Last Week in Denmark

Denmark’s Health Bus, Harbour Safety & Danish AI Schools: LWID S5E20

• Season 5 • Episode 20

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Health checks, water safety & AI schools: Dom and Katie close season five with Denmark’s diabetes testing bus, new national swimming recommendations, AI entering school curriculums, and a Nordhavn wedding ring rescue that shows how community can still surprise you.  

Topics:

(02:26) Danish Diabetes Checks

(10:27) Danish  Swimming Rules 

(19:53) Danish AI Schools

(30:01) Wedding ring rescue

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Dominika Handzlik: 

Welcome to the Last Week in Denmark podcast. Each week, we're here to talk through Danish news stories and developments and how they impact internationals living here. If you're an international living in Denmark or are thinking of moving here, you'll wanna check out many of these episodes. We've got five full seasons ready for you to explore, and season six, restarting after the summer. 

I am Dom, and I'm here with Katie. Today, we're going to discuss the Diabetes Association traveling around Denmark to raise awareness, the first national swimming recommendations, artificial intelligence classes in schools, and, to finish it off, we have a heartwarming story about the power of community in Denmark. 

Before we get going, though, we would like to ask one thing. If what we're talking about resonates with you, please leave a comment for us on Spotify or YouTube. We are here to help internationals in Denmark stay informed and feel connected. Thanks for helping us reach more people like you. 

So hello, Katie. How are you doing in the last days of May?

Katie: 

Oh my God, I can't believe it. I can't believe it's the summer. I can't believe it's basically June. I can't believe we're at the end of this season for the podcast. I feel like we just started. It's crazy

Dominika Handzlik: I know. I can't believe we're mid-2026. That is insane

Katie: 

No, that's stressful. I also didn't feel that way in April, which is confusing 'cause April was not that long ago. But at the same time, now I'm like, "Oh my God, the year is nearly over. It's practically Christmas."

Dominika Handzlik: I know. I still sometimes accidentally write 2025. So yeah.

Katie: I just stopped writing years.

Dominika Handzlik: 

They do say that time goes by faster when you get older, and I guess that's what they meant, and I don't like. 

Katie: 

I think it depends on the week. I feel like in the moment, particularly the working days, it's very like, "Oh, when will this ever end? How is it still only Tuesday?" But then you look back, and you're like, "Excuse me, what did I do for the last six months? Who am I?"

Dominika Handzlik: 

Yeah, it's very weird. But well, the positive thing is that there's... summer's coming.

Katie: Yes. 

Dominika Handzlik: Yeah, soon Denmark's going to be all happy people and beer.

Katie: So much beer. So much beer.

Dominika Handzlik: 

Yeah, exactly. All right, so are you ready to dive into our topics for the day?

Katie: Yes, super excited for the last time this season to go through these topics.

Dominika Handzlik: 

Exactly. It's a, it's a big episode today, and I think we have some interesting topics. So I think to start it off, we can start with our Diabetes Association topic. It's estimated that around 100,000 people in Denmark live with type 2 diabetes without knowing it, and there are 500,000 that have preexisting conditions for the disease. So that's why the Diabetes Association health bus will travel around the country to let people get tested. Have you ever seen that bus around, or have you used it?

Katie: 

You know, I think I have seen it, but it was in Copenhagen Train Station, and I was waiting for a train, and I was also drinking a very large McDonald's Coca-Cola when I saw it, so I didn't really ... 'Cause they just have a, it's like a big red bus that says blood sugar on it, and I was like, "Ooh, maybe not today."

But I think it's a great idea. Like, and, and it was, like, you know, Copenhagen Train Station is pretty big in the sense that there's a lot of space, there's a lot of things that could fit in there, and it definitely drew me in and attracted people to it. So I think in terms of, like, grabbing people's attention and getting awareness, yes, I have seen them, and I remember them. And then when I saw the story, I was like, "Ah, that's what that was. It wasn't just people with blood in a van somewhere."

Dominika Handzlik: Very sketchy.

Katie: Yeah.

