Increasing “fake news” and declining trust in science are challenging academia, US National Academy of Sciences foreign secretary John Hildebrand told a gathering at Academia Sinica in Taipei yesterday, where he called on researchers to avoid bias and political actions.
Twenty academics from 15 countries attended the International Scientific Leaders’ Forum held by Taiwan’s highest academic research institution as part of its 90th anniversary celebrations on its campus in Taipei’s Nangang District (南港).
In his keynote speech, titled The Origins and Roles of Academies, Hildebrand said that contemporary populist movements see science as part of an elite order, which leads to politicization of science, decline of trust in scientists, and the spread of fake news and “alternative facts.”
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
To address these challenges, researchers should step up interaction with the public and improve general science literacy, while avoiding overt political actions and biased speeches, he said.
Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology president Peter Gruss, a researcher in gene regulation and embryonic development, gave a speech titled Can We Survive Without Science?
He said that more technological innovations are needed, as the world would be facing great transitions over the next three decades.
For example, artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted diagnostics and precision medicine could trigger a shift from therapy to prediction and prevention of diseases, he said.
Taiwan has a unique opportunity to boost its healthcare system by developing AI technologies, especially as National Health Insurance Administration data provide researchers with a wealth of information, Gruss said, adding that his institute is keen to collaborate with Taiwan.
Taiwan devotes less public funding to its basic research than South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia, Gruss said, adding that the government should allocate more funding to basic research to create momentum for technological progress.
Academia Sinica President James Liao (廖俊智) said that researchers should move forward with ambition, responsibility and wisdom, and become leaders in their research domains.
Identifying major problems facing the world, Liao said researchers should propose new solutions to control climate change, use energy and fix carbon without affecting the environment, and achieve healthy longevity in aging societies.
Areas such as AI, memory and consciousness, psychological stress alleviation, connection between past and present, and prediction of events are also worth exploring, Liao said.
Also speaking at the forum, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said that the government would continue to support basic research.
She said she hoped that the National Biotech Research Park inaugurated in Nangang last month would attract innovators from around the world.
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