STS Forum 2022
Tällä sivulla:
Esimies Kimmo Kasken katsaus STS Forumista 2022
Kimmo Kaski’s presentation at Koji Omi Memorial Session “Lights and Shadows of AI”
Science and Technology in Society forum 2022 Statement
Esimies Kimmo Kasken katsaus STS Forumista 2022
STS Forumin (Science and Technology in Society forum) 19. vuosikokous pidettiin Kiotossa 2.–4. lokakuuta 2022, ja siihen osallistui maailmanlaajuisesti lähes 1 000 tieteen ja teknologian, päätöksenteon, liiketoiminnan ja median johtajaa yli 80 maasta ja kansainvälisistä järjestöistä. Forumin yhteydessä järjestettiin kansallisten tiedeakatemioiden presidenttien yhteiskokous.
Seuraavassa poimin muutamia Forumissa esiin nostettuja keskeisiksi kokemiani teemoja ja niihin liittyviä haasteita.
STS Forumin loppulausunnossa todetaan yleisellä tasolla, että samalla kun meneillään olevan konfliktin seurauksena globaalin järjestyksen mannerlaatat ovat rajussa liikkeessä, ihmiskunta kohtaa useita kompleksisia haasteita, kuten pandemia, ilmastonmuutos ja luontokato. Näiden ratkaisemisessa tiede on keskeisessä roolissa, jotta maailma pääsisi palaamaan kestävän kehityksen polulle. Tämä edellyttää, että tiede-, julkinen ja yksityinen sektori tekevät monipuolista yhteistyötä ihmiskeskeisesti yli tieteenalarajojen. Samalla tulee kuitenkin ymmärtää yksittäisen ihmisen kompleksisuus, sekä aivojen että myös ihmismielen tasolla ja sitoutua maailmanlaajuisesti ihmisoikeuksiin, ihmisarvoon, ja tasa-arvoon.
Kompleksisiin haasteisiin liittyvät kysymykset ovat luonteeltaan poikkitieteellisiä ja kattavat aloja luonnontieteistä ja teknologiasta yhteiskuntatieteisiin ja humanistisiin tieteisiin. Niiden ratkaiseminen edellyttää eri alojen tutkijoiden yhteistyötä ja kasvavaa tarvetta purkaa tutkimuksellisia siiloja.
Yhtenä teemana Forumissa nousi esiin ”Analyysi ja synteesi tieteessä – Ihmiskeho ja mieli”. Ihminen nähtiin kokonaisuutena, jolla on fyysis-biologinen ja ei-fyysisen mieli sisältäen tietoisuutemme, ajattelutapamme ja tunteemme. Tämän kokonaisuuden eli ihmismielen ymmärtäminen biologisesti nähtiin tämän vuosituhannen keskeisenä tieteen haasteena, jossa biologian ja neurotieteen kehitys linkittyvät psykologiaan ja yhteiskuntatieteisiin.
Yhdeksi keskeisistä teemoista nousi esiin ”Tekoälyn valot ja varjot”. Tekoäly on kehittymässä yhdeksi historiaa muuttavimmista teknologisista edistysaskeleista. Huolena oli kysymys, missä määrin tekoäly saattaa vahvistaa olemassa olevia inhimillisiä ennakkoluuloja ja muita päätöksenteon heikkouksia, ja mitä tehdä tekoälyn itsenäisen toiminnan riskeille, erityisesti asevarustelussa.
Teemassa ”Digitaalisen yhteiskunnan haasteet” katsottiin, että viestinnän nopeuden lisääntyminen, datan ja tiedon massiivinen kasvu ja sosiaalisen median alustojen yleistyminen ovat luoneet uuden digitaalisen yhteiskunnan ja muuttaneet sitä, missä ja miten ihmiset saavat tieteellisiä, poliittisia ja yhteiskuntaa koskevia uutisia ja tietoa. Ne ovat kuitenkin myös samalla luoneet luottamuskriisin, jossa väärä tieto ja disinformaatio leviävät nopeasti, heikentäen luottamusta tieteeseen, instituutioihin ja hallintoon.