Dominika Handzlik: 

Yeah, and I actually didn't know that it's touring all around the country basically until November. So it has started on the 6th of May in Næstved, and it's gonna tour all the way until November 14th, and it's gonna finish in Aarhus. 

Katie:

Yes. Maybe I will attempt to speak to them and find out if I have any symptoms. But you know, it's one of these things, obviously I saw the bus before, and I was like, "Oh, that's cool that Denmark does that." But it was only this topic that I started looking into type 2 diabetes. 'Cause it's something I feel like I know.

It kind of floats around. A lot of, like, my friends' parents have it. My dad has it, and has had it for I think over 10 years now. Um, so I kinda just think of, like, okay. And my dad is a... I don't think he's the ideal patient. If he wants more chocolate, he just does something different with his insulin. So, I don't know that he's doing it the right way.

Dominika Handzlik: Oh, that is that easy?

Katie: 

I mean, he says it is. I wouldn't go to him for medical advice is my, my personal recommendation Um, But I suppose it was something that I didn't know too much about, and it kind of prompted me to challenge some of my biases as well because I think in my mind, and I assume I got this from media and television, I'm not sure where I got it from, but I thought you had to be overweight to get type 2 diabetes, and that's just not at all true. It increases your risk of type 2 diabetes, but it's your weight is not an indicator of whether you can have type 2 diabetes or not. I also had a moment of like, what is type 2 diabetes? Like, what does that actually mean? And it's, I think most people do know this, but just in case, it is when your body becomes resistant to insulin or doesn't produce enough insulin, leading to high blood sugar, which sounds pretty harmless, right? But then I started looking into the symptoms. Like, so when we get to like extremes as symptoms and like the extreme effects if you don't catch the type 2 diabetes early signals, and sometimes there's no signals for type 2 diabetes. It's just sitting there happening inside your body. But you can get damage to your retina. You can have blurred vision that won't improve, and you can completely lose your vision. You can get kidney damage, so there's like diabetic kidney disease, very specifically related to diabetes. You can get protein leaking into the urine, swelling in the feet and ankles, and in severe cases, complete kidney failure. You can get nerve damage, numbness, tingling, burning, or pain in your feet and hands, loss of sensation, and increasing risk of unnoticed injuries, digestive problems, dizziness when standing, or sexual dysfunction. Pretty big deal. And then in terms of like heart disease, you have a higher risk of coronary artery disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and poor circulation in your legs. Slow-healing wounds come up a lot. You can get foot ulcers, which I've never heard of and sound terrible, serious infections, and you can get amputation, which I feel like I've only seen in hospital shows, but like it can happen. And then you can also, just in terms of your skin, you can get frequent bacterial or fungal infections, itching and skin changes, or poor wound healing, which all sounds very serious.

Dominika Handzlik: Oh boy.

Katie: 

And I feel like we have not been warned enough about what can happen if you don't catch this. So I'm very happy about the bus, personally.

Dominika Handzlik: 

True. I feel like the Diabetes Association should pay you for this episode, because now I'm definitely gonna get tested. I'm such a hypochondriac. I'm going to feel all the things tonight and be like, "Oh, no,"

Katie: Oh, I'm so sorry.

Katie: 

I, yeah, yeah. I did, 'cause I also got one of the early signs, and I'm like, "Am I gonna make everybody flock to the doctor's office if I go through them?"

Dominika Handzlik: 

But it's good. I, the, you know, if it's, if the bus is there and it's free, I think we should definitely make use of it. That's one of the great things about Denmark, that there's all these opportunities to get tested and make sure that you're okay, and we should use it. Because it's true, there is a, I guess, like, a belief that only overweight, older people can get it, which does make it more likely, but you can get type 2 diabetes at any age, if you have a sedentary job. And I guess at this point we should add a disclaimer that neither of us are medical professional, so none of this constitutes medical advice.

Katie: You don't know anything about me. No. 

Dominika Handzlik: Please do not sue us. 

Katie: 

Oh, yeah..As a customer success manager in diabetic... No. But yeah, no, I was surprised by the risk factors. So it is, you can have... If you, basically, if you have a family history of diabetes, which I do, older age, matter of opinion, not quite there yet, I think. Physical inactivity depends on the day, but yes, often. If you have certain ethnic backgrounds, you're more prone to type 2 diabetes.

