1. Science and Society
How can big-picture science thinking
help society and vice-versa?
Melanie Swan
m@melanieswan.com
January 9, 2014
Vieques, Puerto Rico
Slides: http://slideshare.net/LaBlogga

2. World-Shaping Science and Society Trends
January 9, 2014
FQXi
Image: http://www.sydmead.com
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3. 3 billion new Internet Users by 2020
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7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Impact: Majority of worldwide population starting to access
and self-enable with science and technology
January 9, 2014
FQXi
Source: Peter Diamandis, Singularity University, July 2013
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4. Global Population: Growing and Aging
January 9, 2014
FQXi
Source: UN Habitat – 2010
http://avondaleassetmanagement.blogspot.com/2012/05/japan-aging-population.html
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5. Human Urbanization: Living in Cities


Over 50% worldwide population in 2008
5 billion in 2030 (estimated)
January 9, 2014
FQXi
Source: Copenhagen Pollution Levels, MIT Senseable City Lab
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6. Megacity
Growth
Rates
Megacity:
(>10 million
inhabitants
and
~2,000/km2
density)
January 9, 2014
FQXi
Source: Wikipedia
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7. Wireless Internet-of-Things (IOT)
Image credit: Cisco
January 9, 2014
FQXi
Source: Swan, M. Sensor Mania! The Internet of Things, Objective Metrics, and the
Quantified Self 2.0. J Sens Actuator Netw (2012) 1(3), 217-253.
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8. 12 billion Internet-connected devices 2016

Usual computing
gadgetry (e.g.;
smartphones) and
everyday objects: cars,
food, clothing,
appliances, buildings,
roads

Embedded chips in 5%
of human-constructed
objects (2012)1
January 9, 2014
FQXi
3 year doubling cycle
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/growth-in-the-internet-of-things-2013-10?IR=T
1
Vinge, V. Who’s Afraid of First Movers? The Singularity Summit 2012
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9. Defining Trend of Current Era: Big Data


Annual data creation in zettabytes (10007 bytes)
90% of the world’s data created in the last 2 years
2 year doubling cycle
January 9, 2014
FQXi
Source: Mary Meeker, Internet Trends, http://www.kpcb.com/insights/2013-internet-trends
http://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/white-papers/healthcare-leveraging-big-data-paper.pdf
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10. Expanded Concept of Conduct of Science
1.
Larger Scope of Activity

Computational complement to every field
Theoretical


Experimental
Observational
Computational
Applied
Discovery speed-ups due to modeling, simulation, and prediction
Shift from characterization to pro-active construction in tight
feedback loops enabling new fields: synthetic biology
January 9, 2014
FQXi
Source: Kido, Swan, et al. Systematic evaluation of personal genome services. Nature:
Journal of Human Genetics (2013) 58, 734–741.
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11. Expanded Concept of Conduct of Science
2. Larger Scale of Activity

Harnessing technology-driven crowd models
Institutional
Research
Crowdsourced
Participation
Citizen Science
Organized

Quantified Self
Data Analysis

Peer Studies

Data Competitions

DIY Community





Data Collection
Serious Gaming

3D Bioprinting
Faster, lower-cost, orders-of-magnitude scale-up (permutation)
The crowd as big data processing nodes
January 9, 2014
FQXi
Source: Swan, M. Crowdsourced Health Research Studies. J Med Internet Res (2012)
14(2):e46.
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12. Information Connects Science and Society

Wholly different relation to information
Formerly everything signal, now 99% noise

Exception, variability, probability, patterns, prediction

New kinds of information



Longitudinal baseline measures, normal deviation patterns,
contingency adjustments, anomaly, emergence
Multiple data analysis paradigms: time, frequency, episode, cycle

New kinds of models supplementing scientific method

Machine learning, hierarchical representation, neural networks,
information visualization
January 9, 2014
FQXi
Source: Swan, M. The Quantified Self. Big Data (2013) 1(2): 85-99.
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13. Sense of Ourselves as Information
Generators
January 9, 2014
FQXi
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14. Summary: Science and Society

New era of scientific discovery with a greatly
expanded range of possibilities due to big data,
computation, and crowd participation

Our attunement to technology as an enabling
background helps us see the possibilities for the true
meaningfulness of our being - Heidegger
January 9, 2014
FQXi
Source: Heidegger, M. The Question Concerning Technology (1954).
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15. Science and Society
Thank you!
Melanie Swan
m@melanieswan.com
January 9, 2014
Vieques, Puerto Rico
Slides: http://slideshare.net/LaBlogga