Introduction : bio-engineering the 21st century

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Keeping the dream alive : what ELSI-research might learn from the practice of TA

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Living in intimate technospheres

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Political TA : Opening up the political debate. Stimulating early engagement of parliamentarians and policy makers on emerging technologies - Attempt by the Rathenau Instituur

Political technology assessment (TA) is aimed at informing and contributing to opinion formation of both members of parliament and policy makers. The modern practice of political TA presents a mix of investigation, interaction and communication activities. At the beginning of the century the TA community realised that good communication skills and (personal) links with politicians and policy makers are crucial for improving the impact of TA on the political debate. This chapter zooms in on this communicative turn and the way it influences the practice and methodology of political TA. It does so by describing various attempts made by the Rathenau Instituut, the Dutch national technology assessment (TA) organization, to involve parliamentarians and policy makers in the field of nanotechnology, or broader converging technologies. The Rathenau Instituut is institutionally positioned within the scientific domain, and outside the parliament and the government. Still its institutional task is to stimulate the political debate on science and technology. Getting out of the scientific domain and going into the political sphere requires so-called boundary work. This chapter illustrates and reflects on the way the Rathenau Instituut performs such boundary work. The basis for this is a trustworthy identity based on the scientific quality of its products and its quality as an organizer of participatory events. In addition, the TA organisation has to build up connections of trust to the parliament and government. Seizing opportunities to cooperate with MPs or policy makers is an important way to actively involve them in the debate on emerging technologies and building up a long-term relationship of trust between the TA institute and the political system

Denk goed na voor je 'even' een foto op Internet plaatst

Nog even en gezichtsherkenningssoftware wordt gekoppeld aan informatie en foto's die op internet te vinden zijn. Toch is het mogelijk baas over eigen gezicht te blijven

Thinking parliamentary technology assessment politically:exploring the link between democratic policy making and parliamentary TA

\u3cp\u3eThis paper aims to clarify the political nature of parliamentary technology assessment (PTA) by reflecting on PTA's relationship with democratic policy making. This issue is raised in a political climate that is regularly portrayed as a ‘post-truth era’ and influenced by the rise of radical right populism. Democratic policy making is described in terms of problem structuring that depends on powering, scientific puzzling, participation and deliberation. Regulative democratic ideals, like political equality, truth, citizen participation, and ideal communication, are identified that drive these processes. These concepts are used to clarify the political nature of PTA in two ways. First the kind of political support for PTA within countries where PTA is or was institutionalized is explored. A typology of seven levels of political support to PTA is discerned. These degrees of support depend on whether PTA is performed by MPs or by TA experts, and to what extent MPs allow PTA to play a role in the scientific puzzling process and/or organize participation-cum-deliberation processes. To further clarify the political nature of PTA, three political attitudes towards the regulative democratic ideals are distinguished: affirmative, indifferent, and adverse. It is shown that processes of powering, scientific puzzling and participation-cum-deliberation can be used in ways that are guided by regulative democratic ideals (affirmative), ignore those ideals (indifferent) or undermine them (adverse). In political contexts in which indifferent or adverse attitudes prevail political support for PTA of any kind is very unlikely. It is argued that PTA can strengthen democratic policy making, when it fully acknowledges the political nature, and strengths and weaknesses of both scientific puzzling and participation-cum-deliberation. In this way PTA can connect to democratic forms of populism, and is well-positioned to counteract anti-scientism, anti-intellectualism, and anti-democratic forms of populism.\u3c/p\u3

Onderwijs de burger over de technologie die hem omringt

De versmelting van mens en technologie leidt tot een strijd om onze intimiteit. De afwezigheid van politici en burgers in die strijd holt onze democratie uit. Tijd voor de techno-burger, zegt Rinie van Est, onderzoeker bij het Rathenau Instituut in deze gastbijdrage