Darja Grošelj

V prispevku se osredotočava na delovanje in uporabo velikih jezikovnih modelov ter z njimi povezanimi avtorskopravnimi vprašanji, z ozirom na uporabo orodja ChatGPT. ChatGPT je sistem generativne splošne umetne inteligence, ki ga lahko uporabimo za najrazličnejše naloge. Model je izurjen na velikih količinah podatkov, katerih izvor in uporaba nista natančno opredeljena, končni izdelek pa je prilagojen kontekstu, ki ga model razbere iz pogovora. V zvezi z ustvarjanjem izdelkov s ChatGPT se z vidika avtorskega prava osredotočava na vprašanja, ali je izdelek, ustvarjen s pomočjo ChatGPT, avtorsko delo in če je, kdo je avtor, ter ali gre pri uporabi s ChatGPT ustvarjenega izdelka lahko za kršitev avtorskih pravic na obstoječih avtorskih delih. Če uporabnikove svobodne in ustvarjalne izbire pri uporabi orodja ChatGPT zadostijo standardu individualnosti, je izdelek lahko avtorsko delo. Pri presoji kršitve avtorske pravice na obstoječih delih pa je bistveno razlikovanje med posnemanjem sloga in reprodukcijo.

Internet nonuse persists among the most excluded groups of people, particularly among aging and low-educated populations. Proxy internet use (PIU), where nonusers ask internet users to do things online for them, helps nonusers mitigate their exclusion from the digital realm. This study examines the changing factors that shape PIU activation. Specifically, it focuses on the changing role of socio-demographics and family support in internet nonusers’ access to online services by comparing factors engendering active engagement in PIU in 2009 and 2018. The results from multivariate analyses of cross-sectional survey data from two nationwide representative samples collected nine years apart in Slovenia show that both sets of factors have lost their explanatory power over time. At the same time, internet nonusers are increasingly concentrated in the most vulnerable groups of people. Specifically, the decreasing importance of (grand)children as proxy users and the newly emerging importance of spouses or partners represents a shift away from intergenerational support and toward intragenerational support in regards to who nonusers rely on when asking for help with online tasks and services.

Internet access is now characterized by multi-device, mobile, and ubiquitous access. We explore the changing nature of internet access by focusing on social practices that shape the position and role of internet technologies in everyday internet use. Drawing on the domestication framework, the study uses data from qualitative interviews with UK internet users to explore how technologies are re-domesticated. Three practices encompassing how internet users develop and maintain internet access were identified: spotlighting, distributing, and making do. In addition, orientation, understanding, play, and communication internet dependencies were examined to determine how individuals relate to internet technologies. The practices of re-domestication reflect differences in the role that internet technologies play in individuals’ daily lives, and differences in the availability of offline resources. The study contributes to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the development and maintenance of internet access, depending on whether access arrangements are shaped by digital exclusion or choice.

This study assessed the construct and criterion validity of the short version of the Internet Skills Scale and examined whether its four dimensions – Operational, Information Navigation, Social, and Creative skills – are influenced by a higher-order dimension of general internet skills as one second-order factor. In 2018, a face-to-face survey comprising of the 20-item Internet Skills Scale and 22 other items related to digital inclusion was conducted in a sample of 814 internet users in Slovenia. The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, as well as other multivariate methods, showed that the Internet Skills Scale is characterized by high to adequate convergent and divergent validity. Acceptable criterion validity was observed for Operational and Information Navigation skills. In terms of measurement invariance, the data supported configural and metric invariance, whereas the scalar invariance was not fully confirmed, suggesting that older adults’ lower scores on the Creative skills items were not related to lower levels of internet skills in the same way as they were among younger individuals. Last, the results provided original evidence of the Internet Skills Scale as a second-order construct, meaning that a single summative Internet Skills Scale score could be created as an adequate measure of an individual’s internet skills.

An important contribution of digital inequalities research has been the discussion of nuances in ways that people (dis)engage with information and communication technologies (ICTs). One such practice is proxy Internet use (PIU): indirect Internet access by asking others to do things online for them or on their behalf. Whereas there is a good amount of research on those who are on the receiving end of PIU, users-by-proxy, little is known about “proxy users” who provide PIU. Analyses of nationally representative survey data from Slovenia (N = 1047) collected in 2018 show that 51% of Internet users reported to have acted as proxy users in the past 12 months. Multivariate analyses unveil that those Internet users who report a wider array of personal, economic, social Internet uses as well as those with higher levels of operational Internet skills are more likely to act as proxy users.

Research into digital inequalities has shifted from a binary view of Internet use versus non-use to studying gradations in Internet use. However, this research has mostly compared categories of users only. In addition, the role of attitudes in digital inequalities has been largely overlooked. This article addresses these limitations by performing a systematic analysis of factors that distinguish low Internet users from non-users, regular users, and broad users. In addition to socio-demographic characteristics, we examine attitudinal variables. Results drawn from multinomial regressions indicate that attitudes play at least as large a role as socio-economic factors in determining the likelihood of belonging to specific (non-)user categories. This identifies positive attitudes toward technologies and the Internet as a crucial step toward Internet adoption. Hence, digital inequality research needs to consider factors other than traditional socio-economic ones to draw a complete picture.

The evolution of mobile is reshaping the future of communication in the digital age. This report identifies emerging patterns of mobile communication and the factors that are shaping its future, including its societal implications. This analysis is used to speculate on alternative scenarios for the future of mobile communication and key developments on which these futures depend. The analyses of trends, and the emerging scenarios they support, are based on a critical overview of existing literature, empirical data on mobile adoption and use, and interviews with experts in mobile and related technologies, communication, and information services. While this review is limited, both with respect to the data available and the range of interviews conducted, it suggests fruitful directions for further research on the future of one of the most important areas of innovation in our digital world.