GESDA's best pick from the press, web and science journals, in relation to GESDA's thematic platforms
14-21 June 2022
A GESDA product curated by Olivier Dessibourg
www.gesda.global
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FOCUS 1
> Can democracy include a world beyond humans? // 16.06.2022, WIRED
A truly planetary politics would extend decisionmaking to animals, ecosystems, and potentially AI.
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(© Eva Redamonti)
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FOCUS 2
> Reinventing globalisation // 18.06.2022, The Economist
Why too much resilience is dangerous: switching to a security-first model of globalisation would make the world more expensive and dangerous.
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FOCUS 3
> Gene genies: inside the revolutionary biotech that can edit DNA inside living humans // 16.06.2022, Forbes
John Leonard built Intellia Therapeutics with Jennifer Doudna, the Nobel Prize-winning scientist who pioneered gene editing technology. The company has figured out how to alter disease-causing genes inside patients, but before any breakthrough treatments come, it must first cure itself of its legal and financial ills.
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FOCUS 4
> Pulling steaks from thin air meat // 16.06.2022, NEO.LIFE
Meat made from recycled CO2 is on its way. But will it taste good?
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(© Air Protein)
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FOCUS 5
> CERN to end collaboration agreements with Russia and Belarus // 17.06.2022, Geneva Solutions
The decision comes three months after the European particle physics laboratory suspended Russia from its membership.
Related article: Le CERN va-t-il se priver des scientifiques russes? // 16.06.2022, Le Temps
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(© Hertzog, Samuel Joseph: CERN)
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FOCUS 6
> Ukraine: 100 days of war in cyberspace // 02.06.2022, CyberPeace Institute
How cyberattacks and operations in the war in Ukraine are harming society and destabilizing cyberspace.
Related tool: Cyber attacks in times of conflict: Platform #Ukraine // June 2022, CyberPeace Institute
Monitoring the harm to civilians from cyberattacks, in the quest for cyberpeace: this Platform builds upon and broadens the Timeline of Cyberattacks in Ukraine which has been maintained by the Institute since February 2022, and now includes attacks against not only Ukraine but also the Russian Federation and other countries impacted by attacks linked to this armed conflict. In addition to aggregating data on cyberattacks against critical infrastructure and civilian objects, there is a breakdown of attacks by the different sectors affected such as telecommunications, energy, transport, etc., and the harms and impact for people and society.
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FOCUS 7
> How can we prevent AI from being racist, sexist and offensive? // 17.06.2022, New Scientist
Artificial intelligences continue to exhibit the same biases and prejudices as humans because they are trained on what we create, but there are ways we can improve the situation
Related articles:
> Google’s ‘sentient’ chatbot is our self-deceiving future // 14.06.2022, The Atlantic
The next generation of AI will put the pathetic fallacy on steroids.
> If artificial intelligence were to become sentient, how would we know? // 15.06.2022, Singularity Hub
> We warned Google that people might believe AI was sentient. Now it’s happening (opinion piece by Timnit Gebru) // 17.06.2022, The Washington Post
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(© Colin Anderson Productions pty ltd/Getty Images)
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FOCUS 8
> Global Cloud Ecosystem Index 2022 // June 2022, in partnership with MIT Technology Review
The Global Cloud Ecosystem Index is a ranking of 76 countries and territories according to how well technology, regulations, and talent promote the availability of cloud services. It also evaluates and compares the regulatory frameworks and digital practices that promote the use of cloud models in the public and private sector.
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FOCUS 9
> How to be a techno-optimist // 16.06.2022, Big Think
Technology will not save the world, and it is inherently neither good nor bad. But, when tech is coupled to human virtue, good will prevail.
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(© rudall30 / Adobe Stock)
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FOCUS 10
> State of Science Index Survey // June 2022, 3M
Around the world, people see the importance of science to their lives. For the past five years, the 3M State of Science Index has explored global attitudes about science. In 2022, people recognize the relevancy of science to their lives and are looking for science to provide solutions to major social issues.
