Democracy, Ethics and the Governance of Emerging Science and Technology

Abstract

The governance of emerging science and technologies is becoming an important policy issue. We elucidate the meanings of emerging science and technologies from a multidisciplinary perspective, and we discuss the ethical and political consequences of their introduction in the context of the European Union. We illustrate the relation between science technologies and economic development with some historical post-war examples, concentrating on the limited outcomes of their deployment in relation to the announced promises. Our analysis concludes that the current narrative on science-based innovation and economic growth and employment must be challenged and devolved to an inclusive democratic process. We share our experience from some experimental approaches to the governance of science and technology designed to capture and unfold a progressive political engagement