tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/open-source-1922/articlesOpen Source – The Conversation2022-12-05T20:27:58Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1924842022-12-05T20:27:58Z2022-12-05T20:27:58ZWhy we need open-source science innovation — not patents and paywalls<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497727/original/file-20221128-18-7scacf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=77%2C54%2C5099%2C2437&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A virology lab researcher works to develop a test that will detect the P.1 variant of the coronavirus, in São Paulo, Brazil, in March 2021. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Andre Penner)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As we prepare to <a href="https://theconversation.com/canada-needs-to-invest-more-money-into-science-innovation-to-help-prevent-the-next-global-crisis-182575">invest money to prevent the next global pandemic</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-the-coronavirus-interrupts-global-supply-chains-people-have-an-alternative-make-it-at-home-133218">find solutions to many other problems</a>, science funders have a large opportunity to move <a href="https://www.oecd.org/sti/inno/open-science.htm">towards open science</a> and more research collaboration by offering open-source endowed chairs.</p>
<p>In these research positions, professors agree to ensure all of their writing is distributed via open access — and they release all of their intellectual property in the public domain or under appropriate open-source licences.</p>
<p>The global scholarly publishing <a href="https://openresearch.community/posts/the-open-access-sector-outperforms-the-scholarly-publishing-market">market has grown steadily and is now worth over US$28 billion</a>. Researchers estimate universities are also able to capture <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2020.104076">billions through patent licensing</a>, although <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268286085_How_are_US_Technology_Transfer_Offices_Tasked_and_Motivated-_Is_It_All_About_the_Money">most technology transfer offices at universities actually lose money</a>.</p>
<p>But many academics want to see their research fully accessible — free for everyone. My research with colleagues has found the majority of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-022-00524-3">American</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2122255">Canadian academics</a> want to see universities establish open-source endowed chairs.</p>
<h2>How academics use intellectual property</h2>
<p>Intellectual property (IP) refers to mind creations like patents and copyrights. Academics use all kind of IP. For example, professors publish their work as articles in peer-reviewed journals, the majority of which are under copyright. </p>
<p>If you have ever tried to read an academic paper, you probably couldn’t. Most academic papers are behind paywalls. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="A red journal seen tipping off a shelf." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497752/original/file-20221128-20781-6apq1k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497752/original/file-20221128-20781-6apq1k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497752/original/file-20221128-20781-6apq1k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497752/original/file-20221128-20781-6apq1k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497752/original/file-20221128-20781-6apq1k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497752/original/file-20221128-20781-6apq1k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497752/original/file-20221128-20781-6apq1k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Most academic papers are behind paywalls.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To gain access through the paywalls costs an enormous amount of money for a library (even <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/apr/24/harvard-university-journal-publishers-prices">Harvard’s library</a> balked at having to pay more than US$1 million per year to access articles from a single publisher). </p>
<p>At the beginning of the pandemic, when fast innovation was needed, most major <a href="https://www.continuum.umn.edu/2020/10/covid-publishers-and-open-access/">publishers made their COVID-19 collections “open access,”</a> which means everyone could read them for free. They did this to speed up innovation because it is obvious that paywalls slow science. </p>
<p>Accessible research in science matters because the more scientists that can read the relevant literature, the more scientists can help push innovations forward and the faster we are able to find solutions. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001686">open access movement is growing quickly</a>. Authors must pay to make their work available in some open-access journals. Now, however, there are <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/knowledge2020013">many respected peer-reviewed open-access journals that are free to publish in and free to read</a>.</p>
<h2>Patents hamper innovation</h2>
<p>Many universities <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-01-19/uc-publishes-brag-sheet-2021-college-admissions-season">brag about the number of patents</a> their professors write. Patents are supposed to encourage innovation because they give the inventor a 20-year monopoly to profit from an invention and this provides a financial incentive. </p>
<p>The basic idea is a professor would patent an invention that could be mass manufactured and then reap licence revenue for 20 years. </p>
<p>This does happen. However, a tidal wave of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/icc/dtm016">academic study</a> after <a href="https://doi.org/10.2202/1555-5879.1438">study</a>, have shown that <a href="https://jost.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/6_Azzarelli-SSTLR-Vol.-21-Fall-2009-FINAL.pdf">patents actively hamper innovation</a>. </p>
