GESDA's best pick from the press, web and science journals, in relation to GESDA's thematic platforms
12 October - 1st November 2022
A GESDA product curated by Olivier Dessibourg
www.gesda.global
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FOCUS 1
> The 2022 Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipation Summit
The 2022 GESDA Summit attracted in Geneva, 12-14 October, about 1 000 participants from the diplomatic and academic communities, as well as among citizens and entrepreneurs. About 150 speakers/moderators from 46 countries took part in 21 sessions dedicated to hot topics in science and diplomacy, from organoids to solar radiation modification, from the digitalization of conflicts to the future of polar research. You can watch them all in replay on GESDA’s YouTube channel.
Below, a selection of the press articles published at the occasion of this second edition of the GESDA Summit - the program of which I had the honor and pleasure to curate.
Swiss President Ignazio Cassis’ intervention
> Switzerland's president touts value of anticipatory science diplomacy // admin.ch, 14.10.2022
> Cassis e l'importanza della diplomazia scientifica // Keystone-ATS/Swissinfo.ch, 14.10.2022
> Ignazio Cassis: “Nous sommes déjà dans un film de science-fiction” // Léman Bleu, 15.10.2022
> Swiss President says no conflict should stop development of science // Sputnik News, 14.10.2022
> Cassis appelle à ne pas ostraciser les scientifiques russes // Swissinfo.ch, 14.10.2022
General articles
> Kampf gegen digitalen Analphabetismus in Genf // SRF, 13.10.2022
> La diplomatie scientifique expliquée à ma grand-mère // Heidi.news, 17.10.2022
> Le rôle clé de la diplomatie scientifique anticipatoire: un levier d’anticipation pour la mission diplomatique de la Réunion ? // Clicanoo, 14.10.2022
> Ecosystème genevois: the place to be! // Tribune de Genève, 14.10.2022
In the spotlight
> L'invité-e de La Matinale - Peter Brabeck, ancien président de Nestlé et actuel président de la fondation GESDA // RTS, 14.10.2022
> Madame la rectrice Mamokgethi Phakeng, qui veut donner la parole aux jeunes générations // Le Temps, 14.10.2022
Open Quantum Institute
> Superordinateurs et technologies quantiques vont révolutionner nos vies. Appel à la mobilisation à Genève // RTS 19:30, 12.10.2022
> GESDA reveals plans for Geneva quantum hub and science diplomacy curriculum // Geneva Solutions, 14.10.2022
> Le GESDA veut un institut sur le quantique à Genève d'ici 3 à 5 ans // Keystone-ATS/Radio Lac, 12.10.2022
> CERN joins with leaders from research and industry to propose an Open Quantum Institute // Science|Business, 17.10.2022
> Vers la création à Genève d’un centre mondial pour la démocratisation de l'informatique quantique // ICT Journal, 13.10.2022
> Ordinateur: le défi quantique sera relevé à Genève (interview de Daria Robinson) // GenèveVision/RTS, 18.10.2022
Decarbonization accelerator
> Jim Hageman Snabe: «Dans dix ans, tout le monde voudra être dans ce marché» // 24 Heures, 19.10.2022
Vector-born diseases
> A nature-based strategy to combat dengue: among futuristic health solutions at GESDA’s 2022 Summit // Health Policy Watch, 13.10.2022
Polar research
> Arctic science collaboration is on thin ice // Swissinfo.ch, 27.10.2022
> La recherche polaire paralysée par la guerre en Ukraine // Le Temps, 13.10.2022
Organoids
> Quelle régulation pour la manipulation des «mini-cerveaux» cultivés en labo? // Le Temps, 19.10.2022
Solar radiation modification
> La manipulation du climat peut-elle déclencher une nouvelle guerre froide? // Heidi.news, 18.10.2022
> La piste des nuages // La Liberté, 15.10.2022
Human right to science
> The human right to science takes centre stage in Geneva // Swissinfo.ch, 12.10.2022
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GESDA Summit 2022
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FOCUS 2
> A big chance for science at the heart of global policymaking // Nature, 11.10.2022
The UN’s top leadership is reaching out to the scientific community to help inform decision making – a welcome move in a highly uncertain world.
