We have 4G technologies, but we are yet to leave Plato's cave

Thursday, January 14, 2010

As we go into a new decade, the technological revolution carries on apace. But the short- and long-term implications can create confusion and distrust. So what is the best way forward for science? Our expert panel considers the key challenges and opportunities for science in 2010 and beyond

Dan Kolak, Professor of Philosophy, William Paterson University of New Jersey

The world has seen the advent of 3G (third-generation) cellular systems allowing connectivity of communication at the global level, providing an infrastructure for the integration of many technologies into a common framework. Fourth-generation (4G) systems are already in development by electrical and electronics engineers working across national and disciplinary borders integrating virtually all our many technologies (physical layer technologies, network architectures, traffic management, middleware and context-aware solutions, QoS, etc.) into a common framework. Connectivity among individuals in developed nations will soon bring human consciousness to a pivot point for the first time in its evolution, namely, the actualisation – beyond the abstract metaphysical frameworks of philosophical speculation – of global consciousness.

The gravest problem facing humanity in the coming decades (aside from the ever growing technological gap between economically developed and underdeveloped peoples) is that bridges are two-way trafficking systems across the abyss. Throughout human history, we have seen that at each crucial juncture when we have managed to transcend in one way or another the borders that enclose and separate us (language, society, technology, etc.), each and every (r)evolution has been fraught with new dangers, bringing unforeseen challenges that always seem to outpace our humanistic development, eg. our ethical development. The advancement of the human race has implemented astounding transformations of virtually every aspect of our external environment – control of nature, advancement of political, legal and economic systems, engineering technologies, etc. – while leaving the internal aspect of the human being – consciousness itself, subjectivity – virtually at a loss. However, individual human beings have yet to achieve the kind of subjective, internal transformation of which the sages of old and of today speak in spiritual terms, as if such advancement is out of reach and unattainable except in the domain of pipe dreams and religion. As a result, people tend by and large to hold on to their religious divisions as a last vestige of humanism against a technological world. This is a terrible mistake, one of the last vestiges of the old world order, which has no place in the future of human development if we are going to ever achieve anything like the global ethics necessary for our survival as an interconnected species. Witness the rise of religious fundamentalism across the globe and its perilous impact on the peaceful co-existence among peoples predicated on philosophical tolerance of the other.

What we sorely need to allow in parallel with our next generation engineering systems is the development of our philosophies into next generation, global ethics, which cannot be divorced from metaphysics (theory of reality) and epistemology (theory of knowledge). This philosophical task cannot be done in the abstract by 'philosophy schools' churning out 'technical' articles predicated on sprucing (and propping) up with newfangled words the old metaphysical systems of the past, which are but the 'steady as she goes' purveyors of insights intellectually detached from ourselves as evolving conceptual entities, driven in part by the technologically constructed systems within which we subsist as such, integrated across neurological and computational networks. In many ways, while our technologies are already 4G, our philosophies are still 1G. We have our cell phones and everything they symbolise, technological wizardry nothing short of magic, but we have yet to leave Plato's cave.


Mohamed H A Hassan and Daniel Schaffer, TWAS, the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World, Trieste, Italy

The 'rise of the rest', as the renowned journalist Fareed Zakaria calls it, has profound implications not only for the 'rest' but also for Europe, the United States, Japan, and other rich countries and regions that are today's leaders in terms of wealth, and scientific and technological capabilities. Northern countries that have led the world throughout the post-war era will be ceding ground to an expanding group of countries in the South in the years ahead.

How this profound transition plays out may be the most critical challenge the world now faces.

If we get the transition right, we have the potential to place an 'enabling' process that could dramatically impact strategies for solving the broad range of problems confronting us. If we get it wrong, global international relations are likely to spiral downward, trapped in a vortex of resentment, pride and division that will make it virtually impossible to address our shared problems.

Science can play a critical role in easing the transition on several fronts.

First, it can help ensure that progress among developing countries will continue. A growing number of the 'rising' developing countries, including Brazil, China, India and South Africa, spend at least 1% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on research and development (R&D). These countries have reached a tipping point in investments in R&D that has set them on a path for sustainable economic growth that is likely to accelerate in the years ahead.

Second, the deeply rooted culture of science among today's leading northern countries can help mitigate the impact of unfavourable demographic and economic trends that now confront the world's developed countries. Europe, for example, will suffer a comparative loss of population (by 2025, only 6.5% of the world's population will reside in Europe compared to 60% in Asia). It will also have to confront the challenges posed by ageing populations (by 2025, 30% of Europe's population will be more than 65 years of age, the highest percentage in the world). Moreover, even in good times, annual increases in GDP are unlikely to exceed 3% among the mature economies of western Europe and the United States. And then there are the psychological ramifications of losing ground to upstart countries. Yet, despite those worrisome trends, investments in science, technology and innovation will undoubtedly ensure the future prosperity of northern countries.

Third, the emergence of information and communication technologies and other emerging technologies such as nanotechnology and genomics now make it possible to build world class scientific and technological capabilities quickly – in less than a generation, as has been illustrated by the most successful developing countries. Emerging fields in science and technology can help level the playing field. When combined with the ease of rapid information exchange, such trends will allow a growing number of developing countries to participate in cutting edge science as equal partners.

