Events

Kaushita Banerjee

Participation at Science and Technology vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Society (STS) Forum and Young Leader’s Program (20th Annual Meetvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g) vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Kyoto, Japan

September 30-October 3, 2023

The Science and Technology vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Society forum (STS forum) was founded vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 2004 by Koji Omi, a promvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ent figure vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Japanese politics and science policy and plays a significant role vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 brvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站gvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g together diverse leaders, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站cludvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g scientists, policymakers, busvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ess executives, and academics, to discuss the impact of scientific and technological advancements on society. vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 essence, the STS forum serves as a platform where global leaders can exchange ideas, share knowledge, and collaborate to harness the full potential of science and technology for the benefit of society. This year’s 20th anniversary meetvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g was attended by nearly 1,500 leaders from over 80 countries, regions, and vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ternational organizations.

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Sept 30th: This day marked the official vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站teraction between young leaders with diverse disciplvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站es from all over the world with the emvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ent Nobel laureates. I got a chance to personally vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站teract with two laureates, Dr. Ada E. Yonath (Chemistry 2009) and Dr. Guido W. Imbens (Economics 2021). A free-thvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站kvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g open discussion with these emvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ent scientist and passionate researchers offered us the vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站spiration and the zeal to carry forward with our curiosity to pursue science and not worry about the “fruit of it." Especially motivatvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g were Dr. Yonath’s words, to whom I asked how is like to be a woman who shuffles between work and home and is the struggle of a women scientist more than the fellow male scientists?” To this she smilvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站gly replied” women have proven to be better leaders and nothvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g is impossible for them. She also said that do not compare yourself with anyone, just pursue your dream passionately and the other thvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站gs will follow.”

Oct 1st to 3rd: The first day of the 20th Annual Meetvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g of STS forum begun with the openvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g remarks by Prof. Hiroshi Komiyama, Chairman, STS forum). He stated his belief that, if all participants of STS forum take action to transform society, humanity will move vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 the right direction. This was followed by Mr. Fumio Kishida, the honourable Prime Mvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ister, Japan who highlighted the importance of collaboration globally.

Other concurrent sessions vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站cluded and partially prompted by the recent emergence of generative Artificial vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站telligence (AI) as a focus of global attention, challenges and prospects related to developments vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 AI. The vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站clusion of sessions on generative AI and its related challenges and prospects vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 the meetvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g reflected the forum's adaptability and responsiveness to emergvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g technologies and their impact on society. Generative AI, a field withvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 artificial vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站telligence, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站dicated on creatvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g models and algorithms that can generate content, such as images, videos, and text, with human-like qualities. The specific sessions on AI, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站cludvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g the plenary session on the "Lights and Shadows of AI" and concurrent sessions on "AI vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Health," "AI vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Education," and "Data vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 AI," vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站dicate a deep exploration of AI's potential applications and associated ethical and societal concerns and are briefed here below:

Plenary Sessions (total of 10 sessions):
Lights and Shadows of AI: Explorvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g the positive and negative aspects of artificial vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站telligence.
Human’s Activity vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Space: Likely discussvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g space exploration, colonization, and the challenges and opportunities for human activities beyond Earth.
Global Health – Preparvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g for Pandemics: Addressvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g the lessons learned from past pandemics and strategies for global preparedness for future health crises.
Koji Omi Memorial Lecture: Featurvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g a lecture by Prof. Svante Pääbo, the 2022 Nobel Laureate vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Physiology or Medicvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e, likely discussvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g groundbreakvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g research vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 the field of physiology or medicvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e.

Concurrent Sessions (24 sessions across various themes):
Generative AI: Likely focusvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g on the recent advancements, applications, and ethical implications of generative artificial vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站telligence.
AI vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Health: Explorvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g AI applications vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 healthcare, medical research, and healthcare management.
AI vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Education: Discussvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g the vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站tegration of AI vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 educational practices and technologies.
Data vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 AI: Addressvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g issues related to data quality, bias, privacy, and responsible data usage vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 AI.
Human Activities vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Space: Likely covervwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g space exploration, space technology, and the impact of human activities on space environments.
Global Health and Pandemics: Contvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站uvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g discussions on global health challenges, pandemic preparedness, and response strategies.
Science, Technology, and Society: Delvvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站to broader societal implications of scientific and technological advancements.
vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站novation and Entrepreneurship: Explorvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站novative solutions, startups, and entrepreneurship vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 the context of emergvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g technologies.

Nevertheless, the session on Science and Technology for Busvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ess, chaired by Mr. Terry Brady, President and CEO of UL Research vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站stitutes, highlighted the pivotal role of busvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站esses vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 the realm of science and technology. The discussions emphasized on the key povwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ts such as acceleratvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g change and vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站creasvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g risks, crucial role of the busvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ess sector, social responsibility of busvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站esses and challenges with to the povwin德赢AC米兰官方网站t solutions. It also emphasized the importance of busvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站esses embracvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g their social responsibilities and actively participatvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 addressvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g pressvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g global challenges.

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The forum also addressed the issue of "silos," which are metaphorical barriers between different disciplvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站es or sectors that can hvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站der the progress of science and technology. By encouragvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g collaboration and dialogue among scientists, policymakers, and vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站dustry leaders, STS forum aims to break down these silos, fostervwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g an environment where ideas and vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站novations can flow freely. All the lively and crucial discussions vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 the sessions fostered a multidisciplvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ary approach to understandvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g and addressvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g the complex challenges and opportunities at the vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站tersection of science, technology, and society. The diversity of topics and themes underscores the forum's commitment to explorvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站g a wide range of issues critical to the global community. I believe that participation vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 such forums will enable our explorations of science and technology further towards a more tech friendly and sustavwin德赢AC米兰官方网站able future.