Future Politics


Book Description

Politics in the Twentieth Century was dominated by a single question: how much of our collective life should be determined by the state, and what should be left to the market and civil society? Now the debate is different: to what extent should our lives be directed and controlled by powerful digital systems - and on what terms? Digital technologies - from artificial intelligence to blockchain, from robotics to virtual reality - are transforming the way we live together. Those who control the most powerful technologies are increasingly able to control the rest of us. As time goes on, these powerful entities - usually big tech firms and the state - will set the limits of our liberty, decreeing what may be done and what is forbidden. Their algorithms will determine vital questions of social justice. In their hands, democracy will flourish or decay. A landmark work of political theory, Future Politics challenges readers to rethink what it means to be free or equal, what it means to have power or property, and what it means for a political system to be just or democratic. In a time of rapid and relentless changes, it is a book about how we can - and must - regain control. Winner of the Estoril Global Issues Distinguished Book Prize.







The Government Role in Civilian Technology


Book Description

As U.S. industry faces worldwide challenges, policymakers are asking questions about the role of the federal government-not only in promoting basic research but also in ushering new innovations to the marketplace. This book offers an expert consensus on how government and industry together can respond to the new realities of a global marketplace. The volume offers firm conclusions about policy and organizational changes with the greatest potential to improve our technological competitiveness-and presents three alternative approaches for a new federal role. The volume examines: How federal involvement in technology development affects the nation's economic well-being. What we can learn from past federal efforts to stimulate civilian technology development-in the United States and among our major industrial competitors. How trends in productivity, R&D, and other key areas have affected U.S. performance, and how we compare to the world's rising industrial economies. Offering guidance on one of the 1990s most important issues, this volume will be indispensible to federal policymakers, executives in industry and technology, and researchers.




The Politics of Innovation


Book Description

Why are some countries better than others at science and technology (S&T)? Written in an approachable style, The Politics of Innovation provides readers from all backgrounds and levels of expertise a comprehensive introduction to the debates over national S&T competitiveness. It synthesizes over fifty years of theory and research on national innovation rates, bringing together the current political and economic wisdom, and latest findings, about how nations become S&T leaders. Many experts mistakenly believe that domestic institutions and policies determine national innovation rates. However, after decades of research, there is still no agreement on precisely how this happens, exactly which institutions matter, and little aggregate evidence has been produced to support any particular explanation. Yet, despite these problems, a core faith in a relationship between domestic institutions and national innovation rates remains widely held and little challenged. The Politics of Innovation confronts head-on this contradiction between theory, evidence, and the popularity of the institutions-innovation hypothesis. It presents extensive evidence to show that domestic institutions and policies do not determine innovation rates. Instead, it argues that social networks are as important as institutions in determining national innovation rates. The Politics of Innovation also introduces a new theory of "creative insecurity" which explains how institutions, policies, and networks are all subservient to politics. It argues that, ultimately, each country's balance of domestic rivalries vs. external threats, and the ensuing political fights, are what drive S&T competitiveness. In making its case, The Politics of Innovation draws upon statistical analysis and comparative case studies of the United States, Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Turkey, Israel, Russia and a dozen countries across Western Europe.




State of Innovation


Book Description

The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression has generated a fundamental re-evaluation of the free-market policies that have dominated American politics for three decades. State of Innovation brings together critical essays looking at the 'innovation industry' in the context of the current crisis. The book shows how government programs and policies have underpinned technological innovation in the US economy over the last four decades, despite the strength of 'free market' political rhetoric. The contributors provide new insights into where innovations come from and how governments can support a dynamic innovation economy as the US recovers from a profound economic crisis. State of Innovation outlines a 21st century policy paradigm that will foster cutting-edge innovation which remains accountable to the public.




Engineering as a Social Enterprise


Book Description

How is society influenced by engineering and technology? How in turn does society shape engineering and technology? This book from the National Academy of Engineering explores ways in which technology and society form inseparable elements in a complex sociotechnical system. The essays in this volume are based on the proposition that many forces move and shape engineering, technology, culture, and society. Six specialists both inside and outside the field of engineering offer views on how engineering responds to society's needs and how social forces shape what engineers do and what they can achieve.