In a world scarred by divisions in knowledge, wealth and scientific capability, one of the greatest challenges we face may be to convince rich and poor countries alike that the 'rest' can continue to 'rise' without causing today's leading countries to stumble, and without creating a yawning South-South gap between countries on the fast-track to science-based development and those that are in danger of being left behind.

The G8 has recently been transformed into the G20. Brazil, China, India, South Africa and other newly emerging – indeed surging – countries will now have a seat at the table at the world's top economic forum.

We would like to make a modest proposal: that the G20, working with the InterAcademy Panel (IAP), calls on its national science academies to create a standing forum where science-based development issues of importance to the G20 can be discussed. The forum, upon request, could also provide reports and statements to the G20 and serve as an expert advisory panel for a wide range of issues that will likely shape the G20's agenda in the years ahead. In addition, and again working with IAP, the G20 science academies could also liaise with the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC) to pursue joint initiatives that would assist Africa, a continent that was a focal point of interest with the G8+5 and one that is likely to remain so under the expanded G20 framework that has been put in place.


Rolf Dieter Heuer, Director General, CERN

How might science impact societal change? To a scientist, the answer is obvious. Science and society have always been intimately intertwined, and in today's technology-driven world, this is truer than ever before. But while the results of science are everywhere, from the food in the shops to the technology in the living room, the production of science has become detached from most people's everyday lives.

We live in a society dominated by science, where it is increasingly necessary to have a degree of scientific literacy to be able to make informed everyday decisions. Should we vaccinate our children? Is genetically modified food safe? What's the real risk of using a mobile phone? The list is extensive, and people's ability to make intelligent decisions is crucial, not only for their own lives, but also for the continued wellbeing of the scientific endeavour and the societal benefits that inevitably follow, because at the end of the list comes the question: 'What's the use of science?'

For centuries, science was an unquestioned part of culture. In the early 20th Century, it was fashionable to discuss science in social circles, and we need to bring that back. The divide came to the fore in C P Snow's landmark Rede lecture at Cambridge University in 1959, in which he postulated a communication breakdown between the sciences and the humanities – the two cultures. As the pace of science has picked up, and the body of scientific knowledge grown, science has become more divorced from everyday life, while everyday life has become more dependent on it.

This is not a healthy state of affairs. As scientists, we need to get science back into mainstream culture. At CERN, our experience with the Large Hadron Collider convinces me that the kind of frontier science we do here can lead the way. People have always been curious about their world, and it is that curiosity that has always driven science forward, pulling technology and innovation in its wake.

We need to re-awaken people's natural curiosity by engaging them with the scientific process, and that's what we're trying to do at CERN. Being part of mainstream culture is not always comfortable. We could happily have lived without some of the public exposure we had over recent years, but overall, being part of the debate is far better than being outside it. Being engaged can only help equip today's citizens for the decisions modern society obliges them to take, and ensure the long-term health of science itself.


John Wood, Chair, European Research Area Board

The European Research Area Board has recently published its recommendations to the European Commission for the support of research and innovation over the next 20 years. While this is an ambitious target, the actions are needed now if there is to be a significant impact of science and technology in meeting the grand challenges facing all members of the human population in the future. The audacious title 'Preparing Europe for a New Renaissance' underlies the main theme that it is only by working together between disciplines, with policy-makers and funders, society at large and with the whole world that will enable us to address potential disasters and dramatic changes to our lifestyles. This new resolution to make the European Research Area a byword for creativity, excellence and efficiency, and a catalyst for a new renaissance in the way we think, act and research globally has been widely welcomed by the research community, both in the public and private arena.

There is no doubt that our world is changing. We face mounting challenges such as global warming, scarce water supplies, energy shortages and lack of healthcare provision, which have the potential to upset the very fabric and foundations on which our society is based. While there is still a need to encourage bright people from whichever background to undertake blue sky research that might have unexpected consequences, and ensure that the fund-ing for this should not be reduced, we do need to act together where it adds value and can lead to globally agreed solutions. For this, the board has suggested that six key themes be addressed that will maximise the outputs from the consid-erable talents that are often under-exploited within the European context and elsewhere. These are:

• A united European Research Area (ERA) that permits ideas and people to move freely across a dynamic and open society;
• An ERA driven by societal needs to address the grand challenges and ensure a quality of life that is accepted by all citizens;
• A shared responsibility where public policy is based on hard evidence and underpinned by a new 'social contract' between science and society that emphasises responsibility for action, in addition to encouraging freedom of thought;
• Encouragement of trust to ensure that the consequences of open innovation are fully realised between private and public organisations;
• Support for excellence in all areas of research and development where risk taking will be a guiding principle for funders and policy-makers;
• A cohesive society that allows all potential researchers across the continent to contribute to the knowledge economy.

While specific actions are detailed in the report, items such as developments in training, research infrastructures, e-science and a real attempt to clean up rules on pensions, social security, state aid and the support for pre-commercial procurement are all covered, the main thrust of this report to the Commission and those produced by other bodies in Europe is that increasing mobility, the taking of high risks and the support of excellence at all levels, especially for young and mid-career researchers, are fundamental to the future of our planet.