Kiistatta keskeisimmiksi ja akuuteimmiksi teemoiksi STS Forumissa nousivat kestävään kehitykseen liittyvät teemat ”Ympäristö ja energia” ja näihin liittyvät ”Ruoka- ja vesiturvallisuus”. Ilmastonmuutos, hydrologisen kierron häiriöt, biologisen monimuotoisuuden väheneminen, metsien häviäminen, saastuminen ja kaupungistumisen aiheuttamasta asutusalueiden tihentyminen edellyttävät toimia globaalilla, alueellisella, kansallisella ja paikallisella tasolla sekä siirtymistä mahdollisimman nopeasti päästövapaisiin uusiutuviin energiantuottomuotoihin. Tätä samaista kysymystä käsiteltiin etenkin yhteiskuntien kestävyyden ja ilmastoresilienssin osalta STS Forumin yhteydessä järjestetyssä kansallisten tiedeakatemioiden presidenttien yhteiskokouksessa.
Kaikissa edellä mainituissa haasteissa yhdeksi keskeisimmistä ratkaisuista nähtiin tiedemaailman sekä julkisen ja yksityisen sektorin välinen yhteistyö kansallisesti ja kansainvälisesti tieteen, teknologian ja innovaatioiden rakentamiseksi ja vauhdittamiseksi.
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Kimmo Kaski’s presentation ”Sustainability through Research on Climate Change and Loss of Biodiversity” at the Academy of Science Presidents’ Meeting ”Enabling Sustainability by Enhancing Climate Resilience”
Human beings have existed for just 200,000 years, yet our impact on the planet is so great that scientists around the world are calling for our period in the Earth’s history to be named the ‘Anthropocene‘ – the age of humans. Perhaps the two most severe and long-term consequences caused by human activity are climate change and biodiversity loss, the effects of which are already seen around us in different ways depending on the region. For example in northern Europe, Fennoscandia the climate warming is estimated to happen in double speed compared to temperate regions. Since northern ecosystems are characterized by lower productivity, lower species richness and simpler food-webs, they are considered to be less resilient for the climate change. Nevertheless, everywhere, climate change can lead to biodiversity loss, forest fires, decreasing crop yields and higher temperatures.
From the sustainability point view of our living environments – be them rural or urban – the loss of biodiversity and resilience of climate are inter-linked. For example it is known that climate change tends to enhance boosting biodiversity loss, yet diverse ecosystems are more resilient for climate change. Thus, the solution to them must be found together. In this, various ways of protecting and restoring our ecosystems can help us reduce the extent of climate change and cope with its impact. Many of those actions also directly help humans, for example vegetation and the (big) trees in cities not only improve human health but are beneficial against storms, heat and heavy rain fall benefiting economy and infrastructures in cities. In addition and with the growing degree of urbanization, i.e. more and more people become to live in cities, there is growing need and importance for taking measures to improve our living environments, i.e. to do comprehensive “urban green planning”. In this and world-wide, one of the actions is carbon sequestration i.e. planting trees, which alone is not sufficient to stop the climate change. There is also an urgent and global need to save the carbon sinks, i.e. forests and oceans as well as to protect old forests, which is also an action to protect biodiversity.
All these measures must be based on multi-disciplinary research to get deep insight into and understanding of interdependences between the key factors of biodiversity loss and climate change, as well as the mechanism or processes involved in each of them. This brings up the need of reliable collection and access to long term data and strong actions to boost multidisciplinary research. The latter one cannot be emphasized enough: we need not only sciences (climate science, engineering, physics and biology) to stop climate change and help building sustainable future, but we also need humanities (behavioral, social and political sciences, and economics) to achieve that goal. In order to address the major issues and problems humans face in a rapidly changing world, we need to understand how to communicate with each other and understand the essence of human nature and human societies.