If you have a history of gestational diabetes during pregnancy, which is a terrible thing I learned about recently, where just when you're pregnant, you just become diabetic, and there's a 50/50 chance it will stay that way. If you have conditions associated with insulin resistance, such as polycystic ovary syndrome, super super common in women, so just something else that makes PCOS terrible. And then high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol levels, they can all be increasing the risk of you having type 2 diabetes. Please don't panic.

Dominika Handzlik: 

Okay. Please don't panic, but go get tested while the bus is there. And it's also very fast because basically you go to the bus and they just ask you a few questions about your risk factors, and then they just do the test and it's very quick. And even for someone like me who's scared of needles, it's, it's fine. It's just a little prick, and then you get the result right away. So I think it's such a great opportunity to get tested, and everyone should do it.

Katie: 

Yeah, for sure. I also, when I was looking at the, like, if you get early symptoms, like, they just, they sound so normal to me. Or, like, depend- particularly in summer, for example, there's increased thirst and frequent urination. I'm kind of like,

Dominika Handzlik: Yeah

Katie: 

"I mean, it's sunny. I need, I need seven beers. It's the only way I'm gonna get through the day." Does that count as thirsty? I'm not sure. But also increased hunger, which, honestly, all the time. Or especially in winter when you need more comfort. What is normal hunger? Fatigue. Yes, that's adulthood. vision. Slow-healing sores or frequent infections.

Dominika Handzlik: Yeah. After the five beers, yeah.

Katie: Yeah, that's true. I mean, when you put it all together. Weight loss, which I was surprised by. And then darkened skin areas, which I've not really heard of before. It's often around the neck or armpits. And then tingling pain. So don't pay attention to your hands and feet, maybe if you're a hypochondriac

Dominika Handzlik: 

No, I won't, I won't. But I think the good news is also if you catch it early, it's easier to manage, and it is, yeah, it's completely manageable. We're in the 21st century, so there's no reason to panic

Katie:

Yeah. And if you go by my dad's rules, then you can eat whatever you want. You just need to figure out how to game the system. I'm sure there's no negative consequences whatsoever

Dominika Handzlik: 

No, sure there isn't. Well, okay, speaking of no negative consequences, I guess we could move on to our next topic. Which is, we have the first national recommendations for what children and adults should be able to do in the water, and this comes after around 100 people drown every year. And, well, yeah, wherever, whenever you go out to the harbor, there's always people swimming, so I think it's good that now we have these official recommendations in Denmark that can be used, for example, by swimming schools or sports associations to know whether someone, you could say, meets the minimum criteria to be safe in the water on their own or if they're a child, in their case, with an adult. So do you go swimming a lot?

Katie: 

No, I don't. And I, you know, I was reading these recommendations. So, for adults, the recommendations are that you should be able to swim 200 meters continuously without aids, including 25 meters on your back. I don't really know what 200 meters is in water. I don't really know what it is on land either.

Dominika Handzlik: No, I have no frame of reference.

Katie: 

You need to be able to float, turn, and tread water for three minutes in deep water. I think I could do that. I think I'd be fine. Enter and exit deep water safely. Maybe. I think. I have gone, like there's... I live on Aarhus Ø, the O with the seatbelt, 'cause I often say that wrong. And there's a lot of stairs that just go straight into the ocean, so you can jump in. I've done that a couple of times. It's cold. I don't like it, but you can do it. Um, that's been fine. Swim underwater for at least five meters and retrieve an object from two meters depth. I'm not good at that. I'm not good at getting down far. I kind of float back up, and I don't know how to stop doing that. Assist an unconscious person in the water using a flotation device. I have learned this when doing standup paddleboarding, but if I don't have a standup paddleboard, I don't know how helpful I would be in that situation. And then recognize an emergency, call 112, assess breathing, perform CPR, and place someone in the recovery position. I do know how to do that, but it sounds very stressful. I don't know how I'd respond in the moment, but I would try

Dominika Handzlik: 

No, exactly. I can do it on the dummy, but could I do it in real life? I don't, and there's no way to really check.