Mastering a New Role


Book Description

This book examines the changing character of commercial technology development and diffusion in an integrated global economy and its implications for U.S. public policies in support of technological innovation. The volume considers the history, current practice, and future prospects for national policies to encourage economic development through both direct and indirect government support of technological advance.




Government Policy and Program Impacts on Technology Development, Transfer, and Commercialization


Book Description

In recent decades, government-funded technologies have produced radar, microwave ovens, modern cell phone systems, the Internet, new materials for aircraft and motor vehicles, and new medical instrumentation. This first-of-its-kind book examines how access to technology is affected by government policies and government-sponsored programs. Government Policy and Program Impacts on Technology Development, Transfer, and Commercialization: International Perspectives provides an easy-to-read overview of the field and several studies serving as examples to guide government policymakers and private sector decision makers. This forward-looking book also forecasts the potential impacts of government regulation upon the field and presents provocative discussions of the ethical implications of the cross-cultural and cross-national challenges facing technologically developed nations in the global economy. This book reviews this broad field by first providing an overview of the goals of government technology policies and programs as well as of generic types of government technology programs. Next, it presents carefully selected studies that illustrate the potential impacts of government decisions upon marketing constraints, industry acceptance of regulatory requirements, economic development, gross domestic product, and the choices firms make when it comes to location, competitiveness, product development, and other factors. The final chapters explore ethical considerations from a global perspective. These chapters also explore the implications of these considerations in relation to the success of governmental and private sector technology transfer and commercialization programs. The macromarketing perspective taken by the contributors serves to ground the impacts of government technology policies and programs in practical implications for economic development, business productivity, and quality of life. The contributors to this unique collection share their expertise on government sponsorship of technology research, the impact of government regulation upon technology marketing and economic development, the effects of government policies on business practices, intellectual property rights, and much more. Government Policy and Program Impacts on Technology Development, Transfer, and Commercialization shows how evolving technology and government policy changes have affected: the commercialization of musicnew media, piracy problems, consumer choices and costs, and changes in the radio and concert promotion industries the adoption of new household technology licensure requirements for telemedicinewith an essential overview of telemedicine plus examinations of relevant governmental regulations and potential applications patents, copyrights, trademarks, licensing, and proprietary information scrap tire disposalnew alternatives for a chronic waste disposal problem food product development state-owned enterpriseswith a case study illustrating how a stagnant state-owned company quickly evolved into China’s leading firm in the textile machinery field




Powering a Learning Society During an Age of Disruption


Book Description

This open access book presents contemporary perspectives on the role of a learning society from the lens of leading practitioners, experts from universities, governments, and industry leaders. The think pieces argue for a learning society as a major driver of change with far-reaching influence on learning to serve the needs of economies and societies. The book is a testimonial to the importance of ‘learning communities.’ It highlights the pivotal role that can be played by non-traditional actors such as city and urban planners, citizens, transport professionals, and technology companies. This collection seeks to contribute to the discourse on strengthening the fabric of a learning society crucial for future economic and social development, particularly in the aftermath of the coronavirus disease.




The Fourth Industrial Revolution


Book Description

World-renowned economist Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, explains that we have an opportunity to shape the fourth industrial revolu­tion, which will fundamentally alter how we live and work. Schwab argues that this revolution is different in scale, scope and complexity from any that have come before. Characterized by a range of new technologies that are fusing the physical, digital and biological worlds, the developments are affecting all disciplines, economies, industries and governments, and even challenging ideas about what it means to be human. Artificial intelligence is already all around us, from supercomputers, drones and virtual assistants to 3D printing, DNA sequencing, smart thermostats, wear­able sensors and microchips smaller than a grain of sand. But this is just the beginning: nanomaterials 200 times stronger than steel and a million times thinner than a strand of hair and the first transplant of a 3D printed liver are already in development. Imagine “smart factories” in which global systems of manu­facturing are coordinated virtually, or implantable mobile phones made of biosynthetic materials. The fourth industrial revolution, says Schwab, is more significant, and its ramifications more profound, than in any prior period of human history. He outlines the key technologies driving this revolution and discusses the major impacts expected on government, business, civil society and individu­als. Schwab also offers bold ideas on how to harness these changes and shape a better future—one in which technology empowers people rather than replaces them; progress serves society rather than disrupts it; and in which innovators respect moral and ethical boundaries rather than cross them. We all have the opportunity to contribute to developing new frame­works that advance progress.