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Timely public engagement in science presents a broad challenge. It includes more than research into the ethical, legal and social dimensions of science and state-initiated citizen's participation. Introducing a public perspective on science while safeguarding its public value involves a diverse set of actors: natural scientists and engineers, technology assessment institutes, policy makers, social scientists, citizens, interest organisations, artists, and last, but not least, politicians.

This Open Access book examines the radioactive waste management policies of ten European countries: Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Most countries are in the process of planning and creating final storage solutions, while none has yet finalized this process. Over the past decades many countries have been renewing their decision-making processes and the institutions that support them. The book provides 16 lessons that may advance the future democratic decision-making process around radioactive waste management.

Digital energy platforms play a central role in the transition toward a more sustainable energy system. This research explores the (potential) effect of digital energy platforms on public values. We developed and tested a novel public value framework, combining values already embedded in energy and digitalization regulations and emerging values that have become more relevant in recent debates. We analyzed value changes and potential value tensions. We found that sustainability is prioritized, security is broadened to include cybersecurity, and values relevant for digital technologies, such as control over technology, have also become relevant for the energy system. This has resulted in three value tensions: preserving a well-functioning energy system, self-determination, and ensuring a level playing field and public control. A sustainable energy system requires governments to address these value changes, value tensions, and connected societal and political challenges related to the implementation of digital energy platforms.

The Proposal for an Artificial Intelligence Act, published by the European Commission in April 2021, marks a major step in the governance of artificial intelligence (AI). This paper examines the significance of this Act for the electricity sector, specifically investigating to what extent the current European Union Bill addresses the societal and governance challenges posed by the use of AI that affects the tasks of system operators. For this we identify various options for the use of AI by system operators, as well as associated risks. AI has the potential to facilitate grid management, flexibility asset management and electricity market activities. Associated risks include lack of transparency, decline of human autonomy, cybersecurity, market dominance, and price manipulation on the electricity market. We determine to what extent the current bill pays attention to these identified risks and how the European Union intends to govern these risks. The proposed AI Act addresses well the issue of transparency and clarifying responsibilities, but pays too little attention to risks related to human autonomy, cybersecurity, market dominance and price manipulation. We make some governance suggestions to address those gaps.

Current sustainability challenges call for transitions in locked-in socio-technical systems. The governance of transitions often remains limited to the cultivation of sustainable 'niche' innovations, however. This paper explores how to handle transitions directionality, i.e. the diversity of possible socio-technical development paths. It reaches beyond hitherto rather abstract and fragmented insights. STS, political-science and systems-evolutionary angles are combined into an integrative framework. Concrete directionality challenges are identified through the analysis of socio-technical multiplicity, divergent normative appraisals and process dynamics. The driverless car transition provides an exemplar case. As highlighted through qualitative evidence from the Dutch Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) sector, common innovation discourses of a 'race to automation' misrepresent the pace and direction of the nascent transition. The transition requires much more than the cultivation of driverless vehicles: Next to the commercial development of vehicle automation, it involves governmental traffic management ambitions and public-private collaboration towards 'cooperative systems'. Other insights on directionality-conscious transitions governance pertain to the sustained synchronization between institutionally diverse actors, and to the changing material conditions for steering. The overall conclusion is that the framework provides a useful lens to explore the governance of directionality in socio-technical transitions. Future studies should explore its usefulness beyond the ITS domain. ; SCOPUS: ar.j ; info:eu-repo/semantics/published

The recent orientation toward societal challenges in Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) policies has exposed the limitations of contemporary governance to deal with these endeavors. For this reason, it has been urged a shift toward the so-called 'transformative change' approach, drawn from socio-technical transitions literature. This research suggests that this approach can be considered an emerging policy paradigm, and studies the implications of its adoption in STI policy. For doing so, we developed a conceptual framework based on policy sciences and STI policy literature, and used to study a policy resembling this societal challenge orientation: the Dutch smart mobility policy. Our case study suggests that the transformative change approach can be considered a new paradigm in STI policy, as novel theories, approaches, and mechanisms are being used to govern this policy. This research contributes to a better understanding of transformative approaches, by empirically looking the changing role of governance in societal challenge-led STI policies.

Engineering synthetic cells from the bottom up is expected to revolutionize biotechnology. How can synthetic cells support societal transitions necessary to tackle our current global challenges in a socially equitable and sustainable manner? To answer this question, we need to assess socioeconomic considerations and engage in early constructive public dialogue.

This article examines the main public interests at stake with the rise of online platforms in the sharing economy and the gig economy. We do so by analyzing platforms in five sectors in the Netherlands: domestic cleaning (Helpling), taxi rides (UberPop), home restaurants (AirDnD), home sharing (Airbnb), and car sharing (SnappCar). The most salient public interests are a level playing field between platforms and industry incumbents, tax compliance, consumer protection, labor protection, and privacy protection. We develop four policy options (enforce, new regulation, deregulation, and toleration), and discuss the rationales for each option in safeguarding each public interest. We further stress that arguments supporting a particular policy option should take into account the sectoral context. We finally highlight the tension between the subsidiarity principle, which would call for local regulations as platforms mostly concern local transactions and innovation policies that aim to support innovation and a single digital market.

This open access book explores the relevance of the concept of technology assessment (TA) on an international and global level. Technologies play a key role in addressing global challenges such as climate change, population aging, digitization, and health. At the same time, their use increases the need for coordinated action and governance at the global level in the field of science, technology and innovation (STI). Featuring case studies on STI fields such as energy, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and health technology, as well as TA activities at the national and international levels, this book reflects on the challenges and opportunities of global technology governance. It also provides an in-depth discussion of current governmental STI cultures and systems, societal expectations, and the policy priorities needed to achieve coordinated and effective STI intervention in policymaking and public debate at the global level. Lastly, the book promotes the establishment of a forum for a truly global dialogue of TA practitioners, fostering the articulation of their needs, knowledge and perspectives.

Over the last decade Japanese researchers have taken the lead in the emerging discipline of molecular robotics. This new technology aims to produce artificial molecular systems that can adapt to changes in the environment, self-organize and evolve. This paper explores the question of how to stimulate responsible research and innovation in the field of molecular robotics technologies. For this, we first draw lessons from earlier societal responses in Japan to emerging technologies, such as genetic engineering, nanotechnology, synthetic biology and genomic research. Next we describe various real-time technology assessment (TA) activities on molecular robotics in Japan to depict the state-of-the-art of the academic and public debate on the social aspects of molecular robotics. Lessons from earlier societal responses to emerging technologies demonstrated three potential challenges: finding and involving the 'right' experts and stakeholders, keeping regulations up to date, and getting scientists and citizens involved in science communication. A literature review, 'future workshop' and scenario workshop raised a number of ethical, social, political and cultural issues, and addressed desirable and undesirable scenarios for the next few decades. Twitter text mining analysis indicates that the level of attention, knowledge and awareness about molecular robots among a broader audience is still very limited. In conclusion, we identify four activities crucial to enable responsible innovation in molecular robotics—getting to grips with the speed of the development of molecular robotics, monitoring related technical trends, the establishment of a more stable TA knowledge base, and a sustained interaction between molecular roboticists and social scientists. ; This research is partially supported by the Human-Information Technology Ecosystem R&D Focus Area from Japan Science and Technology Agency, JST. ; publishedVersion