Katie: 

Yeah, and I do think, like, great to have the recommendations. No problem with having the recommendations, and I think, you know, it's obviously in Denmark you're never more than 50 kilometers away from water, and coming from Ireland, we have a similar problem. Like, just the fact that there is so much water, people do drown. And like I can think of kind of five people I know off the top of my head who don't know how to swim, and just on an island nation that's, like, we shouldn't have that. It should be a critical skill that everyone gets to have. But it is like, okay, I'm an adult in Denmark, I know I can do some of this. I don't know if I can do all of it. How do I check? How do I know if it's safe for me to go and swim? Like, I need like, like the diabetes truck, a swimming truck for me, and someone to just tell me, can I do it or can I not?

Dominika Handzlik:  Can you be in the water safely on your own?

Katie: They just have like a big truck with a pool. It was like, "Get in. We'll see if you die."

Dominika Handzlik: 

Yeah. Swim. But I think it's also quite nice that they, they made these five swimming tips for children, which I thought it was funny. The first swimming tip was to learn to swim. It's like, okay.

Katie: Good, good, good tip

Dominika Handzlik: 

I guess I knew that already. The second one was never to go alone in the water. And by the way, this is translated directly from Danish, so it's not...

Katie: Mm-hmm.

Dominika Handzlik: 

It does, I guess it sounds better in Danish. The third one was reading the wind and the water. The fourth one was to get to know the beach, and the fifth one is not to let others out of sight. Which are all pretty, I would say, common sense rules.

Katie: You would think, but they have to make the rules for a reason.

Dominika Handzlik: 

Yeah, there's probably some person who didn't follow that. But I think it's quite nice that they divided these recommendations into, like, very small children, between zero and six years old, to 12 years old, and then anyone above 18. So basically, anyone can have some recommendations and know whether they're safe or not. And according to a survey that's been done, 43% of adults in Denmark are able to do that, which is concerning that more than half cannot follow these swimming recommendations.

Fionn:

Did you know that The Last Week in Denmark newsletter is available in 8 languages? Hey there, this is Fionn from The Last Week in Denmark podcast, and every week you guys are tuning in to hear me and my fellow co-hosts talk about the top news of the week in English. But let's be real, we're all internationals, so not only are you speaking English every day, but you're probably also speaking a bit of Danish. But you've probably also got your own native language as well, like the multilingual master you are. So why not treat yourself to the luxury of being able to read Danish news each week in your own native language? So head on over to lastweekdk.substack.com. That's lastweekdk.substack.com. And sign up for our newsletter delivered to you every single Sunday.


Katie: 

