Science, Technology, and Public Policy

No great breakthroughs or dramatic developments were expected at the Biden-Putin summit, and none was achieved. But the message was clear: There is a new sheriff in town. Putin noticed, describing Biden as very different from Trump—experienced, balanced, and professional.

In the face of advancing impacts of climate change — fires, smoke, floods, droughts, storms, and heat— Lara Hansen and Joel Clement argue for changing the way the country does business in every facet of the economy, with an eye toward reducing risk, increasing resilience, and ensuring equity and justice.

In comparing the first 100 days in office of Presidents Biden and Trump, Joel Clement writes that the comparison comes down to one question — did the president move the needle in the first 100 days?

The premise that solar geoengineering is weaponizable is either false or grossly overstated. It is time to leave such distractions behind and focus more squarely on the real dilemmas of this otherwise promising technology.

Bruce Schneier warns that artificial intelligence will eventually find vulnerabilities in all sorts of social, economic, and political systems, and then exploit them at unprecedented speed, scale, and scope. After hacking humanity, AI systems will then hack other AI systems, and humans will be little more than collateral damage.

Bruce Schneier explains how the modern market economy, which aggressively rewards corporations for short-term profits and aggressive cost-cutting, is also part of the problem: Its incentive structure all but ensures that successful tech companies will end up selling unsecure products and services.

The security threat to worry about is the one facing the public, not the president, advises Bruce Schneier.

Joel Clement writes that the federal government must allow community voices to drive infrastructure investment  and conservation in the North.

Bruce Schneier and Alicia Wanless argue that persuasion is essential to society and democracy, but  new rules governing how companies can harness it are necessary.

 The Gazette spoke with John Holdren, Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and professor of environmental science and policy in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, about what the incoming Biden-Harris administration reinstalling science as a foundation for government policy means.