Related articles:
> Science is ready to tackle global crises // Science|Business, 20.10.2022
Science led the way out of the COVID-19 pandemic and can rise to other challenges, as long as there is sustained investment in research and research infrastructures, says Edith Heard, director general of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL).
> Science, technology and innovation is not addressing world’s most urgent problems – major new study // UNDP, 19.10.2022
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(©)
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FOCUS 3
> The technopolar moment // Foreign Affairs, November/December 2022
How digital powers will reshape the global order - an essay by Ian Bremmer, President of Eurasia Group.
Related article: Robots, le mirage du grand remplacement // Le Temps, 28.10.2022
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(© Doodlebug/Wikicommons)
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(© Andrea Ucini for New Scientist)
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FOCUS 5
> The Mortality issue // MIT Technology Review, November/December 2022
Is there a limit to human life? Is old age a disease? Plus reprogramming aging bodies, demedicalizing death, technology that lets us speak to our dead relatives, and what really happens when you donate your body to science.
Related articles:
> How scientists want to make you young again // MIT Technology Review, 25.10.2022
> Technology that lets us “speak” to our dead relatives has arrived. Are we ready? // MIT Technology Review, 18.10.2022
> The search for a pill that can help dogs – and humans – live longer // WIRED, 13.10.2022
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FOCUS 6
> A new doorway to the brain // Nautilus, 11.11.2022
Neuroscientists can now explore the “wild west” in our heads in incredible detail – a boon to medicine and understanding what makes us tick.
Related article: We’ve got news for you about supercharging your brain // Nautilus, 19.10.2022
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(© Paul Craft / Shutterstock)
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FOCUS 7
> The time for geoengineering is now // Foreign Affairs, 26.10.2022
Drastic climate change calls for drastic Measures
Related article: Could new technology solve climate change? // LSE, 24.09.2022
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Smoke shrouding a bridge in Seattle, Washington, October 2022.
(© Matt Mills McKnight / Reuters)
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FOCUS 8
> The pandemic uncovered ways to speed up science // WIRED, 25.10.2022
There doesn't have to be a trade-off between good research and fast research.
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(© WIRED; Getty Images)
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FOCUS 9
> Future technology for health // The CERN Sparks! Podcast, October
The second season of the CERN Sparks! podcast: 6 episodes focused on discussing some of the present of health tech and science and taking a deep look at the many exciting, often risky and generally thrilling possibilities of future technologies for health. With Nobel Laureate Jennifer Doudna; the founding father of genomics, George Church; the WHO’s chief scientist, Soumya Swaminathan; and many other guests.
Related article: Flush with cash from Covid-19 vaccine, BioNTech founders have outsized ambitions // STAT, 13.10.2022
Ugur Sahin and Ozlem Tureci want to create a new kind of drug company, one that will bring multiple products to market, not only to treat infectious disease and cancer but also other disease areas.
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FOCUS 10
> The United States and Switzerland sign joint statement to strengthen collaboration on quantum // admin.ch, 20.10.2022
On October 19, 2022, the United States and Switzerland signed a Joint Statement on Cooperation in Quantum Information Science and Technology (QIST) at the Embassy of Switzerland in Washington, DC. The statement builds upon the nations’ shared democratic values and the strong bottom-up collaborations that exist between QIST researchers from the two countries.
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(© IBM)
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GOOD READS ABOUT GESDA'S PLATFORMS THEMES
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Platform 1: Quantum Revolution & Advanced AI
Quantum and physics
> Quantum watch is a 'completely new way of measuring time' // New Scientist, 24.10.2022
> How national security and digital sovereignty motivate governmental efforts in quantum computing: global quantum computing policy // The Quantum Insider, 25.10.2022
> Commission reassures MEPs and industry that Horizon budget for quantum research won’t be cut // Science|Business, 13.10.2022
Artificial intelligence and technology
> Inside Eric Schmidt’s push to profit from an AI cold war with China // Protocol, 31.10.2022
> Artificial intelligence is being asked to predict the future of AI // New Scientist, 17.10.2022
> Responsible AI has a burnout problem // MIT Technology Review, 28.10.2022
Companies say they want ethical AI. But those working in the field say that ambition comes at their expense.