<p>This is because most innovation builds on other ideas and there is no “fair use” for patents. </p>
<p>It is illegal to even experiment on a patented idea without a licence. If you need to wait 20 years to build on a good idea, it obviously takes a lot of time to innovate. Historically innovation moved rather slowly, now the rate of innovation is fast. Consider now how ancient a 20-year-old phone would be in your pocket.</p>
<p>Some academics like science and engineering professors <a href="https://www.forbes.com/2008/09/12/google-general-electric-ent-tech-cx_mf_0912universitypatent_slide.html?sh=647862fb721c">do make money on patents for their universities</a>. But the patent revenue they keep tends to be meager, because the costs to get the patent must first be recovered before the inventors get anything. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People stand next to fake coffins with signs that say 'drop the patents.'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497739/original/file-20221128-19-2lt2oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497739/original/file-20221128-19-2lt2oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497739/original/file-20221128-19-2lt2oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497739/original/file-20221128-19-2lt2oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497739/original/file-20221128-19-2lt2oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497739/original/file-20221128-19-2lt2oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497739/original/file-20221128-19-2lt2oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Advocacy to drop patents grew in the pandemic, seen in the work of global justice campaigners standing by fake coffins to highlight COVID-19 deaths globally, in October 2021, in London.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Open source is a better way</h2>
<p>Open source is the answer to speeding up innovation. Open source originally was developed in the software industry as inventors would share the source code of computer programs to innovate faster. </p>
<p>Open source works amazingly well because having a lot of people work on a problem together tends to get a much better solution than a few. </p>
<p>Today open source is dominant in <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/supercomputers-all-linux-all-the-time/">all supercomputers</a>, <a href="https://www.rackspace.com/en-gb/blog/realising-the-value-of-cloud-computing-with-linux">90 per cent of cloud servers</a>, <a href="https://www.idc.com/promo/smartphone-market-share">82 per cent of smartphones</a> and <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/open-source-ai">most artificial intelligence</a>. Ninety per cent <a href="https://fortune.com/2013/05/06/how-linux-conquered-the-fortune-500/">of the Fortune Global 500 use open-source software</a>.</p>
<h2>Study on university professors</h2>
<p>The results of a survey study of university professors in Canada found <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2122255">81.1 per cent of Canadian faculty would trade all IP for an open-source endowed chair</a> and 34.4 per cent of these faculty would require no additional compensation. Surprisingly, even more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-022-00524-3">American faculty (86.7 per cent) are willing to accept an open-source endowed professorship</a>. </p>
<p>In both these studies, we presented participants with information about open-source endowed professorships to provide context and clarity for the subsequent multiple-choice and open-ended questions. </p>
<p>We looked at professors in every stage of their career (assistant to emeritus), tenured and non-tenured, at all types of universities (colleges to institutions with <a href="https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/classification_descriptions/basic.php">very high research activity</a>), and in all disciplines including professional programs. </p>
<p>We analyzed results for three core disciplines of engineering/technology, natural sciences and social sciences to assess if there are differences in preferred compensation types among scholars of various disciplines. </p>
<p>The will to share was robust across all variables. Professors as a whole would be willing to make all of their IP freely available in exchange for the open-source endowed chair. </p>
<h2>Accelerating innovation</h2>
<p>I currently hold the John M. Thompson Chair in Information Technology and Innovation, and am one of the first endowed chairs to make an open-source commitment. </p>
<p>It is clear, even from <a href="https://www.appropedia.org/Category:FAST">my own work</a> that has been sped along by many others freely contributing to my open-source projects, that science will move faster with open-source methods. </p>
<p>There is a clear willingness of academics to leave behind antiquated IP models for the good of science and society. It is time to provide incentives to accelerate innovation using open science to hasten scientific progress while also making science more just and inclusive.</p>
<p>All research funders — governments, foundations, private companies, donors and universities — should start funding open-source endowed chairs to maximize the impact of their resources.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192484/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Professor Joshua M. Pearce has received funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, MITACS, The Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Air Force Research Laboratory (ARFL) through America Makes: The National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, which is managed and operated by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM), the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), and the National Science Foundation (NSF) for open source related projects.
