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A
Full-day Workshop at MIT
April 12th, 2004
4th
Annual Symposium of the Technology
and Policy Program
Sponsors:
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About
the Workshop:
The Technology and Policy Program,
the Program in Science, Technology
and Society (STS), the Department
of Political Science, and the Center
for International Studies (CIS)
at MIT have come together to initiate
a research and educational program
focused on societal impacts and
policy responses related to emerging
technologies. "Emerging
Technologies: Recognizing Uncertainty
and Assessing Implications”
is a day-long workshop to be held
at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology on Monday, April
12th, 2004. The workshop
will explore the societal implications
of emerging technologies by focusing
on examples from biotechnology and
ubiquitous computing.
Emerging
technologies are developing at extraordinary
rates and have the potential to
fundamentally change many aspects
of society. Yet understanding of
the economic, security, environmental,
and cultural implications of technological
advances has not kept up. This workshop
offers an opportunity for approximately
75 participants — including
MIT faculty, researchers and students
working on emerging technologies
and related policy issues, as well
as recognized leaders in the field
from outside the Institute —
to engage in productive, in-depth
discussions of these matters.
Not
meant to be an exercise in forecasting,
the workshop will focus on the role
of uncertainty and societal responses
to it.
The
workshop is the first event in a
new five-year MIT research and education
program on assessing effects of
emerging technologies, an effort
that will bring together key members
of the MIT sponsoring programs,
departments and centers along with
others from the MIT community and
beyond. MIT recently received a
$2.9 million award from the National
Science Foundation’s prestigious
Integrative Graduate Education and
Research Traineeship (IGERT)
Program for this cutting-edge initiative.
This
workshop is also the 4th
annual Technology and Policy Program
symposium, which has attracted
distinguished participants each
year to address a range of technology
and policy issues.
Format
and Content:
The symposium will be conducted in
a workshop format, with a moderate
number of participants to allow for
substantial discussion and participation
by the attendees. The objective is
to facilitate an honest and in-depth
discussion of these issues, with particular
attention to technology assessment
and uncertainty.
Speakers
include MIT colleagues collaborating
on our emerging technology policy
efforts and other outside experts.
After an initial session setting out
the history and use of technology
assessment, there will be two technology
panels addressing various aspects
of two different areas of emerging
technologies and the related policy,
societal, and economic issues they
may introduce. Historical studies
can be useful to contemporary decision
makers because empirical studies of
the past delineate ongoing social,
cultural, and political processes.
Retrospective historical studies speak
to contemporary concerns because they
reveal patterns that can prove useful
in indicating where uncertainties
have existed in the past and where
unanticipated consequences of new
technologies might be discovered in
the future.
Lunch
in the MIT Faculty Club and two lengthy
coffee breaks will allow symposium
attendees the opportunity to make
connections and pursue various topics
of discussion.
The
two technology panels will address
biotechnology and ubiquitous computing.
Each of these sessions will include
a speaker who will provide a broad
perspective on technological developments,
and three other speakers who will
comment from the perspective of economic
impacts, security impacts, and ethical
and cultural considerations.
Who
should attend:
- Faculty
and researchers working on emerging
technologies or the ethical and
policy issues related to them.
- Policy
makers and others from government,
academia, and the private sector
interested in these issues.
- TPP,
STS, and Political Science graduate
students interested in science and
technology policy related to emerging
technologies.
About
the Technology and Policy Symposium
Series:
The mission of the Technology and
Policy Program (TPP) is to provide
an integrative education to scientists
and engineers who wish to lead in
developing and implementing responsible
strategies and policies for exploiting
technology for the benefit of their
communities. In support of this mission,
TPP sponsors a variety of forums that
bring students, faculty, and outside
speakers together to discuss technology
and policy issues. As our major event,
each Annual Symposium focuses on a
different major theme at the interface
of technology and policy. This year,
the annual TPP symposium is doubling
as the inaugural event of our new
interdisciplinary and collaborative
effort, which has received NSF funding
under the IGERT (Integrative Graduate
Education and Research Traineeship)
Program to support graduate student
fellowships.
In
May of 2001, TPP inaugurated the Annual
Symposium Series by hosting a major
event, funded in part by the Sloan
Foundation, marking the 25th
anniversary of the White House Office
of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).
The speakers who participated in the
day's activities included an impressive
roster of former presidential science
advisors who spoke from a historical
perspective, prominent MIT faculty,
and other nationally regarded figures
who made presentations on current
issues in science and technology policy.
In
May of 2002, the 2nd Annual TPP Symposium
was "Sustainable
Mobility: Global Challenges for the
21st Century." The 2003 Annual
TPP Symposium was “Global
and Homeland Security: Science, Technology
and the Role of the University.”
Symposium
Agenda:
Click here
to view agenda.
About
the Speakers
Register
for the Symposium:
Click here
to register online. Registration
deadline Monday, April 5th. Registration
is limited, full day participation
is preferred.
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