Concerning, but I don't know that I'm surprised in the sense that, you know, I don't know what it's like in Copenhagen. But when I think about Aarhus, there are two swimming pools that I can get to. One is kind of a 30-minute walk, a 20-minute bus. It's open at weird times. Like, they kinda change the opening times depending on the time of year. And it's like it's a fine, a standard swimming pool, I would say. Then there's a much bigger swimming pool, but I think it's like an hour away from me. So in terms of like access to pools, I obviously have access to the sea. I'm very close to the sea. But like that, now I don't know if I should be getting in the sea. Is it safe? You know, and there are no lifeguards or anything. It's just people getting in the water and getting out of the water, and they just kind of trust that you know your own limits. But I'm also ... if you're not a confident swimmer, I don't think this is accessible or affordable for a lot of people. So just for example, it's not proper swimming lessons, but my partner is pregnant, and she's doing just pregnancy or, like, water exercises while she's pregnant. And for six weeks, so six sessions over six weeks, it's 900 kroner. And it's, you know, it, it's good for her, and we obviously want her to exercise, but that is expensive. And, you know, it's that kind of, if I'm not good enough at swimming and I need someone to teach me how to swim, how affordable is that for people to now get this skill? And then it's also that case of like, if I'm an adult who can't safely swim, how can I keep my children safe? Because okay, they're not gonna go in the water alone, but how can I help them if they're in distress? So while I really like the recommendations, I think it's so, so important, particularly because there is so much water in Denmark, and it is obviously a problem. I also think Denmark is kind of averse to putting up barriers around water. Like, I remember when I first arrived in Copenhagen, 'cause I was in Copenhagen first before I moved here, and I went to the lakes. And there are no barriers, and I was just like ... I was really, it, like intrusive thoughts were just like, "I could push anybody in here." And then when you say that out loud, people are worried you're gonna push them in. But it's the same with Aarhus. All along the waterfront, they've just started putting in barriers in the last few years. But I still think they're too short. But there are a lot of places, like there's a really nice kind of boardwalk right across from where I live. It's called Bassin 7, and it's super cute. It's right by the water. We have this kind of like public swimming pool that's in the sea. And then there's like restaurants and cafes and stuff, but there's a very thin road for people to walk and, like, kind of get to these things. And there's just open water all along the side. And I just, I'm always just like, it would take three seconds for a child to run, trip, and fall in there. So I do think- The recommendations are great. It feels a little empty when there's no kind of follow-up of does everybody has access to a pool. Or I don't even know, I was talking to my partner about this, in the schools they provide swimming lessons, which is great. It's an essential skill. It should be taught in schools. But there aren't always the appropriate facilities. So, for example, with the school that she is working in at the moment, they have access to a pool, but it's 20 minutes away, so they have to drive 20 minutes, then they only have time for really 15 minutes in the pool before they have to come back out, so they can get back in time for the next class. So it is like a good idea, bad execution in the sense of do we have the facilities to make sure people have these skills?

Dominika Handzlik: Yeah, it doesn't really make sense to get your hair wet for 15 minutes right?

Katie: 

Right? And then it's like you have to get changed and you have to get in the... Yeah, and it's like, all right

Dominika Handzlik: Well, yeah, also when it was winter, and there was the ice on the lakes.

Katie: Mm.

Dominika Handzlik: 

It was also like, sure, there was a sign, "Don't go ice skating 'cause you might fall in," but there wasn't anyone to, like,

Katie: No

Dominika Handzlik: 

That sign, so people were still going. But I guess that's what you get for a high trust

Katie: Yeah, but yeah. Do you know how to swim? Is swimming big in Poland?

Dominika Handzlik:

It is, yeah. But I was just saying me coming from not a high-trust society is always fascinating. But I don't know if I could swim 200 meters. Like, when I was a kid, my kind of frame of reference was that my dad is two meters, so I guess that would be like 100 of my dad. But I can't really visualize that.

Katie: 

No, I also struggle to visualize that. Existence of a man. I did as well. So I learned to swim as a child. And I think I was pretty... I got the little badges to put on my swimming hat, which was very exciting. But then I didn't swim for a long time, and then I was working in a place that had a swimming pool right beside it. So it was a gym with a swimming pool, and my job was very boring. So I would go in there, and I would swim at lunch. And I, while I could swim perfectly well, so you get from either si- one side of the pool to the other, no problem, I kept swallowing water, and I kept being like, kind of halfway through. And I was like, "I'm, like, drowning myself. Like, what- what's happening?" So I actually... I did get a swimming lesson to be like, "Why is this happening?" And the guy was basically like, "When you come up for air on your left side, you're not coming out of the water enough, so just don't do that." So I only come up for air on the right side now. So there are things like that too, where, like, you can have the skill and not realize that you can't do it properly, like me; "Mm-hmm. There you go".

Dominika Handzlik: 

Well, I guess speaking of water and unnecessary water usage. We can move on to our next topic:

Katie: Yay. Oh my God, what a good segue. Good job!

Dominika Handzlik: 

Yeah, it took me a long time to think of it. I was like, "I have to say something smart for the last episode of season five." So artificial intelligence skills have already, as we all probably know, found their way into teaching curriculums in schools, raising questions about what, quote-unquote, "good AI usage looks like." The increasing development of AI is expected to change a lot of industries, starting with entry-level jobs in the IT sector. And that's why IT schools in Denmark are adapting their curriculum to equip their students with the skills needed for what is basically going to happen in the future. So I guess you could say in a way that both of us work in the IT sector.