> Big Tech’s reign looks shaky as Facebook, Amazon disappoint investors // The Washington Post, 27.10.2022
> The metaverse is being built in Africa too (opinion piece) // TechCabal, 20.10.2022,
Related article: It’s official: Meta is a disaster // NY Mag, 26.10.2022
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(© Vinicius "amnx" Amano on Unsplash)
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Platform 2: Human Augmentation
Genomics
> A new suite of RNA-sensing tools could help scientists target cancerous cells, and much more // STAT, 27.10.2022
Longevity and health
> ACT-Accelerator launches six month plan as world transitions to long-term COVID-19 control // WHO, 28.10.2022
> Reevaluating the ethical issues in porcine-to-human heart xenotransplantation // The Hastings Center Report, 13.10.2022
> Fighting tumours with magnetic bacteria // ETHZ, 26.10.2022
> U.S. weighs crackdown on experiments that could make viruses more dangerous // Science, 19.10.2022
> Your smartphone could be used to estimate your risk of dying // New Scientist, 20.10.2022
Neurosciences
> Mind-reading AI works out what you are thinking from brain scans // New Scientist, 14.10.2022
> Thumb-sized microscope captures images deep inside the brains of active animals // Nature, 25.10.2022
> Scientists say they can damage memories of being cheated on // Futurism, 28.10.2022
> Human brain cells transplanted into baby rats’ brains grow and form connections // MIT Technology Review, 12.10.2022
When lab-grown clumps of human neurons are transplanted into newborn rats, they grow with the animals. The research raises some tricky ethical questions.
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(© Pasca Lab/Stanford Medicine)
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Platform 3: Eco-regeneration & Geoengineering
Resources
> The first plant-based steak in the US hit stores this week // Singularity Hub, 27.10.2022
Related articles:
> Cellular agriculture could be a game-changer or just another spot on the supermarket shelves // Nature Food, 18.10.2022
> Tough times for plant-based meat // Axios, 25.10.2022
> Will lab-grown meat reach our plates? // MIT Technology Review, 28.10.2022
Ethical, environmentally friendly, mass-produced meat might be nothing more than a pipe dream.
> Machine learning could vastly speed up the search for new metals // MIT Technology Review, 25.10.2022
Biotechnologies
> From pitless cherries to softer kale, this startup is using CRISPR to make better produce // Singularity Hub, 26.10.2022
> Houseplants genetically modified to reduce indoor air pollution // New Scientist, 27.10.2022
> Why scientists want to help plants capture more carbon dioxide // MIT Technology Review, 19.10.2022
> Scientists engineer bacteria to recycle plastic waste into valuable chemicals // Singularity Hub, 17.10.2022
Climate and environment
> Bill Gates’s energy venture fund is expanding into climate adaptation and later-stage investments // MIT Technology Review, 19.10.2022
> Engineering firms explore plan to slow melting of Greenland glacier // New Scientist, 21.10.2022
> The World Bank’s new green gamble // Financial Times, 25.10.2022
> Why climate tech is getting broader and narrower at the same time // BNN Bloomberg, 27.10.2022
> Lancement du projet Horizon Europe ORCaSa : une coordination mondiale de recherche et innovation autour du carbone dans les sols // INRAE, 28.10.2022
Space
> China’s spaceplane raises orbit and national funding // SpaceNews, 25.10.2022
> China’s space station is almost complete – how will scientists use it? // Nature, 28.10.2022
Energy
> Robots and AI could optimize lithium-ion batteries // IEEE Spectrum, 11.10.2022
> "Grätzel" solar cells achieve a new record // EPFL, 27.10.2022
> World Energy Outlook 2022 // IEA, October 2022
With the world in the midst of the first global energy crisis – triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine – the World Energy Outlook 2022 (WEO) provides indispensable analysis and insights on the implications of this profound and ongoing shock to energy systems across the globe.
