Engaging with new technologies

The fifth volume in the series Studies of New and Emerging Technologies showcases the research activities of the multidisciplinary S.NET community – an academic society in which ITAS has been involved from the start. S.NET is dedicated to research and dialogue on a broad variety of societal aspects of emerging technologies extending beyond nanotechnology to include synthetic biology, geoengineering, artificial intelligence, robotics and more. This volume comprises papers that were presented at the fifth annual S.NET Conference in Boston in 2013 where academics and practitioners from diverse disciplines and backgrounds exchanged ideas about new and emerging sciences and technologies.

Innovation and responsibility: Engaging with new and emerging technologies AKA, Berlin, 2014.

www.itas.kit.edu

Ethicisation

Ethical issues have replaced health and environmental risks as the centre of the debate around new technologies. This recent collection of essays, edited by Alexander Bogner, senior scientist at the ITA, deals with the consequences of this development: “Today we are debating if we actually should do what we can do, and which knowledge is really needed,” says Bogner. “Now that ethics have gained such great importance in technology issues, ethics councils have a considerably higher standing within political consulting.” An exceptional case of political ethics consultation is examined in an essay by Kathrin Braun – the appointment of an Ethics Commission by the German Federal Government after the nuclear disaster in Fukushima.

The Ethification of  Technology – the Technification of Ethics. The rise of ethics in light of science and technology research (Ethisierung der Technik – Technisierung der Ethik: Der Ethik-Boom im Lichte der Wissenschafts- und Technikforschung). Alexander Bogner (ed), Nomos, 2013.

www.oeaw.ac.at/ita/publikationen/publikationsnews/buch-vorstellung

Nano perspectives

This collection features 14 perspectives focussing on the regulation and practical applications of nanotechnologies. The topics discussed include the use of nanomaterials in waste, mandatory labelling for consumer products as well as an analysis of German-speaking media reporting. Co-editor André Gazsó is the leader of the nanoTRUST project, commissioned by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology, which provides a public information platform seeking to identify the most pressing issues. For the first time in Austria, these important aspects of technology development are being investigated in a systematic way rather than on the level of individual R&D projects.

Nano Risiko Governance – Der gesellschaftliche Umgang mit Nanotechnologien. André Gazsó, Julia Haslinger (eds.) 2014.

Text: Ann Maher

Proceedings from the PACITA 2013 Conference in Prague

Mankind has never before dealt with such an enormous quantity and intensity of life changing technologies. The European Technology Assessment Conference that took place in Prague in March 2013 shed a light on many of these grand challenges. In its 22 sessions, it became clear there should be a specific form of TA; one which is open to the general public. In the first keynote speech Wiebe Bijker spoke of how we must make TA about democracy: the state must return from its neoliberal retreat and become an advocate of democratic governance. Stefan Boeschen calls TA an important building block of the democratic culture. Rut Bízková mentioned smart infrastructure as a prerequisite for sustainable competitiveness. But symbols of trust and ethical values are essential for TA. The diversity of languages and lack of unified politics are just the most visible obstacles: cross-European TA must address tension that can arise between different national and regional structures. It’s a need that is clearly manifested in all the contributions to these Proceedings, which will be available online in May 2014.

Journal of Responsible Innovation

The new Journal of Responsible Innovation (JRI) offers humanists, social scientists, policy analysts and legal scholars, and natural scientists and engineers an opportunity to articulate, strengthen, and critique the relations among approaches to responsible innovation, thus giving further shape to a newly emerging community of research and practice. These approaches include ethics, technology assessment, governance, sustainability, socio-technical integration, and others. JRI intends responsible innovation to be inclusive of such terms as responsible development and sustainable development, and the journal invites comparisons and contrasts among such concepts. JRI is open to alternative styles or genres of writing beyond the traditional research paper or report, including creative or narrative nonfiction, dialogue, and first-person accounts, provided that scholarly completeness and integrity are retained.

Intimate technology

Smart phones, social media, cameras and biosensors mean more and more information about our bodies and behavior are becoming digitally available. Our lives are increasingly becoming intertwined with technology. But allowing technology into our private worlds collides with the most crucial issues of our humanity. It leads to a struggle for our intimacy. The Rathenau Instituut has called this the intimate-technological revolution. This report highlights how the application of human-like technology, such as digital coaches, realistic avatars and robots are blurring the boundaries between humans and technology even further. Important ethical questions touch on the basic rights and dignity of people, their right to privacy, physical and mental integrity, the right to live in a safe environment, the right to have private property, and freedom of thought and conscience. Governments and private companies want our data in order to create profiles and influence our behavior. Technologies with human features, such as digital coaches, realistic avatars and robots yield the ability to influence human behaviour. How can we avoid being manipulated? Which social tasks can we humanely delegate to machines, and which not? What autonomy do we wish to keep?

