We live in societies which like to cure societal problems with technological innovation. Online surveillance is used to fight radicalization, smart borders are supposed to help tackle “irregular migration”, and registers of medical data shall improve medical research and public health. However, innovation can also pose different risks – from ethical, legal, social, to concerns over security.
Many techno-scientific innovations make things possible that are seen as potentially threatening to the security of our societies, our privacy etc. At the same time, with the increasing complexity of our societies dependent on modern technologies, we think more about events and phenomena that have the potential to disrupt the existing political and social orders. This state of preparedness to all sorts of risks - whether they are related to political violence, infrastructure disruptions, social instabilities, or natural disasters - fuels the demand for innovation and technologies that would make the society resilient to disruptive shocks and prepared to insecure future. How are the security concerns over governing innovation formulated and addressed, and with what implications?
This symposium brings together different perspectives on security controversies related to the governance of innovation and discusses the underlying conflicts of values they make visible. What are the dilemmas surrounding controversial innovations symptomatic of? How desirable is the change these innovations seek to bring, who will benefit from it - and who might not? And finally, what can democratic societies do better to prevent and mitigate controversies in research and innovation? Drawing on examples from nuclear science, life sciences, information systems and other areas, it will shed light on how security controversies in science and technology emerge and how they have been dealt with in diverse fields. Based on this, it will discuss how the governance of science, technology, and innovation can be brought closer to the society and made more inclusive.
The symposium aims at addressing academic audience, policy experts, journalists, policy makers, students, as well as interested public.
Registration via event(at)ihs.ac.at is open until November 4th.
Further information can be found on the event website.
