Month: May 2025

The Kolnai Aurél Prize is awarded annually by the Hungarian Political Science Association for the best political science publication written and published in Hungarian in the previous year. This year, Csaba Molnár received the prize for his recently published  book at Gondolat: A súlytanaság súlya (The weight of weightlessness). The book can be found here: https://gondolatkiado.hu/webshop/tortenelem-es-politologia/a-sulytalansag-sulya-az-ellenzek-torvenyalkotasra-gyakorolt-hatasa-a-magyar-radikalis-jobboldal-peldajan-keresztul/ 

On 29 May 2025, the Algorithmic Constitutionalism Momentum research group, led by Boldizsár Szentgáli-Tóth, held a workshop to present seven draft studies produced during the project’s first year. Miklós Sebők participated as a discussant, contributing to the panel titled Artificial Intelligence and Parliaments, where he engaged in dialogue with Rudolf Berkes, Klára Szalay, and Boldizsár Szentgáli-Tóth. Further details of the event can be found HERE.

On May 22, 2025, poltextLAB organized a full-day Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) training for researchers of HUN-REN. The professional program, led by Miklós Sebők and Rebeka Kiss, aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of the application of generative artificial intelligence in scientific research, with a particular focus on methodological foundations, ethical considerations, and the integration of GenAI into specific research processes. The full-day training was structured into three main blocks: The first part introduced participants to the fundamentals of generative artificial intelligence, including the functioning and limitations of large language models. The second block focused on the practice of prompt engineering, the selection of appropriate models, and cost comparisons. The final section centered on research applications, covering topic selection, literature analysis, and data analysis, while also addressing ethical and legal aspects such as data protection, intellectual property rights, and proper citation methods. The full training curriculum is available HERE.

On May 20, 2025, researchers of poltextLAB and the HUN-REN CSS Institute of Political Science participated in data visualization training supported by the MILAB project. The training was held by Attila Bátorfy, lecturer at the Faculty of Humanities at ELTE. The presentation covered the following topics: – The anatomy of graphical representation of data. How do we see, “read” and interpret representations and the signs used in representations? What does this mean for the practice of representation?– Old and new advice on creating accurate representations. Common graphic errors, misunderstandings, and traditions that are worth avoiding. The ethics of representation.

On 13 May 2025, Miklós Sebők gave a lecture at the HUN-REN BTK Institute of Philosophy titled How Can Generative Artificial Intelligence Be Used in Social Science Research? A Methodological Overview with Examples from Political Philosophy. The talk was part of the “AI? Philosophical Questions about Artificial Intelligence” seminar series. Drawing on the Prompt Revolution methodological blog, Dr. Sebők introduced current generative AI tools used in social science and philosophical research. He covered the entire research cycle, from topic selection and literature review to qualitative data processing. Further details of the event can be found HERE.

A new interview with Miklós Sebők has been published in the weekly magazine HVG. The conversation presents the latest developments of poltextLAB’s flagship project, the Babel machine (babel.poltextlab.com). Dr. Sebők highlighted the tool’s reliability, multilingual capabilities, and its potential to significantly facilitate legal and scientific workflows. The most important features were also discussed, such as automated analysis of legal texts and media content, multilingual text processing, and emotion recognition. The full interview is available HERE.

On May 10, 2025, Miklós Sebők gave a course on political economics at Milton Friedman University’s professional camp. During the course, students learned about the political economy of globalization and post-globalization.

On 8 May 2025, Miklós Sebők representing the Political Science Committee of Hungarian Academy of Sciences, participated in a roundtable at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA) as part of the event Digitalisation – Global Opportunities, Local Challenges, Scientific Responses. The event brought together experts from multiple disciplines, offering a comprehensive view of Hungary’s current practices and the potential for more effective digital policy design.