Finansiering af videnskab og videnskabspolitik

';New Dark Ageis among the most unsettling and illuminating books I've read about the Internet, which is to say that it is among the most unsettling and illuminating books I've read about contemporary life.'New YorkerAs the world around us increases in technological complexity, our understanding of it diminishes. Underlying this trend is a single idea: the belief that our existence is understandable through computation, and more data is enough to help us build a better world. In reality, we are lost in a sea of information, increasingly divided by fundamentalism, simplistic narratives, conspiracy theories, and post-factual politics. Meanwhile, those in power use our lack of understanding to further their own interests. Despite the apparent accessibility of information, we're living in a new Dark Age. From rogue financial systems to shopping algorithms, from artificial intelligence to state secrecy, we no longer understand how our world is governed or presented to us. The media is filled with unverifiable speculation, much of it generated by anonymous software, while companies dominate their employees through surveillance and the threat of automation. In his brilliant new work, leading artist and writer James Bridle surveys the history of art, technology, and information systems, and reveals the dark clouds that gather over our dreams of the digital sublime.

"An accessible, straightforward guide that demystifies Artificial Intelligence for a general audience without the use of complex math or technical jargon. Covers the fundamentals, from classical models and neural networks to the large language models leading today's AI revolution"--

"A fast-paced account of America's plunge into simultaneous Cold Wars against two very different adversaries-Xi Jinping's China and Vladimir Putin's Russia-based on deep reporting from inside the White House, U.S. intelligence agencies, technology firms, and foreign governments"--

The rise of the platform economy into statelike dominance over the lives of entrepreneurs, users, and workers.The early Internet was a lawless place, populated by scam artists who made buying or selling anything online risky business. Then Amazon, eBay, Upwork, and Apple established secure digital platforms for selling physical goods, crowdsourcing labor, and downloading apps. These tech giants have gone on to rule the Internet like autocrats. How did this happen? How did users and workers become the hapless subjects of online economic empires? The Internet was supposed to liberate us from powerful institutions. In Cloud Empires, digital economy expert Vili Lehdonvirta explores the rise of the platform economy into statelike dominance over our lives and proposes a new way forward.Digital platforms create new marketplaces and prosperity on the Internet, Lehdonvirta explains, but they are ruled by Silicon Valley despots with little or no accountability. Neither workers nor users can "e;vote with their feet"e; and find another platform because in most cases there isn't one. And yet using antitrust law and decentralization to rein in the big tech companies has proven difficult. Lehdonvirta tells the stories of pioneers who helped create-or resist-the new social order established by digital platform companies. The protagonists include the usual suspects-Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Travis Kalanick of Uber, and Bitcoin's inventor Satoshi Nakamoto-as well as Kristy Milland, labor organizer of Amazon's Mechanical Turk, and GoFundMe, a crowdfunding platform that has emerged as an ersatz stand-in for the welfare state. Only if we understand digital platforms for what they are-institutions as powerful as the state-can we begin the work of democratizing them.

Det moderne samfund skaber ny information i et hidtil uset tempo, men også misinformation. Forskning og videnskab har en vigtig mission i at skelne mellem sandt og falsk i informationsstrømmen, men mange videnskabelige institutioner udbreder nu den forestilling, at der ikke kan skelnes mellem sandt og falsk, og bidrager til misinformationen med ideologisk farvet pseudoforskning. Bogens påstand er, at forskning ikke må underordnes ideologier, og den bringer eksempler på, at det er netop, hvad der sker på universiteter, hos offentlige myndigheder og i NGO’er. Bogen ser nærmere på nogle af woke-bevægelsens centrale tekster fra ind- og udland og viser, at de mangler videnskabelig gyldighed og – mest bekymrende – forsøger at sætte den videnskabelige selvregulering ud af kraft.

In Building a God, Christopher DiCarlo, a global leader in the ethics of artificial intelligence, unpacks the tangled web surrounding AI, revealing to readers what we know, what we don't, and how we might prepare ourselves for eventualities that we don't know we don't know yet.