Intimate Technology The Battle for our Body and Behaviour.
Rinie van Est, with the assistance of Virgil Rerimassie, Ira van Keulen & Gaston Dorren. Rathenau Instituut 2014.

www.issues.org

Text: Tomas Michalek, Ann Maher

]]> http://volta.pacitaproject.eu/open-data/ Wed, 23 Oct 2013 09:27:44 +0000 http://volta.pacitaproject.eu/?p=1276 The quality of data is critical for policy makers. Is it sufficient? Is it secure? And how can the use of this data benefit citizens? Volta looks at new reports on nano technology, eGovernment and the digital social innovation project bringing people and data together.

Digital Social Innovation

Digital inclusion in Wales, ridesharing in Sweden, civic tech apps to encourage governments to perform better, these are just a few examples from the network of European organizations and communities currently delivering digital social innovation.

Launched in September 2013, the network is part of a large research project funded by the European Commission and led by Nesta, together with project partners Esade, Future Everything, IRI, Swirrl and Waag Society. Over the next 18 months, they are gathering information on data organizations or communities that make innovative use of digital technologies such as crowdfunding, crowdsourcing, open and user generated data, to bring people together to solve social challenges. To be included in the network, an organization must focus on grass-roots or ‘bottom-up’ communities of users; use online/digital tools or methods in a disruptive way; make a positive social impact; work in the European Union; create a ‘network effect’ through collaboration online i.e. the larger number of users a service has, the better it works.

www.digitalsocial.eu

Swiss nanomaterials

Not enough is known about how nanoparticles behave in the environment and how they interact with living organisms according to a report published in 2013 by TA-SWISS. It examines the life cycle of the nanomaterials most commonly used in Switzerland and shows that despite claims that materials made with nanotechnology pollute less than traditional substances, there is scarcely any comprehensive research on their effects on health and the environment.

Nevertheless, nanomaterials are already on shelves, in many cases without consumers knowing. The interdisciplinary TA-SWISS report looks at human and environmental toxicology, but also related issues such as global warming, resource
conservation and practical utility. Ten policy recommendations include a call for more specific research on nanomaterials in wastewater and the development of standardized test methods for identifying nanomaterials, the labelling of consumer goods and the creation of a registry of nanoproducts.

Nanomaterialen: Auswirkungen auf Umwelt und Gesundheit.
Study by the Centre for Technology Assessment, Martin Möller, Andreas Hermann, Rita Gross, Mark-Oliver Diesner, Peter Küppers, Wolfgang Luther, Norbert Malanowski, David Haus, Axel Zweck.

www.ta-swiss.ch/en/projects/nanotechnologies/nano-andenvironment/

eGovernment security

With governments increasingly relying on computer systems to provide their services, a report titled Security of eGovernment Systems published by STOA (the unit for the Assessment of Scientific and Technological Policy Options for the European Parliament) in July 2013 is both timely and necessary. In this report, researchers of The Danish Board of Technology, Rathenau Institute (The Netherlands) and the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis
(Germany) assess policy options for decision makers. Three case studies (procurement, passports and health care) are analysed together with policy options.

In health care, for example, an increasing amount of private information is in circulation and with a political desire for interoperability across Europe it is imperative that security policies are in place. Recommendations include the development and use of security checklists, minimizing data through anonymization, using gateways to achieve interoperability, and evaluating the trade-offs between privacy, security, usability and costs.

Photo: iStockphoto.

Is there anything odd about this image?

Photo: Planethunters.org

It started with just one project, Galaxy Zoo, which celebrated its fifth birthday this year and is now in its fourth incarnation: Galaxy Hubble. So: Smooth or rounded? Star or artifact? Would you like to discuss this object?

www.zooniverse.org

www.galaxyzoo.org

www.planethunters.org

www.citizensciencealliance.org

Dutch science site

When navigating the world of technology assessment, it’s not always easy to find essential and detailed information about a country’s scientific policy making process and the intersections between various institutions all in one place. But in the Rathenau Instituut’s new website, developed in conjunction with The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), such information is now available. The new website provides extensive information on Dutch science and innovation policy organisations, advisory bodies, research funds, research programs and research performing institutions (and their budgets, where possible). Special topics include evaluation practices, exploratory studies, and internationalism.

www.dutchscience.info

TA Portal goes live

The Technology Assessment Portal providing instant access to European TA activities was officially launched at a meeting of the European Parliamentary Technology Assessment Network (EPTA) in October 2012. The core of the Portal is a searchable database containing the metadata of TA-related publications and projects as well as basics on TA institutions and experts around Europe. So if you want to know who is working on synthetic biology, for example, the portal will provide a list of past and current projects (with project leader contact details) together with relevant publications, many with full text links. The data are harvested and updated regularly from partners’ websites and currently cover organisations in the PACITA project, but it is intended to include additional TA institutions within EPTA and beyond. While the main feature of the TA Portal is currently the growing database, PACITA is intending to add further useful services for the TA community including a full text server providing access to open access publications in the field and also a forum for discussion of TA related matters.

TA Portal: http://technology-assessment.info/

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Text: Ann Maher, Michael Nentwich.

®Koert van Mensvoort WEB

Volta Magazine highlights a trio of big ideas websites: multi-disciplinary connecting from a creative curator; the Truth-O-Meter that takes political accountability to new levels; and the think tank where nature and technology trade places.