Summary article: Why misinformation threatens the future of science // June 2022, Axios
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GOOD READS ABOUT GESDA'S PLATFORMS THEMES
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Platform 1: Quantum Revolution & Advanced AI
Quantum and physics
> D-Wave shows off prototype of its next quantum annealing computer // 17.06.2022, ZDNet
> Quantum technology: can it fulfill its promises? // 07.06.2022, Agefi
What new computers will do, and how Swiss startups are trying to take advantage of them. By Brendan Karch, SwissNex Boston.
> Genève, berceau de l’informatique quantique // 17.06.2022, Le Temps
La société ID Quantique, qui vient de fêter ses 20 ans, verra sa technologie implantée dans un nouveau smartphone de Samsung. L’entreprise, forte d’une centaine d’employés, souffre d’être exclue des programmes de recherche européens.
> Top 63 quantum computer simulators for 2022 // 14.06.2022, The Quantum Insider
Artificial intelligence
> Welcome to the summer of robots // 11.06.2022, AXIOS
> This AI model tries to re-create the mind of Ruth Bader Ginsburg // 14.06.2022, The Washington Post
> In its greatest biology feat yet, AI unlocks the complex proteins guarding our DNA // 14.06.2022, Singularity Hub
> Inside Europe’s fight for ethical AI // 14.06.2022, The New Statesman
France wants to expand the scope of the EU's groundbreaking new AI Act. Do its plans go far enough?
> Engineers build LEGO-like artificial intelligence chip // 13.06.2022, MIT News
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(MIT engineers have created a reconfigurable AI chip that comprises alternating layers of sensing and processing elements that can communicate with each other. Figure courtesy of the researchers and edited by MIT News)
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Platform 2: Human Augmentation
Genomics
> A $100 genome? New DNA sequencers could be a ‘game changer’ for biology, medicine // 15.06.2022, Science
> Children to get CRISPR treatment for sickle cell disease in trial // 16.06.2022, New Scientist
> Scientists used CRISPR to trace every human gene to its function // 20.06.2022, SingularityHub
Longevity and health
> Solar storms may cause up to 5500 heart-related deaths in a given year // 17.06.2022, New Scientist
In an approximate 11-year cycle, the sun blasts out charged particles and magnetised plasma that can distort Earth’s magnetic field, which may disrupt our body clock and ultimately affect the heart.
> Team finds key clue to longer lifespans // 13.06.2022, Futurity
> The human microbiome: there is much left to do // 15.06.2022, Nature
> Urgent need to transform mental health care – WHO says in largest review ever // 17.06.2022, Health Policy Watch
Neurosciences
> Can virtual reality help autistic children navigate the real world? // 14.06.2022, The New York Times
One company, Floreo, is hoping their tools will lead the way, despite some criticisms from autism self-advocates.
> When will I be able to upload my brain to a computer? // 09.06.2022, The Conversation
> Does one simple rule underlie learning in the brain? // 10.06.2022, EPFL Press release
> Three burning questions about the first brain reference charts // 17.06.2022, STAT
Related scientific article: Brain charts for the human lifespan // 06.04.2022, Nature
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(© Adobe)
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Platform 3: Eco-regeneration & Geoengineering
Resources
> Flying the low-carbon skies on sustainable aviation fuel // 12.06.2022, Chemical & Engineering News
> Big oil bets that green hydrogen is the future of energy // 19.06.2022, Bloomberg
Energy
> Chinese university completes space-based solar power ground test facility // 14.06.2022, SpaceNews
> A new breakthrough could make it possible to harvest solar power at night // 16.06.2022, SciTechDaily
Biotechnologies
> Genetic discovery could spell mosquitoes’ death knell // 14.06.2022, UC Riverside
> This CRISPR pioneer wants to capture more carbon with crops // 14.06.2022, MIT Technology Review
Climate and environment
> Running Tide is facing scientist departures and growing concerns over seaweed sinking for carbon removal // 16.06.2022, MIT Technology Review
> Marco Lambertini, Director General of WWF International: “We need a global goal for society to address the nature crisis: nature positive by 2030” // 14.06.2022, WWF
> La Planète pourrait changer de manière irréversible d'ici 5 ans // 16.06.2022, Futura Planète
Space
> NASA, ESA finalize agreements on climate, Artemis cooperation // 15.06.2022, NASA press release
Related press release: ESA sets out bold ambitions for space // 16.06.2022, ESA
> NASA, partner establish new research group for Mars sample return program // 14.06.2022, JPL NASA
> The US has a national strategy to put factories in space // 16.06.2022, Quartz
> The European space mission that plans to ambush a comet // 17.06.2022, Nature
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(© Geraint Jones, UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory)
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GESDA Platform: Knowledge Foundations
> Ten years after the Higgs, physicists face the nightmare of finding nothing else // 13.06.2022, Science
Unless Europe’s Large Hadron Collider coughs up a surprise, the field of particle physics may wheeze to its end
> Asteroid samples may ‘rewrite the chemistry of the solar system’ // 09.06.2022, The New York Times
The flecks of rock were brought back to Earth by the Japanese space mission Hayabusa2 in December 2020.