Katie: Yeah.

Dominika Handzlik: Although I feel like IT is a bit of a boomer word to use.

Katie: Yeah.

Dominika Handzlik:  B2B SaaS or How much do you use AI in your job?

Katie: 

Oh. My company is obsessed with AI. We're actually... I think in terms of the sector that we're in, which is learning management performance systems, and we are actually a leader in terms of using AI within HR and learning and development. So, which is really cool, and, and, and we are doing a lot of really cool things with AI. So I tell my customers to use all of our AI tools 'cause they're very cool. Or I show them them, and I'm like, "Don't use this yet, but it will be very cool in six months." Personally, I use it mostly to come up with puns. Yeah. I just, I feel like often the amount of work... I know it's useful, and I have kind of ideas of where it could be useful. So, for example, I'm a customer success manager, so I often talk to... Part of my job is talking to customers, getting feedback, getting what they don't like about the system, what needs to be changed. And I think AI could be really, really useful for kind of looking at, okay, what are the trends? So, but for that I need it to go into my emails, look at everything I've promised. Write a summary for me and bring it. And I just haven't gotten to the place where I fully get how it all connects. So I think in terms of like useful ways that I use it myself in work, not so much, but there's so much pressure to use it, and I'm just like, I just don't know where it's helpful. Particularly like I... My job is focused on relationships with people as well as knowledge of the product, and the best way to learn about the product, in my opinion, is to go and do it, not read about it from a robot. Also, the robot lies. And then I, when it comes to people, I'm like, I would change how I talk to every person that I speak to, whether it's in person or by email. So I do use a note-taker, which is really, really useful, but I still write my own notes 'cause I'm old

Dominika Handzlik: Me too.

Katie: It's how I remember. I don't know how to do it if AI does it

Dominika Handzlik: 

Exactly. Exactly. And like you wanna write down what you actually wanna write down, what you think is important, not what the robot thinks is important.

Katie: 

It also is not good at picking up when I'm being funny. I feel like it's tried to catch me out a few times. Now, luckily, my manager is really fun, but he sent me like a screenshot of where it said, "Katie has promised to harass the product team about the assessments." And I was like, "I was being funny." And, or there was another one where like I, and as a joke, so I was saying like this guy had come back from holiday, and I was, he was like... I was like, "Oh, have you had that many emails?" And he said, "Oh yeah, not too many, but I'm making my way through." And I was like, "You know, if you just delete them, then people don't come back to you as quickly." And we laughed, and I said, "Oh no, this call is being recorded." And the AI thing was like, "Katie joked about deleting emails, then panicked that the call was being recorded." And I was like, "I was never speaking in panic. I'm just really funny." 

Dominika Handzlik: 

It's just such a snitch, honestly. That's, that's the is the AI working for? Yeah. Yeah, a lot of people are saying that AI is like when back then, the steam engine or electricity was invented, it altered the way people did things in such a huge way, and I think that's kind of what's happening here right now, where nothing is ever gonna be the same as it was. And yeah, I think people haven't really found the balance yet of I don't wanna outsource my thinking, and I wanna be more efficient. Like, there have already been studies where people were... Like, scientists were seeing how people's brains work when they use a lot of AI, and the brain just stops, like, I mean, working. I don't know if that's the right word. But it's so much less active when you use AI because it just- you just don't need to think anymore. So I think, of course, we should use this tool because it is gonna change everything in a monumental way. But I think the question is, yeah, how do we use it without just, like, not.

Katie: 

Yeah, that's true. And I think this, this topic raises some really important points. Firstly, that kind of, you know, when we all started working, we were useless. We didn't know how to do anything, you know? And I think, I do think schools and universities have gotten a little bit better at preparing you for work. But, like, when I went into my first job, I was clueless. And even I had done a lot of internships, but being an intern is so different to having, like, a full-time job with, like, these responsibilities that are only yours, and no one is, like, checking up on you. And they often start you off with the simple stuff because you're useless. And then you learn, you make your mistakes on the simple stuff, and you move on. And I think it's a really valid point that when you come out, and you don't know anything, how do you learn those skills if AI is... Like, if AI is managing every email inbox, how do you learn how annoying people are and how to deal with them?

