Ida Ebbensgaard (b. 1979) is an experienced moderator with hosting experience in both radio and television. The hallmarks of her communication style are its simplicity, vibrancy, and strong foundation in in-depth knowledge.

Diving into the consequences of Artificial Intelligence for media and society is the focus of the fellowship at SDU that she was awarded for 2023–2024. The fellowship is based on a large grant that Den Fynske Bladfond awards each year to one journalist who explores a timely topic.

She has previously worked at Zetland as Editor-in-Chief with legal responsibility, at Berlingske as Foreign Editor, and before that at DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation), including roles as a radio and TV host. For three years, she served as Head of Press in the Ministry of Climate and Energy (originally the Ministry of the Environment).

Her professional expertise is particularly strong in the following areas:

Artificial Intelligence
The technology that has been called the most revolutionary invention since fire and the wheel, and which will likely transform almost every aspect of our society. Ida Ebbensgaard’s special focus is on “generative AI,” i.e., the branch of AI that creates text, images, or code based on prompts. ChatGPT is the best-known example. She researches this field, closely follows ongoing developments, and has served as a moderator at an international AI conference.

Sustainability, Climate, Energy, and Environment
Ida has followed these topics for over ten years, giving her deep expertise and a strong ability to communicate complex issues in an easily understandable way. She has worked on these issues as a journalist at Politiken, as an editor, and as Head of Press in the Ministry of Climate and Energy.

Foreign and Security Policy, International Business, Macroeconomics, and Public Regulation
Her extensive experience in these areas stems from her roles as Foreign Editor at Berlingske, Editor-in-Chief at Zetland, and business journalist at various newspapers. Her favorite media outlets include The Economist and the Financial Times.

Organization, Change Management, and Cultures – including Psychological Safety, User-Driven Innovation, and Cross-Silo Thinking in Organizations
Ida has herself been a leader, has experience from central government administration, and regularly explores the best literature in this field.

Broadly Understood ‘Bildung’ or Cultural Formation
Key themes here are civil society, gender, identity, literature, sociology, philosophy, religion, and the folk high school movement. Ida can always suggest a song from the Danish Folk High School Songbook to fit any occasion. She has long been active in civil society, reads extensively, and is deeply interested in the structures that shape our society and our lives at a fundamental level.

Preparation is Key for Ida Ebbensgaard
She thoroughly researches the topic at hand, as well as the messages of speakers and panelists. On the day of the event, she ensures dynamism and coherence for both short and full-day programs, for example by involving the audience—either digitally or directly in the room.

For Ida, an event is successful when the day’s purpose serves as a clear through-line from start to finish, when the audience remains engaged (even at the end of the day), and when speaking time is distributed dynamically without the moderator becoming the center of attention. She also prides herself on keeping to the schedule!

Talks and Workshops
Would you and your department like to improve at using ChatGPT or other forms of Generative AI? Book Ida Ebbensgaard for a talk and training session on how to use generative AI. In the workshop, we primarily focus on text-based tasks.

We work with generative AI to write, rewrite, refine, get started on projects, develop ideas, coach, assist with analyses, manage large amounts of data, understand target groups, and—an often overlooked benefit—help with practical computer tasks that we all dread. For individuals, Generative AI has enormous value in many small tasks—it’s the “long tail” of tasks that collectively take up many hours each week. And it’s not difficult to learn.

We will also touch on image generation, automatic podcast production, and voice generation.

This course is especially interesting if you work with any form of message communication: perhaps in communication, press, or public affairs. Maybe you primarily work with longer formats like strategies or report writing, or perhaps you support a minister or a director. Maybe some of you are HK employees who could use help in your daily work?

Ida Ebbensgaard moderates in both Danish and English.

Ida Ebbensgaard is a journalist and has served as a media executive; she is now self-employed. She spent a year as a fellow in Artificial Intelligence at SDU in 2023–2024.