Issues in Science and Technology

Science fiction stories ”allow us to explore different structures of power, theories of change, and perhaps even new genres of innovation,” argues Ed Finn. As one of the best tools we have for staging inclusive, engaging conversations about science and technology policy, how can we make better use of speculative fiction?

This month will see the inauguration of a period of uncertainty for the United States. Dario Gil will be helping the US research enterprise navigate this new era.

The NATO of science and technology or a G20 for S&T? "Shaking the tree" on Science the Endless Frontier as an organizing principle for American Science? Building a research agenda for academic as well as industry science? Molly Galvin's interview with National Science Board (NSB) chair Dario Gil explores how the US can compete in a coming century where S&T is the "currency of power."

As scientists and government officials reinvent science politics and policies for a new era, the country will need to tell a new story about its future. In the Editor’s Journal for the Winter 2025 issue, Lisa Margonelli asks if science and technology can help make that story a protopia.

How can the science & tech enterprise best collaborate with #labor unions to include worker perspectives, especially in fields such as #AI? Shalin Jyotishi of New America has some ideas.

Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, describes the importance of centering workers in tech development: “Workers are, and always have been, among the most important stakeholders in technology research and development because they are the end-users of most new technologies. Workers know whether new technologies make jobs better or worse, safer or more dangerous, more or less efficient. They also know whether technology makes work more or less fair.”

“Technology has been elevated to the same level of geopolitical importance as things like trade or military alliances. It’s actually the new currency of power, of economic prosperity.” Read our new interview with chair of the National Science Board (NSB) Dario Gil, in which he discusses how the NSB shapes the US research enterprise, the challenges in developing a STEM workforce, and the possibility of a “NATO of science and technology.”

Looking for a distraction during this winter break? Check out our #FutureTenseFiction stories—a speculative fiction series produced with ASU Center for Science and the Imagination, which uses imagination to explore how science and technology will shape our future.

In Alaska, #reindeer are much more real than the fantasy animals that pull Santa’s sleigh. Listen to the latest episode of #TheOngoingTransformation to find out how they ended up in Alaska as an important source of food security and economic opportunity:

“I spend most patient visits explaining that there is insufficient research on women’s sexual health to enable me to counsel women on the true benefits and risks of treatments,” writes Tali Sobel.