The fantasies that underpin common perceptions of Virtual Reality—and what we need to know about VR’s potential risks as well as its opportunities.Virtual Reality is the next new frontier for Silicon Valley. Mark Zuckerberg, who has overseen Meta’s investment of billions into VR, pitches it as the next dominant computing paradigm. More than just a gaming technology, VR is top of mind for academics, tech reportage, and industry evangelists who all see the potential for VR to revolutionize fields such as education, and health, as well as the way we work and communicate. But will VR achieve all this? In Fantasies of Virtual Reality, Marcus Carter and Ben Egliston strip bare the tech industry’s vision of a future dominated by immersive VR experiences, challenging the utopian promises of this technology's potential.Carter and Egliston offer a critical account of VR in a variety of contexts, from gaming to human resources to policing and the military. They argue that while VR does hold significant potential, the overhyped expectations surrounding it, from achieving true empathetic understanding to transforming traditional education and office work, are often overstated and fraught with issues of privacy, control, and exclusion. What’s more, there is nothing truly virtual about Virtual Reality: VR is deeply entrenched in the material world, driven by tangible technological, economic, and social logics.An accessible introduction to this emerging technology, Fantasies of Virtual Reality is essential reading for anyone interested in what VR can really do—and what is just plain fantasy.

How Big Tech is taking advantage of us, how AI is making it worse, and how we can create a thriving, AI-positive world.On balance, will AI help humanity or harm it? AI could revolutionize science, medicine, and technology, and deliver us a world of abundance and better health. Or it could be a disaster, leading to the downfall of democracy, or even our extinction. In Taming Silicon Valley, Gary Marcus, one of the most trusted voices in AI, explains that we still have a choice. And that the decisions we make now about AI will shape our next century. In this short but powerful manifesto, Marcus explains how Big Tech is taking advantage of us, how AI could make things much worse, and, most importantly, what we can do to safeguard our democracy, our society, and our future.Marcus explains the potential—and potential risks—of AI in the clearest possible terms and how Big Tech has effectively captured policymakers. He begins by laying out what is lacking in current AI, what the greatest risks of AI are, and how Big Tech has been playing both the public and the government, before digging into why the US government has thus far been ineffective at reining in Big Tech. He then offers real tools for readers, including eight suggestions for what a coherent AI policy should like—from data rights to layered AI oversight to meaningful tax reform—and closes with how ordinary citizens can push for what is so desperately needed.Taming Silicon Valley is both a primer on how AI has gotten to its problematic present state and a book of activism in the tradition of Abbie Hoffman’s Steal This Book and Thomas Paine’s Common Sense. It is a deeply important book for our perilous historical moment that every concerned citizen must read.

"In this book, digital anthropologist Payal Arora proposes ways in which we can envision new design systems and thinking to include the world. Drawing from fieldwork on young people's digital usage in Brazil, India, Bangladesh and Nigeria, Arora reveals how their understandings of algorithmic systems shape their creativity, trust, identity, and political action"--

"Blockchain Governance offers an accessible, critical overview of legal and political issues related to blockchain technology. It moves beyond the hype, showing how blockchain offers a fertile ground for experimentation with radically new ways to govern people and institutions"--

A detailed disassembly manual for people who want to dismantle Big Tech

In this updated and expanded edition of climate scientist Steven Koonin’s groundbreaking book, go behind the headlines to discover the latest eye-opening data about climate change—with unbiased facts and realistic steps for the future."Greenland’s ice loss is accelerating.""Extreme temperatures are causing more fatalities.""Rapid 'climate action' is essential to avoid a future climate disaster."You've heard all this presented as fact. But according to science, all of these statements are profoundly misleading.With the new edition of  Unsettled, Steven Koonin draws on decades of experience—including as a top science advisor to the Obama administration—to clear away the fog and explain what science really says (and doesn't say). With a new introduction, this edition now features reflections on an additional three years of eye-opening data, alternatives to unrealistic “net zero” solutions, global energy inequalities, and the energy crisis arising from the war in Ukraine. When it comes to climate change, the media, politicians, and other prominent voices have declared that “the science is settled.” In reality, the climate is changing, but the why and how aren’t as clear as you’ve probably been led to believe. Koonin takes readers behind the headlines, dispels popular myths, and unveils little-known truths: Despite rising greenhouse gas emissions, global temperatures decreased from 1940 to 1970Models currently used to predict the future do not accurately describe the climate of the past, and modelers themselves strongly doubt their regional  predictionsThere is no compelling evidence that hurricanes are becoming more frequent—or that predictions of rapid sea level rise have any validity Unsettled is a reality check buoyed by hope, offering the truth about climate science—what we know, what we don’t, and what it all means for our future.