Dominika Handzlik: 

Exactly. And you just ha- like the, the main times where I learned something about life was when I made a mistake, and, yeah, I broke something. And if you never get the chance to make a mistake because we're expected to be better and better and almost perfect with AI, you're never gonna know what to do. So that's a bit concerning. What I thought was quite interesting was that they were writing in the article about there's a media college in Viborg, and they are one of the first to use AI in their curriculum. And I think they did it in quite a cool way, where students can use AI in an exam, but they have to be able to explain how they used it and not just use it brainlessly. And then it is actually considered cheating if they cannot explain how the process was or where the information came from. And it's also considered plagiarism if the written elements don't come from the student. And I think that's a very cool way to approach it because then you actually have to really look deep into what the AI is saying to you. think in that case, you might at some point realize that the AI is actually not so good. I, I can see that I prepare for the podcast. I don't use a lot of AI because I think I think it's just so much better to go down a rabbit hole on your own instead of having an AI do it exactly. That's how the

Katie: 

That's where you find the fun facts. Yes. Yeah, I just know I'm not creative enough to come up with puns. I have a friend who's so good, like she comes up with them right away, and I just wanna be that, but I don't have... I'm just like, we'll just... I think I'm not creative enough, and I'll just be like, "We'll just call ourselves the team. We don't need a fun name." Something like that. But yeah, speaking of kind of teachers and how they bring in AI, I feel like that's probably the most challenging place for this topic. Like, when it comes to AI, how do we use it? How do we prepare for it? Because I think the, like, easy aspects of it are so applicable to day-to-day work, particularly like office work, like what we do, in the sense that it's like, "Oh, write this email. I'll look at it. If I hate it, I'll just rewrite it, and I'll change it." Same with, like, documents. Like, it's always easier to have something that you go, "I hate these things, so I'm gonna change it," and then you go from there. But I think in teaching it's so hard to know, both in the sense of, like I, I agree with you, this is definitely gonna fundamentally change how a lot of things in the world work.

But will we notice it so much in the sense that, okay, it'll manage inboxes, but if you've ever used one of those AI support chats, you're still gonna need people to speak to on the phone. You're still gonna need people to explain your bill, things like that. But when it comes to school, it's do you prepare them for AI taking over the world and it basically doing all of our jobs going forward, or do you prepare it for it's gonna do the menial tasks, so we need to have a bit more kind of critical thinking and analysis skills? And similarly, you know, it's, it sounds great what they're doing in Viborg. Like, I think that's really, really important to include it somewhere, 'cause people are gonna use it. Like, why wouldn't they? But teaching them how to use it responsibly and in a way that's useful and isn't gonna work against them, like some TV advertisements at the moment.

You're like, this is... Everyone can see it's AI. Stop doing this. I, that I do think we need to get better at seeing what AI is, because like that, it's kinda like, oh, if the text is found to be AI, and it's like, okay, but how do you test that? So sometimes people are, it's really easy. My partner's a teacher, and she has this big problem at the moment where students use AI to submit their assignments. But they luckily don't proofread. It'll reference like, you know, French philosophers from the 18th century, and she's like, "We have not covered this. You do not know who this person is." There was actually, there was a student recently who was like, "I think you used AI. This is why." And he was like, "No, I got my sister to help me." And it's like, that's still cheating. You are still cheating if you ask your sister.

Dominika Handzlik: Bu  it's better cheating.

Katie: Yeah. 

Dominika Handzlik: better. 

Katie: the old-fashioned way. 

Dominika Handzlik: 

Oh, exactly. There was also, I saw this thing where, I mean, there's these software online where check if something is people started putting like Shakespeare plays in it or something. And because Shakespeare was using

Katie: Yeah.

Dominika Handzlik: em dash, it

Katie: Makes sense. I always suspected it.