‘I think we need editorial more than ever right now’ Steve Jobs / D8 Conference June 2010.

 

Next Nature book spine

NextNature: as wild and unpredictable as ever

The Next Nature Foundation is an Amsterdam-based think tank exploring the changing relationship between people, nature and technology. In themes like ‘Back to the tribe’, ‘Office garden’ and ‘Anthropomorphobia’, (the fear of recognizing human characteristics in non-human objects), it suggests we must challenge our existing notions and ask ourselves again ‘what is nature?’ The foundation has recently published a compendium of its most thought provoking observations and has a lab associated with the Industrial Design Department of the Eindhoven University of Technology, where end-of-term projects included self-camouflaging bikes and blushing dresses. The NANOWorld Map is designed in collaboration with the Rathenau Institute. Speculative products that could hit the shelves in the next decade go on tour in The NANO Supermarket. Think interactive wallpaint, or programmable wine.

@nextnature (twitter);
The Next Nature Book edited by Koert van Mensvoort and Hendrik-Jan Grievink (Actar, Barcelona)

PolitiFact: who’s telling the truth?
When US Republican party candidate Herman Cain suggested in 2011 that China is currently trying to develop nuclear capability, he scored badly on the Truth-O-Meter TM of PolitiFact. Hillary Clinton famously got carried away relating her Balkan adventures: “I remember landing under sniper fire”. Every day, reporters and researchers of PolitiFact (2007), a project of the Tampa Bay Times and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting in 2009, examine statements by American political movers and shakers with a special category, the Obameter, for keeping tabs on the President. Public utterances are analysed in detail and then assessed for their veracity as true, mostly true, false, mostly false, and pants on fire (after the saying liar, liar, pants on fire – see Cain and Clinton).

@politifact (twitter)

Brain Pickings: combinational creativity
‘Interestingness curator’ Maria Popova (27), a Bulgarian-American writer, has spent the past six years developing a highly successful cultural blog and Twitter feed. Brain Pickings covers a wealth of disciplines across art, design, science and technology, empowering readers to ‘combine them into original concepts that are stronger, smarter, richer, deeper and more impactful’. Popova produces three articles a day in addition to regular tweeting to over 165,500 followers, with a weekly online newsletter containing her best. A typical day’s collection covers sage advice to children from Narnia author C.S.Lewis, a report of Frank Warren’s PostSecrets project highlighted at TED, and a (gorgeously illustrated) review of A Glorious Enterprise: the Making of American Science – a history of the oldest natural history museum in the western hemisphere in Philadelphia. Her latest initiative is The Curator’s Code, a standard to honour discovery across the web.

@brainpicker (twitter);
@brainpickings (twitter)

We’re failing to reduce the emissions contributing to global warming.
So why not try something more direct, say geoengineers. Let’s cool the earth by shooting sulphur particles into the atmosphere to imitate the shading effect of a volcanic explosion. Bold or bonkers?

 Volta Magazine on the rapidly growing debate on geoengineering

Dumping iron into the oceans to stimulate the plankton blooms which absorb CO2? Sucking CO2 from the air with huge contraptions? Painting roofs and pavements white to cool our planet by increasing its reflectivity? Geoengineering technologies sounded outlandish to Jeff Goodell, a contributing editor to Rolling Stone and The New York Times Magazine. But after several years of researching the characters, ideas and motivations of a small band of geoengineers, he came to realize that we have to start taking geoengineering seriously. Or at least explore it.  

In How to Cool the Earth, Goodell’s scary but compelling book about some more extreme approaches to tackling global warming, he investigates the scientific, political, financial and moral aspects of geoengineering. How are we going to change the temperature of entire regions if we can’t even predict next week’s weather? What about wars waged with climate control as the primary weapon?  

The thing that Goodell – who is certainly no geoengineering groupie – fears most is that we won’t do anything at all. “The rising interest in geoengineering is driven less by mad scientists than by spineless politicians”, he writes. The villains are politicians who dither and do nothing to reduce our emissions, until a technological fix may be all that saves us.

But geoengineering is going mainstream, according to the ETC Group in Geopiracy – the Case against Geoengineering, and policymakers are beginning to test the waters. “It is now politically correct to talk about geoengineering as a legitimate response to climate change”, they wryly conclude. The ETC Group has called for a moratorium not just on geoengineering, but all technology: “A wider global mechanism for Technology Assessment is long overdue.”  

This summer, the United States Government Accountability Office published a technology assessment report on climate engineering. The agency evaluated two broad categories of engineering solutions: carbon dioxide removal and solar radiation management. It also tested potential public responses. GAO concluded that current technologies are ‘immature’, and many have ‘potentially negative consequences’. Based on GAO’s survey, a majority of US adults are not familiar with climate engineering: “When given information on the technologies, they tend to be open to research but concerned about safety.” 

Claudio Caviezel from the German TA office TAB, described the pros and cons along the axes of 'hope, hype and fear' in their BRIEF magazine. Obligatory reading, for spineless politicians and civilians alike.