> Particle hunters can spend a lifetime searching for answers // 16.06.2022, WIRED
In physics, experiments to answer the big questions can take decades to run – and might not produce any findings at all.
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(The IceCube Laboratory at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, in Antarctica, hosts the computers that collect raw data from the detector. © Erik Beiser/IceCube/NSF)
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OF INTEREST
> African solutions to African problems: reframing science innovation // 10.06.2022, Health Policy Watch
> How animals perceive the world // 13.06.2022, The Atlantic
Every creature lives within its own sensory bubble, but only humans have the capacity to appreciate the experiences of other species. What we’ve learned is astounding.
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(© Shayan Asgharnia for The Atlantic)
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> 5 ethical principles for digitizing humanitarian aid // 15.06.2022, TED
Humanitarian organizations have digitized many of their systems, from registering refugees with biometric IDs to transporting cargo via drones. Tech and human rights ethicist Aarathi Krishnan points to the dangers of digitization – like sensitive data getting into the hands of the wrong people – and lays out five ethical principles to help inform humanitarian tech innovation. (Photo: DR)
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TOOLS, RESOURCES AND PARTNERS
> La Chine veut son «Nature» ou son «Science» pour peser en sciences // 14.06.2022, Heidi.news
> EPFL Innovation Park to expand with a focus on co-creation // 20.06.2022, EPFL
> Digital News Report 2022 // 15.06.2022, Reuters Institute
This year's report reveals new insights about digital news consumption based on a YouGov survey of over 93,000 online news consumers in 46 markets covering half of the world's population. The report documents ways in which the connection between journalism and the public may be fraying, including a fall in trust following last year’s positive bump, a declining interest in news and a rise in news avoidance. It also looks at audience polarisation and explores how young people access news.
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BOOKS
> The plastic paradox, and how to regulate the seas: Books in brief // 17.06.2022, Nature
Andrew Robinson reviews five of the week’s best science picks.
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WHAT IS GESDA?
Humanity, now more than ever, is facing global challenges (especially with regards to the Covid-19 crisis), putting people and the planet under stress and in great uncertainty. Simultaneously, the world is experiencing breakthroughs in science and technology at an unprecedented pace, which are sometimes hard to grasp. Anticipation, therefore, is key to build the future with the aim of early and fully exploiting this scientific potential for the well-being and inclusive development of all. The Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator was founded in Geneva in 2019 to tackle this issue.
GESDA's ambition is to first anticipate and identify these cutting-edge advances in science and technology throughout various domains (Quantum Revolution & Advanced AI, Human Augmentation, Eco-regeneration & Geoengineering, Science & Diplomacy). Based on this scientific outlook, it will, with its Diplomacy community, translate potential leaps in science and tech into tools that can bring effective and socially-inclusive solutions to emerging challenges. Most importantly, this process will be achieved not only by scientists or diplomats, but will include actors of various professional origins and mindsets (from philanthropy, industry, citizens, to youth).
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Have a very nice and fruitful week! :-)
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