Dominika Handzlik: So

Katie: Yeah

Dominika Handzlik: 

I think there's other ways that you can tell. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, Shay-I-kespere. But I think what's also interesting that was in the article was that we were expecting AI to us lose all of our jobs basically, and like live under the reign of robots. But actually, unemployment in the past year in Denmark, it has increased a bit for the IT industry, but it's still far below, like, for the economy being in crisis. It's not 100% sure that it's correlated to that and not something else. So I think for now we're safe, and I also think that moving forward, a lot of these human skills like empathy and emotional intelligence will become more and more important. Which is good, people. Well, speaking of great people, I think that brings us to our last topic, which is a very heartwarming story, and I don't think there's much to say about it, but we can still talk about it. It's a story that reminds me of why I love Denmark so much. So there was a couple who got married last week in Nordhavn, and like right after the wedding, they lost a ring in the water. And they actually got unexpected help from a stranger who was very good at swimming. So I guess he followed the recommendations. you, have you heard about this story? 


Katie: 

I didn't hear about it until I was looking it up for this podcast, but I love a good, good Samaritan news story. I also wanna be this person. I don't have any useful skills, so I'll never be able to jump in. But just imagine being like, "I'm gonna help them find that wedding ring." 'Cause what a nightmare. And imagine as well, I feel, particularly 'cause it was the groom, 'cause I feel like if it was the bride, you'd be like, "Oh my God, that's so sad. I hope she's okay." But with the groom, you're like, "Ugh, typical man. Can't even keep track of his wedding ring." And that the same day, like, ugh, what was he doing? Was he in the water? Like, what happened? Did you not check that it fit? 

Dominika Handzlik: 

Yeah. Why were you swimming on your wedding day? No, but it was really cute because he found... the, so the, the ring fell in the water, and then he found the diver on Facebook, right?

Katie: Yeah, no problem.

Dominika Handzlik: And the diver just came up like, "Yeah,

Katie: Oh my God

Dominika Handzlik: 

And he found it in under six minutes. Yeah, exactly, which was crazy. And I think it's just so cute 'cause, like, it's just such a cute story too of, "Oh, I lost the ring,

Katie: Thanks to the man in the wetsuit. Mm. Key to a good marriage

Dominika Handzlik: 

Exactly, yeah, and I didn't even know that there were all these diving and swimming associations in Denmark where you could just find them on Facebook and be like, "Oh,

Katie: 

A good idea, actually. Good, good initiative on the groom to go and find someone who could go in the water for more than a few minutes

Dominika Handzlik: 

Yeah, exactly. And apparently, the guy who was the diver, it was not the first time that he time this happened. So it does seem to be a much more... common than we think, I guess. So that's quite interesting. 

Katie: Yeah, 

Dominika Handzlik: I guess that's all there is to say about the story. I feel like a lot of our topics were water related becuase the summer is coming.

Katie: 

They were. But you really made the AI one water-related, so I feel that's a little on you, but yeah, yeah, it's definitely... But it's summertime.

Dominika Handzlik: 

Exactly. I mean, it's, you know, it's the last episode of season five, so we had to have some red thread around everything. I feel like it's a big responsibility for us to do the last episode of the season. Do you have any last thoughts or comments that you would like to leave the listeners with?

Katie: No, I haven't prepared. Oh, no. No, but I suppose it's, it's always a nice time to kind of mention everybody who works behind the scenes. We're obviously the voices of the podcast, but there's a huge team that does all the research. We have our podcast manager, the other co-hosts, Narcis, who manages, I think, everything. And there are so many people who bring this together to bring news to Denmark, and then of course, to thank our listeners so that we can keep doing this podcast, into big microphones 

Dominika Handzlik: listened 

Katie: Yes, that does make it better. So the plan is to come back around mid-August with season six, and until then, we hope that everyone enjoys their summer and maybe goes back to listen to some of the old episodes. And we will come back

Dominika Handzlik: and 

Katie: Don't really know that my skin does that. Oh, it might be sunburned. We'll see 

Dominika Handzlik: Counts. That's okay. It's a nice shade of pink 

Katie: It's changing the color of the skin.

Dominika Handzlik: 

Well, thank you so much for today, and I'll see you again in August. 

 



Head Shot

LWID

Host
Head Shot

Dominika Handzlik

Guest
Head Shot

Katie Burns

Guest