Imagined Futures of Technology and Society

1. LECTURE 8: PUBLIC POLICY
ON SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY

2. RECAP: TWO IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES

3. RECAP: AI AND THE FUTURE OF WORK

5. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY
• SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ARE THE ROOTS, NOT ONLY OF OUR UNDERSTANDING
OF THE NATURAL WORLD AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO HUMAN WELFARE, BUT ALSO
OF THE CONSTRAINTS ON WHAT CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED WITH THE SCARCE
RESOURCES COMPRISING NATURE.
• VIRTUALLY ALL PUBLIC POLICIES ARE GROUNDED IN THE REALITIES OF THE NATURAL
WORLD AND PROCEED ON THE BASIS OF CONSTANTLY CHANGING ASSUMPTIONS
ABOUT OR UNDERSTANDINGS OF NATURE.
• AN UNDERSTANDING OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IS THUS ESSENTIAL TO THE
FORMATION OF VIRTUALLY ANY SOUND PUBLIC POLICY.
• THE ROLE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN POLICYMAKING ON ISSUES SUCH AS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMBALANCES, ENERGY SOURCES, HUMAN HEALTH, AND NATIONAL
DEFENSE, ETC.

6. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TECHNOLOGY AND
PUBLIC POLICY
• TECHNOLOGY INNOVATES AND DISRUPTS, WHILE
PUBLIC POLICY REGULATES AND CONTROLS.
• EXAMPLE: THE SKIRMISH BETWEEN APPLE AND
THE FBI: APPLE IS REFUSING TO ALLOW POLICY
TO DICTATE HOW ENCRYPTION SHOULD BE
INCLUDED IN PRODUCTS.
• PUBLIC POLICY CAN ALSO FOSTER THE GROWTH
OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND THE
COMPANIES THAT WORK ON THEM.
• FEDERAL FUNDING ALLOWED FOR THE
INCUBATION AND GROWTH OF THE INTERNET,
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, GPS AND MANY
OTHER FOUNDATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES.
https://techcrunch.com/2016/03/17/how-the-wonks-of-public-policy-and-the-geeks-of-tech-c

7. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TECHNOLOGY AND
PUBLIC POLICY
• POLICYMAKERS NEED TO SHAPE INTELLIGENT INTEGRATION OF PROMISING
TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, AND COMMERCIAL TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES WILL
WANT TO REAP THE MOST BENEFIT FROM THESE VAST AND BURGEONING
MARKETS.
• PROPOSED POLICY SHOULD TAKE INTO ACCOUNT POTENTIAL UNINTENDED
CONSEQUENCES AND BUILD IN PERIODIC CHECKS TO ASSESS WHETHER THE
POLICIES ARE WORKING AS INTENDED.
• TO DO THIS, POLICYMAKERS MUST SEEK AND INCLUDE THE PERSPECTIVES OF
TECHNOLOGY EXPERTS THROUGHOUT THE POLICYMAKING PROCESS.
https://techcrunch.com/2016/03/17/how-the-wonks-of-public-policy-and-the-geeks-of-tech-

8. CRAFTING PUBLIC POLICY
• CRAFTING PUBLIC POLICY IS AN ART.
• PUBLIC POLICY FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY MUST LOOK AT THE RAMIFICATIONS
OF HUMAN NATURE.
• ENGINEERS CANNOT MAKE THESE DECISIONS ALONE WITHOUT AN INFORMED
UNDERSTANDING OF POLICY TRADEOFFS; AND POLICY MAKERS CANNOT MAKE
CHOICES WITHOUT SOME CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF THE TECHNOLOGY
RAMIFICATIONS.
• YOUNG TECHNOLOGISTS MUST HAVE BROADER SKILLS AND SENSITIVITY TO SOCIAL
ISSUES, AND TO GIVE FUTURE POLICY AND BUSINESS LEADERS GREATER AWARENESS
OF TECHNOLOGY.https://medium.com/read-write-participate/building-our-technology-policy-future-5b

9. EXAMPLE: PUBLIC POLICY ON CLIMATE
CHANGE
• GOOD PUBLIC POLICY: INVESTMENTS
INTO RENEWABLE ENERGY RESEARCH,
CARBON TAX ON CARBON-INTENSIVE
COMPANIES.
• BAD PUBLIC POLICY: CARBON-TAX
ON THE COMMON PEOPLE.
• “THE ROAD TO HELL IS PAVED WITH
GOOD INTENTIONS”.