In addition, his past and present research is supported by many non-profits and for-profit companies in the open source arena including ALLFED, Mosaic Manufacturing, Heliolytics, BeeHex, Glia, re:3D, Miller, Aleph Objects, Lulzbot, Virtual Foundry, Ultimaker and Youmagine, Cheap 3D Filaments, MyMiniFactory, Zeni Kinetic, Matter Hackers, and Ultimachine.
He is the editor-in-chief of HardwareX, the first journal dedicated to open source scientific hardware and the author of the Open-Source Lab:How to Build Your Own Hardware and Reduce Research Costs, Create, Share, and Save Money Using Open-Source Projects, and To Catch the Sun, an open source book of inspiring stories of communities coming together to harness their own solar energy, and how you can do it too.</span></em></p>In open-source endowed research positions, professors release all of their intellectual property. Surveys of academics in the U.S. and Canada find most like the idea.Joshua M. Pearce, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1898002022-09-13T01:53:15Z2022-09-13T01:53:15ZAI art is everywhere right now. Even experts don’t know what it will mean<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483923/original/file-20220912-26-8603of.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C9%2C2041%2C1352&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">'Théâtre D’opéra Spatial'</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jason Allen / Midjourney</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>An art prize at the Colorado State Fair was <a href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/08/ai-wins-state-fair-art-contest-annoys-humans/">awarded</a> last month to a work that – unbeknown to the judges – was generated by an artificial intelligence (AI) system. </p>
<p>Social media have also seen an explosion of weird images generated by AI from text descriptions, such as “the face of a shiba inu blended into the side of a loaf of bread on a kitchen bench, digital art”.</p>
<iframe id="reddit-embed" src="https://www.redditmedia.com/r/dalle2/comments/w9rqvn/a_shiba_inu_doge_as_bread_blended_into_the_side/?ref_source=embed&ref=share&embed=true" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups" style="border: none;" height="271" width="100%" scrolling="no"></iframe>
<p>Or perhaps “A sea otter in the style of ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ by Johannes Vermeer”:</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483697/original/file-20220909-15-gzztdk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483697/original/file-20220909-15-gzztdk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483697/original/file-20220909-15-gzztdk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483697/original/file-20220909-15-gzztdk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483697/original/file-20220909-15-gzztdk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483697/original/file-20220909-15-gzztdk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483697/original/file-20220909-15-gzztdk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘A sea otter in the style of ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ by Johannes Vermeer.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://twitter.com/OpenAI/status/1511714520590258184">OpenAI</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>You may be wondering what’s going on here. As somebody who researches creative collaborations between humans and AI, I can tell you that behind the headlines and memes a fundamental revolution is under way – with profound social, artistic, economic and technological implications.</p>
<h2>How we got here</h2>
<p>You could say this revolution began in June 2020, when a company called OpenAI achieved a big breakthrough in AI with the creation of <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2005.14165">GPT-3</a>, a system that can process and generate language in much more complex ways than earlier efforts. You can have conversations with it about any topic, ask it to write a research article or a story, summarise text, write a joke, and do almost any imaginable language task.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/robots-are-creating-images-and-telling-jokes-5-things-to-know-about-foundation-models-and-the-next-generation-of-ai-181150">Robots are creating images and telling jokes. 5 things to know about foundation models and the next generation of AI</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>In 2021, some of GPT-3’s developers turned their hand to images. They trained a model on billions of pairs of images and text descriptions, then used it to generate new images from new descriptions. They called this system DALL-E, and in July 2022 they released a much-improved new version, <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.06125">DALL-E 2</a>.</p>
<p>Like GPT-3, DALL-E 2 was a major breakthrough. It can generate highly detailed images from free-form text inputs, including information about style and other abstract concepts.</p>
<p>For example, here I asked it to illustrate the phrase “Mind in Bloom” combining the styles of Salvador Dalí, Henri Matisse and Brett Whiteley. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483699/original/file-20220909-22-7bhk4n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483699/original/file-20220909-22-7bhk4n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483699/original/file-20220909-22-7bhk4n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483699/original/file-20220909-22-7bhk4n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483699/original/file-20220909-22-7bhk4n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483699/original/file-20220909-22-7bhk4n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483699/original/file-20220909-22-7bhk4n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An image generated by DALL-E from the prompt “Mind in Bloom’ combining the styles of Salvador Dali, Henri Matisse and Brett Whiteley’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rodolfo Ocampo / DALL-E</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Competitors enter the scene</h2>
