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Annual Report 2019

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About Rathenau
29 May 2020

Photo: Hollandse Hoogte

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Jaarverslag 2019 - fietser met drone
This the Rathenau Instituut's Annual Report of 2019.

For over 30 years, the Rathenau Instituut has been making developments in science and technology comprehensible for society and politics. In 2019 we saw a growing awareness that the discussion is not about scientific or technological developments themselves, but about the question of what kind of society we want to live in. How do we ensure that people remain central? In this annual report you can read which studies we published and how we stimulated the dialogue about them.

Read the complete annual report
When we focus on technology and knowledge, we forget to ask ourselves what kind of society we actually want to live in.
Melanie Peters

Preface by director Melanie Peters

In 2018, Mark Zuckerberg was interrogated by the U.S.Congress. But whether that interrogation was successful, I doubt it. The members of Congress did not have enough knowledge and insight to be able to question the founder of Facebook critically about the way in which the company deals with the data of and about its users. The hearing in the US Congress took place after
the revelation of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. This consultancy turned out to have collected and used the data of 87 million Facebook users, without their consent, for political advertisements in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.

Worldwide, including in the Netherlands, the interrogation of Mark Zuckerberg has awakened politicians. Do we actually have enough information to ask the right questions in the development of technology? Or are we staring blindly at the latest technological possibilities, while we have no eye for their impact on our society? If we want to understand what technology means to us, we must not forget to look at ourselves as well. Based on what values do we build technological solutions? And how does our use of the latest innovations relate to values we all consider important, such as transparency, privacy, or solidarity?

How does our use of the latest innovations relate to values we all consider important, such as transparency, privacy, or solidarity?
Melanie Peters

In 2019 I saw a growing awareness that technology is about all of us - as individuals and as a society. A highlight for me was the Netherlands Digital Conference in March 2019. Here, parties from business, science, government, and community organisations discussed the digital transition together. The cabinet then published the Dutch Digitalisation Strategy in July. It is important that all ministers have a joint strategy, because questions like Who owns this data? And what do we do with it?’ plays a role in every ministry, from education to health care to taxation.

Human aspect

Already in 2018, the Rathenau Instituut advocated the right to meaningful human contact and the right not to be monitored. Because whether we use technology for our health, at work, or in a virtual world as a leisure activity, we feel that technology changes the relationship with our environment. I also read this awareness in the Strategic Action Plan for Artificial Intelligence, published by the Cabinet in October 2019. An important question taken from this plan is: ‘How do we ensure that people remain central?’ Last year, the Rathenau Instituut carried out research for the police into the use of sensors for quality of life and security. Civilians appeared to be able to indicate well when they find body-cams on police officers or cameras on the street acceptable and when not. They thought about it in a nuanced way and weighed different values, such as security and democratic rights, against each other.

In 2019, the Rathenau Instituut also explored with and for municipal councils, clerks, mayors, and the Province of North Holland how they can use technology to improve services, strengthen local democracy, and meet societal challenges. Time and again we looked for a digital government and politics that not only revolve around efficiency and innovation, but also around values that give technology a human aspect.

Time and again we looked for a digital government and politics that not only revolve around efficiency and innovation, but also around values that give technology a human aspect.
Melanie Peters

Research and dialogue

Last year, our tour of ministries showed that they have difficulty in acquiring knowledge and asking the right questions for policy-making. This is at odds with the fact that today we expect policymakers to strive for a well- informed policy (evidence based policy). Through research and dialogue, the Rathenau Instituut contributes to asking the right questions about developments in science, technology, and innovation. For example, we support the formation of public and political opinions.

In 2019, for example, we drew up lessons for a social dialogue on the modification of hereditary DNA in embryos. Technology creates more and more possibilities. This requires a discussion about what is possible, what is allowed, and what is desirable. With our research, we facilitated this dialogue. So that the right questions are addressed. What is allowed at this moment? What is possible? Who benefits from it? Who pays for it? What uncertainties are there? And what visions on this theme exist in society?

We also started a project in which we investigate how society can talk about the final disposal of radioactive waste. How do you conduct a dialogue on this sensitive subject? And what exactly is it about? In short, here too the question is: how do we ensure that we ask the right questions? This concerns technical questions about radiation and the subsurface, or social questions such as who is responsible for our health in relation to radiation.

How do we ensure that we ask the right questions?
Melanie Peters

At our Rathenau Live meeting in November 2019, we heard from the American author Clive Thompson that asking the right questions for programmers is not so easy. He described the world of this influential profession in his book Coders (2019). Programmers are given little room to build on digital technology from an ethical framework. One of the reasons for this is the financial model on which social media companies are built. Investors want to know whether their investment is worthwhile in the short term. This is an incentive for programmers to let algorithms display the most spectacular messages - that generate the most clicks - online. However, programmers also have to take responsibility for the way IT is used.
Whoever has knowledge, must act accordingly.

Finding solutions

Asking the right questions starts with being able to do independent research. That is why the Rathenau Instituut underlined the importance of the independence of universities in 2019. We must safeguard that independence. One way of doing this is by investing in the digital infrastructure of knowledge institutions, so that they do not make themselves dependent on large technology companies.

Geopolitical reality is changing, but we also face major social challenges in our own country. I am confident that science, technology, and innovation can help us find solutions, provided that we do not forget ourselves; we must put people at the heart of our concerns.
Because when we focus on technology and knowledge, we forget to ask ourselves what kind of society we actually want to live in. And that is the most important and, for me, the most interesting question.

Read the complete annual report