that we lean back a little too far and hand over too much to technology? We do not yet know exactly what AI is doing to us – or how we can tell when it is simply talking nonsense. Obvious, however, is that the development is moving at breakneck speed. And above all: it is we, not technology, who must decide what role AI should play in our lives.

“One major, brain-numbing problem is how we use the internet. We take too many shortcuts. AI is an excellent tool for automating repetitive work, but the way it is being used today risks becoming destructive. We humans benefit from using our creativity. Write, draw, make music: practise the skills you want to maintain and develop. Everything else you can get help with. In a way, this is about updating the old ideals of Bildung, and we all need a few good tips along the way,” says Emma Frans.

With Emma Frans, the programme for Kunskap För Livet 2026 is now complete. At the Grand Auditorium, Emma will be joined by Diamant Salihu (journalist), Elaine Eksvärd (rhetoric expert), Mårten Nylén (health and wellbeing coach), IK Sirius Fotboll, Jale Poljarevius (police officer), Beata Kull (social entrepreneur), Christian Benedict (sleep researcher), Martin Fernström (educator and TV host) and Mathias Hallberg (addiction researcher). Together with high school students and teachers from Uppsala, they will explore how young people can take the next step towards a sustainable lifestyle.

“In dialogue with Uppsala’s high schools, we developed a clear vision for Kunskap För Livet 2026. We can now present a selection of amazing experts who can together give young people the tools they need to handle the challenges of everyday life. The fact that the Grand Auditorium has long been fully booked, with more than 2,000 students and teachers, is both inspiring and a clear indication of how important these issues are. Everything is now set for a fantastic meeting place,” says Mathias Hallberg, Deputy Vice-Rector.

Watch the film Kunskap För Livet 2025

Text: Magnus Alsne, photo: Mikael Wallerstedt a o