<p>Since the launch of DALL-E 2, a few competitors have emerged. One is the free-to-use but lower-quality DALL-E Mini (developed independently and now renamed <a href="https://www.craiyon.com">Craiyon</a>), which was a popular source of meme content.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483702/original/file-20220909-7256-on5881.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483702/original/file-20220909-7256-on5881.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483702/original/file-20220909-7256-on5881.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=686&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483702/original/file-20220909-7256-on5881.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=686&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483702/original/file-20220909-7256-on5881.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=686&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483702/original/file-20220909-7256-on5881.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=862&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483702/original/file-20220909-7256-on5881.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=862&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483702/original/file-20220909-7256-on5881.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=862&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Images generated by Craiyon from the prompt ‘Darth Vader riding a tricycle outside on a sunny day’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.craiyon.com">Craiyon</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Around the same time, a smaller company called <a href="https://www.midjourney.com/home/#about">Midjourney</a> released a model that more closely matched DALL-E 2’s capabilities. Though still a little less capable than DALL-E 2, Midjourney has lent itself to interesting artistic explorations. It was with Midjourney that Jason Allen generated the artwork that won the Colorado State Art Fair competition. </p>
<p>Google too has a text-to-image model, called <a href="https://imagen.research.google">Imagen</a>, which supposedly produces much better results than DALL-E and others. However, Imagen has not yet been released for wider use so it is difficult to evaluate Google’s claims. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483903/original/file-20220912-24-1d1q2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483903/original/file-20220912-24-1d1q2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483903/original/file-20220912-24-1d1q2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483903/original/file-20220912-24-1d1q2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483903/original/file-20220912-24-1d1q2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483903/original/file-20220912-24-1d1q2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483903/original/file-20220912-24-1d1q2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483903/original/file-20220912-24-1d1q2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Images generated by the Imagen text-to-image model, together with the text that produced them.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://imagen.research.google">Google / Imagen</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In July 2022, OpenAI began to capitalise on the interest in DALL-E, <a href="https://openai.com/blog/dall-e-now-available-in-beta/">announcing</a> that 1 million users would be given access on a pay-to-use basis.</p>
<p>However, in August 2022 a new contender arrived: <a href="https://stability.ai/blog/stable-diffusion-public-release">Stable Diffusion</a>. </p>
<p>Stable Diffusion not only rivals DALL-E 2 in its capabilities, but more importantly it is open source. Anyone can use, adapt and tweak the code as they like.</p>
<p>Already, in the weeks since Stable Diffusion’s release, people have been pushing the code to the limits of what it can do. </p>
<p>To take one example: people quickly realised that, because a video is a sequence of images, they could tweak Stable Diffusion’s code to generate video from text. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1567355079228887041"}"></div></p>
<p>Another fascinating tool built with Stable Diffusion’s code is <a href="https://huggingface.co/spaces/huggingface/diffuse-the-rest">Diffuse the Rest</a>, which lets you draw a simple sketch, provide a text prompt, and generate an image from it. In the video below, I generated a detailed photo of a flower from a very rough sketch. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/reel/CiHrfhotU6T/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>In a more complicated example below, I am starting to build software that lets you draw with your body, then use Stable Diffusion to turn it into a painting or photo. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1565341998277853189"}"></div></p>
<h2>The end of creativity?</h2>
<p>What does it mean that you can generate any sort of visual content, image or video, with a few lines of text and a click of a button? What about when you can generate a movie script with GPT-3 and a movie animation with DALL-E 2? </p>
<p>And looking further forward, what will it mean when social media algorithms not only curate content for your feed, but generate it? What about when this trend meets the metaverse in a few years, and virtual reality worlds are generated in real time, just for you? </p>
<p>These are all important questions to consider.</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/OmniMorpho/status/1564782875072872450">Some speculate</a> that, in the short term, this means human creativity and art are deeply threatened. </p>