10. THE FRANCE YELLOW REBELLION
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i55t0WZFtBA

11. LESSONS FROM THE FRANCE REBELLION
• ON NOVEMBER 17TH, HUNDREDS OF
THOUSANDS OF FRENCH CITIZENS
WEARING BRIGHT YELLOW SAFETY
VESTS BLOCKADED ROADS ACROSS
THE COUNTRY.
• OVER THE FOLLOWING WEEKS THE
“GILETS JAUNES” PROTESTS, SPARKED
BY HIKES TO GAS AND DIESEL TAXES,
DREW INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION
AND FORCED FRENCH PRESIDENT
EMMANUEL MACRON TO SUSPEND THE
TAX INCREASE AND RAISE THE
MINIMUM WAGE.
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2018/12/20/what-frances-yellow-vest-protests-reveal-about-the-future-o

12. LESSONS FROM THE FRANCE REBELLION
• THE PROTESTS ARE WRONGLY BEING INTERPRETED AS EVIDENCE THAT “BIG
GOVERNMENT” POLICIES TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE ARE POLITICALLY
INFEASIBLE.
• THIS ANALYSIS IGNORES THE DEMANDS OF THE PROTESTORS THEMSELVES,
WHICH INCLUDE GREATER CORPORATE REGULATION AND EXPANDED SOCIAL
SAFETY-NET PROGRAMS.
• THE REAL LESSON IS THIS: SOLUTIONS TO CLIMATE CHANGE THAT SIDESTEP OR
EXACERBATE ECONOMIC INEQUALITY ARE NOT JUST ETHICALLY DUBIOUS, THEY
ARE POLITICALLY IMPRACTICAL.
• A FOSSIL-FREE ECONOMY WILL HAVE TO BE A FAIRER ECONOMY.
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2018/12/20/what-frances-yellow-vest-protests-reveal-about-the-future

13. 100 COMPANIES ARE TO BLAME FOR 71% OF
THE WORLD'S GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
• OBVIOUSLY, A CARBON-
TAX ON THE COMMON
PEOPLE IS NOT GOING TO
WORK!
https://bigthink.com/robby-
berman/71-of-all-global-emissions-
come-from-just-100-companies

14. DEVELOPMENTS IN USA: THE GREEN NEW
DEAL
• THE "THREE CORE PRINCIPLES" OF
THE PROPOSED GREEN NEW DEAL ARE
"DECARBONIZATION, JOBS, AND
JUSTICE."
• POLICIES THAT WOULD REDUCE
CLIMATE POLLUTION — RENEWABLE
ENERGY TAX CREDITS, FUEL
ECONOMY STANDARDS, AND THE
LIKE — BUT THOSE POLICIES DO NOT
ADD UP TO A COMPREHENSIVE
SOLUTION.https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/12/21/18144138/green-new-deal-alexandr

15. DEVELOPMENTS IN USA: THE GREEN NEW
DEAL
• CLIMATE CHANGE IS AN EMERGENT
PROPERTY OF A BAD ECONOMIC
SYSTEM.
• THE GND IS, AT ITS HEART, A FORM
OF SOCIAL-DEMOCRATIC POPULISM.
• IT IS AN ATTEMPT TO REBALANCE
THE ECONOMY AND THE POLITICAL
SYSTEM, AWAY FROM A
MONOMANIACAL FOCUS ON PRIVATE
GOODS, TOWARD A MORE GENEROUS
VIEW OF PUBLIC GOODS AND PUBLIC
PURPOSE.
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/12/21/18144138/green-new-deal-alexandr

16. GOOD PUBLIC POLICY PLANNING REQUIRES
THE RIGHT MIX OF LEADERS
https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44762.pdf
United States 115th Congress

17. https://www.bna.com/microbiologist-physicist-chemist-n73014450644

18. GOOD PUBLIC POLICY PLANNING REQUIRES
THE RIGHT MIX OF LEADERS
http://media.hoover.org/sites/default/files/documents/clm8_China Leadership

19. GOOD PUBLIC POLICY PLANNING REQUIRES
THE RIGHT MIX OF LEADERS
http://media.hoover.org/sites/default/files/documents/clm8_China Leadership

20. GOOD PUBLIC POLICY PLANNING REQUIRES
THE RIGHT MIX OF LEADERS
http://media.hoover.org/sites/default/files/documents/clm8_China Leadership

21. CHINA’S NEW POLITBURO AND POLITBURO
STANDING COMMITTEE 2017
Science and Engineering Economics and Finance Arts and Humanities
Xi Jinping chemical
engineering
Wang yang political economy Li Keqiang law
Ding
Xuexiang
engineering Zhao Leji politics and
currency banking
Li Zhanshu politics
Xu Qiliang military aviation Hanzheng political economy Wang Huning French language
Li Qiang agriculture
mechanization
Liu He economics Wang Cheng Chinese
literature
Yang Ziaodu pharmacy Sun Chunlan economic
management
Li Xi Chinese
language
Chen Xi chemical
engineering
Yang Jiechi international
relations and
economics
Li Hongzhong history
Guo
Shengkun
mineral
processing
Chen Quanguo political economy Chen Miner Chinese
language
Huang
Kunming
politics and
economic
management
Hu Chunhua Chinese
literature
https://www.brookings.edu/interactives/chinas-new- Cai Qi political

22. CHINA – WORLD POWER AGAIN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67yre0HYWcQ