All what is said above matches well with the overall goal of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters on one hand to promote scientific research and acting as a bond between those engaged in advanced research and with the society, well characterised by the motto “For the benefit of science – for the good of society“. The way to achieve this goal was recently updated such that the central driver of the Academy’s strategic future thinking and activities is the idea of valuable and precious science, which in its pursuit of truth, knowledge, and understanding is open, independent, and limitless, and stands on the pillars of impactful science, collaborative science, sustainable science, and progressive science, where:
- Impactful science stands to promote societal decision-making based on researched knowledge and the influence of policy decisions on science. The aim is to diversify the use of scientific expertise in advising on informed policy-making but also to increase the understanding of how science works and, in turn, enhance scientists’ understanding of societal decision-making mechanisms.
- Collaborative science stands for enhancing the interaction between the Academy and the rest of the national and international scientific community as well as for building a sense of community between scientists in order to improve interaction between them across disciplines and across the silos that separate disciplines. The Academy encourages its members to get involved and participate in these activities and their further development.
- Sustainable science stands to support and promote sustainable development in the areas of society, environment and economy. In all these areas sustainability also entails participation in public debate and the promotion of sustainable development goals through science. Science itself depends upon sustainability, which is why the Academy works tirelessly to secure the basic conditions for doing science.
- Progressive science carries an essential role in maintaining the development, credibility, and impact of science. At the same time it promotes research to sustainable development and helps to find solutions to new challenging problems related to our living environment, socio-economy, and security. Renewable science is multidisciplinary, multimodal, and wide-ranging. In addition to a local perspective, which includes the individual and societal level, a global perspective of challenges is central.
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Kimmo Kaski’s presentation at Koji Omi Memorial Session “Lights and Shadows of AI”
Suomalaisen Tiedeakatemian esimies Kimmo Kaski kutsuttiin puhujaksi Koji Omi Memorial Sessioon. Koji Omi perusti STS Forumin ja toimi muun muassa Japanin talousministerinä vuosina 2001-2007. Kaski oli kautta aikain toinen puhujaksi tilaisuuteen kutsuttu suomalainen.
Let me first thank the organizers as I feel most honored to be invited to present in this Koji Omi memorial plenary session; I never had the change to meet him, but I have learned him been most remarkable and outstanding human being.
I focus my remarks on issues related to research on health and social data. There is ongoing digital technology-driven data deluge of various human behavioral and health data waiting to be addressed; according to The Economist in 2025 more than 1023 bytes of data will be generated world-wide, of which some 80% is in industrial repositories and remaining 20% in publicly-held registries. These data would be a true goldmine for AI and other Computational Science research, but access to that data could pose a challenge, depending on the data owner’s willingness to share it or privacy and ethical restrictions on personal data.
In the case of health data there are already successful demonstrations for developing a Deep Learning-AI based systems serving as automated cost-effective tools to augment medical diagnostics. This is because the method learns from large amounts of data, the distribution of physiological input – output relations. Deep Learning-AI has also turned out to be very efficient in solving various kinds of regression, clustering, inference, classification, and segmentation problems. However, if one wants to go beyond that and to get insight into the properties of a health or social system concerning its structure, how it functions and responds under different conditions, one needs Network Science and Computational Modelling approaches, to analyze the complex linking structure of the constituents of the system, and find plausible mechanisms between them. With this kind of more holistic understanding of the properties and behavior of the system, one can develop new technological solutions and social innovations.
To successfully do research on health and social data, and getting technology and innovation benefits calls for combining science, technology and even legal expertise, and for researchers jointly and boldly traversing different research disciplines and forming new disciplines. Yet one can ask does these data-driven approaches – AI or Computational Science – lead to benefits of some and perils to others? For this not to happen there is need for researchers to also interact with policymakers to set up policies to ensure that fruits of research results benefit all in trustworthy manner, while securing that researchers can continued their research unhindered for further results, nationally and internationally.
In addition to AI I emphasize the role of Computational Science and Modelling; speaking of which: A. Turing, father of computing and AI, got later in life interested in biological morphogenesis and devised a mathematical model to describe its behavior; he was once asked “do you really think that you can describe the evolution of stripes of a zebra”, he answered “that is easy but now I am worried about the horse part”. To conclude one needs to have an inquiring mind like – I am convinced – Koji Omi had!
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