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Platform 4: Science & Diplomacy
> Etats-Unis - Chine : la guerre de la tech aura bien lieu // L'Obs, 17.10.2022
Related article: Why Biden’s block on chips to China is a big deal // The Atlantic, 25.10.2022
Related report: Protecting U.S. Technological Advantage: Report Release // National Academies of Science, 29.09.2022
> What Xi Jinping’s third term means for science // Nature, 27.10.2022
Related article: Chinas Griff nach der Weltmacht: Xi Jinping hat wie kein anderer Staatsmann das Potenzial von Technologie verstanden // NZZ, 20.10.2022
> Closing the digital Geneva gap // Swissinfo.ch, 24.10.2022
How can foreign policy and digitalisation be combined? And what role should International Geneva play in this? Nicolas Zahn and Kevin Kohler from the think tank foraus on the challenges for Switzerland
> Digitalisation has the power to revolutionise human rights tracking for the best // Geneva Solutions, 14.10.2022
> Europe prepares to rewrite the rules of the internet // WIRED, 28.10.2022
> EU Commission wants to plug ‘information gap’ between civilian and defence R&D // Science/Business, 13.10.2022
> EU moves forward with creating the European Research Area // Science|Business, 18.10.2022
> Ukraine enters a dark new era of drone warfare // WIRED, 21.10.2022
> Ukrainian academy president seeks to protect science as war escalates // Science, 14.10.2022
> A new Cold War is heating up the Arctic // Bloomberg, 20.10.2022
> A new social contract for global climate justice // TED, Fall 2022
> Does the right to a healthy environment need a treaty? // Geneva Solutions, 21.10.2022
> Evidence-informed policymaking: a new document to foster discussion on a better use of scientific knowledge in policy // EC Joint Research Center, 26.10.2022
Scientific knowledge can help policymakers understand, identify and assess policy options.
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(© EU 2022)
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GESDA Platform: Knowledge Foundations
> Signs of Life: Detecting signatures of life in the universe // The Kavli Foundation, 04.10.2022
> Early life on Earth and beyond may have been ocean dwellers // Space.com, 28.07.2022
> Black holes may hide a mind-bending secret about our universe // The New York Times, 10.10.2022
Take gravity, add quantum mechanics, stir. What do you get? Just maybe, a holographic cosmos.
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(© Leonardo Santamaria)
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OF INTEREST
> Building a brighter future for Africa with the African Light Source // Nature, 19.10.2022
> How philosophy turned into physics – and reality turned into information // The Conversation, 7.10.2022
> A new philosophy of planetary computation // Noema, 5.10.2022
Introducing Antikythera, a new program to examine the implications of an unfolding radical philosophical event: the emergence of planetary-scale computation.
> Accorder des droits à la nature, une révolution juridique qui bouscule notre vision du monde // Le Monde, 21.10.2022
> Le long-termisme, la morale qui veut sauver l’humanité // Le Temps, 18.10.2022
Face aux risques d’extinction de la civilisation, un nouveau courant philosophique recommande de privilégier la vie des générations futures. Quitte à sacrifier le présent?
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(© Hector de la Vallée pour Le Temps)
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> OSTP's Arati Prabhakar Speech at AAAS // AAAS/YouTube, 21.10.2022
Arati Prabhakar, newly confirmed director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, speaks at the American Association for the Advancement of Science on the aims of U.S. science and technology.
(© DR)
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TOOLS, RESOURCES AND PARTNERS
> Climat: des politiciens invitent les scientifiques à «communiquer comme des lobbys» // Heidi.news, 11.10.2022
> Public access is not equal access (editorial) // Science, 9.9.2022
On 25 August, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy provided guidance for scientific publishing aimed at making publications and their supporting data – the products of federally funded research—publicly available without an embargo by the end of 2025. Several paths to public access remain possible. It will matter greatly to the scientific enterprise which become predominant.
> La Genève internationale présente son histoire à travers des archives publiques et privées // RTS, 27.10.2022
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(© RTS)
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BOOKS
> The power of pondering the future // Undark, 20.10.2022
“The Invention of Tomorrow” explores the transformative human power to envision the future and its evolutionary impact.
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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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