"An overview of antritrust applied specifically to the context of Big Tech companies (Facebook/Meta, Google/Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, etc.)"--

"Argues that hacking provides a privileged vantage point for probing the logic of informational capitalism since hackers are at the forefront of structural transformations of late modernity"--

The United States Federal Government's Controlled Unclassified Information ("CUI") program completely transforms the way unclassified information is shared and handled by and with the government. The CUI program impacts not only federal employees, but also government contractors and others who interact with the federal government. The CUI program is a transformational change for the government which involves fundamental rethinking of the way the government identifies and safeguards unclassified, but still sensitive, information. These same identification and handling requirements also extend to anyone to whom the government gives CUI, and even to those whom the government hires to create CUI. As a federal employee or government contractor, you must understand at least the basics of the CUI program. Even if you think that you do not currently handle CUI.CUI Fundamentals gives walks you through the basics of the CUI program. Written as a series of 100 questions and easy to understand answers, CUI Fundamentals answers questions such as: What motivated the government to create the CUI program?What is the difference between classified information, CUI, and FCI?What is the difference between designating and marking information as CUI?Who is authorized to designate information as CUI?Who is authorized to mark information as CUI?How should government contractors handle legacy information?How should government contractors handle information they suspect to be CUI?And much more! Pick up your copy today to learn the fundamentals of the CUI program!

The emergence of the internet and modern technology has led to an increase in the prevalence of cyber warfare, which is a form of conflict that is carried out in the digital realm. Unlike traditional warfare, cyber warfare does not require physical violence or the use of military hardware. Instead, it relies on the use of digital tools and techniques to disrupt, disable, or destroy an adversary's digital systems. As the use of technology continues to evolve, the threat of cyber warfare is becoming increasingly real and pervasive. In recent years, governments and private organizations have been targeted by cyber attacks, resulting in significant financial losses and damage to reputation. These attacks have also raised questions about the nature of cyber warfare and the rules of engagement that should govern it. This book, "Cyber Warfare-Problems and Controversies," explores the challenges and controversies surrounding cyber warfare. It delves into the technical and strategic aspects of cyber warfare, including the tools and techniques used in attacks, the motives and goals of attackers, and the impact of cyber warfare on individuals, organizations, and societies. The book also examines the legal and ethical issues associated with cyber warfare, including questions about attribution, accountability, and proportionality. It discusses the various international laws and conventions that govern cyber warfare and explores the challenges of enforcing these laws in a rapidly changing technological landscape.

This book addresses the complex relationship between the values of liberal democracy and the values associated with scientific research. The contributors utilize various approaches to address this timely subject, including historical studies, philosophical analysis, and sociological case studies.

"Bill Raduchel started at Harvard as my father's student, assistant, and friend. He went on to a career in technology as the digital revolution unfolded before his eyes. In The New Technology State, he suffuses the insights of The New Industrial State with the changes, challenges, and dangers of our information age." --James K. Galbraith, professor, University of Texas at Austin, and author of The End of Normal This book is about society--how it has changed and what technology is enabling us to do to ourselves.Sixty years ago, legendary economist John Kenneth Galbraith issued a grim prophecy that the global elite would harness the potential of the burgeoning computing revolution to accumulate even more wealth and power.His masterwork The New Industrial State redefined our perception of ourselves and our society. The computing revolution has turned his predictions into a reality that triggered conversations between technology pioneer Bill Raduchel (a former colleague of Galbraith's at Harvard) and British Army officer turned MP Tom Tugendhat.The New Technology State recounts their discussions and reveals how the wealthy and powerful have used the incredible technological advances of the past half-century to gain unprecedented advantages and what we can do to reclaim control of our future.

* THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Scientific American’s #1 Book for 2023 * A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice * A Times Best Science and Environment Book of 2023 * A Tor.com Best Book of 2023 *“Exceptional. . . Forceful, engaging and funny . . . This book will make you happy to live on this planet — a good thing, because you’re not leaving anytime soon.” —New York Times Book ReviewFrom the bestselling authors of Soonish, a brilliant and hilarious off-world investigation into space settlementEarth is not well. The promise of starting life anew somewhere far, far away—no climate change, no war, no Twitter—beckons, and settling the stars finally seems within our grasp. Or is it? Critically acclaimed, bestselling authors Kelly and Zach Weinersmith set out to write the essential guide to a glorious future of space settlements, but after years of research, they aren’t so sure it’s a good idea. Space technologies and space business are progressing fast, but we lack the knowledge needed to have space kids, build space farms, and create space nations in a way that doesn’t spark conflict back home. In a world hurtling toward human expansion into space, A City on Mars investigates whether the dream of new worlds won’t create nightmares, both for settlers and the people they leave behind. In the process, the Weinersmiths answer every question about space you’ve ever wondered about, and many you’ve never considered:Can you make babies in space? Should corporations govern space settlements? What about space war? Are we headed for a housing crisis on the Moon’s Peaks of Eternal Light—and what happens if you’re left in the Craters of Eternal Darkness? Why do astronauts love taco sauce? Speaking of meals, what’s the legal status of space cannibalism?With deep expertise, a winning sense of humor, and art from the beloved creator of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, the Weinersmiths investigate perhaps the biggest questions humanity will ever ask itself—whether and how to become multiplanetary.Get in, we’re going to Mars.

EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. Today's academic and research institutions recognise the importance of diverse research teams in health and biomedical science, in terms of the business case, social justice and the common good. This 'go-to' book familiarises readers with the key equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) issues in relation to research careers and researcher development. Bringing together the challenges and solutions to EDI matters with an evidence-based approach in one volume, the book offers practical strategies and interventions for academic and research settings. This is an essential guide for equality planning team members, researchers, HRM officers and managers across academia and research.

How the blockchain--a system built on foundations of mutual mistrust--can become trustworthy.

"The book offers a framework for how to make innovation leaps more likely - and shows how radically improved technology can help solve the major challenges the world currently faces"--

What if taxi drivers in New York City or rickshaw operators in Bangalore could start a worker-owned and-operated alternative to Uber with stable hourly wages?

The agencies within the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) depend on advanced technology to achieve their goals. While AI, cloud computing, advanced sensors, and big data analytics will fundamentally change both the global threat landscape and IC tradecraft, advances from biology, chemistry, materials, quantum science, network science, social/behavioral/economic sciences, and other fields also have that potential. Maintaining awareness of advances in science and technology is more essential than ever, to avoid surprise, to inflict surprise on adversaries, and to leverage those advances for the benefit of the nation and the IC. This report explores ways in which the IC might leverage the future research and development ecosystem.

"Vaclav Smil lleva cincuenta aänos estudiando las posibilidades que tenemos a nuestro alcance para garantizar el futuro energâetico de nuestro planeta. Debido a la complejidad de las interacciones que mueven el mundo, la atomizaciâon del conocimiento y la volatilidad de la informaciâon es muy difâicil anticipar con exactitud quâe ocurrirâa. Por eso es necesario ceänirse a los datos y a los lâimites que nos ofrece la ciencia, asâi como poner la atenciâon en los escenarios mâas cercanos y menos idealistas para encarar los retos actuales de manera eficaz. Asâi pues, este libro aborda temas tan importantes como la improbable y difâicil tarea de descarbonizar el planeta, en parte por la estrecha relaciâon entre la producciâon de alimentos y los combustibles fâosiles, pero tambiâen destapa realidades incâomodas, como la dependencia de las economâias modernas respecto de la alta producciâon de amonâiaco, metal, cemento y plâastico. Ademâas, examina de quâe forma el calentamiento global puede afectar a nuestras necesidades bâasicas para sobrevivir y anima a reevaluar los riesgos que hemos subestimado o exagerado a lo largo de los aänos para aprender a vivir mâas y mejor. Câomo funciona el mundo es literalmente un libro sobre câomo funciona el mundo. Por su estructura y clarividencia, sirve como una guâia interdisciplinaria que evita a toda costa dar eco a las posturas extremas y propone una respuesta objetiva, cientâifica y razonada a todos los titulares que nos generan ansiedad: la crisis climâatica, la crisis energâetica, la crisis de materias primas, la globalizaciâon y el futuro de nuestra civilizaciâon. El resultado es un poderoso ensayo que combina los mâas recientes descubrimientos cientâificos y el trabajo de quien ha investigado a lo largo de medio siglo los retos energâeticos a los que nos enfrentamos" --