<p>Perhaps in a world where anyone can generate any images, graphic designers as we know them today will be redundant. However, history shows human creativity finds a way. The electronic synthesiser did not kill music, and photography did not kill painting. Instead, they catalysed new art forms.</p>
<p>I believe something similar will happen with AI generation. People are experimenting with including models like Stable Diffusion as a part of their creative process.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1567898557763538947"}"></div></p>
<p>Or using DALL-E 2 to generate fashion-design prototypes: </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ch7aV2mjWOD/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY%3D","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>A new type of artist is even emerging in what some call “promptology”, or “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prompt_engineering">prompt engineering</a>”. The art is not in crafting pixels by hand, but in crafting the words that prompt the computer to generate the image: a kind of AI whispering.</p>
<h2>Collaborating with AI</h2>
<p>The impacts of AI technologies will be multidimensional: we cannot reduce them to good or bad on a single axis. </p>
<p>New artforms will arise, as will new avenues for creative expression. However, I believe there are risks as well. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/so-this-is-how-it-feels-when-the-robots-come-for-your-job-what-githubs-copilot-ai-assistant-means-for-coders-185957">So this is how it feels when the robots come for your job: what GitHub's Copilot 'AI assistant' means for coders</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>We live in an attention economy that thrives on extracting screen time from users; in an economy where automation drives corporate profit but not necessarily higher wages, and where art is commodified as content; in a social context where it is increasingly hard to distinguish real from fake; in sociotechnical structures that too easily encode biases in the AI models we train. In these circumstances, AI can easily do harm.</p>
<p>How can we steer these new AI technologies in a direction that benefits people? I believe one way to do this is to <a href="https://research.rodolfoocampo.com/">design AI</a> that collaborates with, rather than replaces, humans.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189800/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rodolfo Ocampo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>AI art tools like DALL-E, Midjourney and Stable Diffusion are starting a revolution in the way art is made.Rodolfo Ocampo, PhD student, Human–AI Creative Collaboration, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1811382022-04-15T18:01:27Z2022-04-15T18:01:27ZWhat is that rash? Genetic fingerprints can help doctors diagnose and treat skin conditions more effectively<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458016/original/file-20220413-23-kvcimv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2121%2C1412&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Skin conditions like psoriasis and eczema can have rashes that are difficult to distinguish by eye.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/dermatitis-eczema-texture-of-ill-human-skin-royalty-free-image/1270950737">tylim/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Rashes can be thought of as a dysfunctional community of skin cells. Your skin harbors <a href="https://dermnetnz.org/topics/the-structure-of-normal-skin">dozens of distinct cell types</a>, including those that form blood vessels, nerves and the local immune system of the skin. For decades, clinicians have largely been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/01.pcr.0000117274.16187.de">diagnosing rashes by eye</a>. While examining the physical appearance of a skin sample under a microscope may work for more obvious skin conditions, many rashes can be difficult to distinguish from one another.</p>
<p>At the molecular level, however, the differences between rashes become more clear. </p>
<p>Scientists have long known that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/jid.2009.71">molecular abnormalities</a> in skin cells cause the redness and scaliness seen in conditions like psoriasis and eczema. While almost all the various cell types in your skin can release chemicals that worsen inflammation, which ones leads to rash formation remains a mystery and may <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2018.05.012">vary from patient to patient</a>.</p>
<p>But molecular testing of skin rashes isn’t a common practice because of technological limitations. Using a new approach, my colleagues and I were able to analyze the <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciimmunol.abl9165">genetic profiles of skin rashes</a> and quantitatively diagnose their root causes.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Orumw-PyNjw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Skin is a complex organ that performs a wide variety of functions.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>High-res skin profiles</h2>
<p>Traditional genetic analyses work by averaging out the activity of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/jid.2014.28">thousands of genes across millions of cells</a>.</p>
<p>Genetically testing tissue samples is standard practice for conditions like cancer. Clinicians collect and analyze tumor biopsies from patients to determine a particular cancer’s unique molecular characteristics. This genetic fingerprint helps oncologists <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semcancer.2017.08.010">predict whether a cancer will spread or which treatments might work best</a>. Cancer cells lend themselves to this form of testing because they often grow into recognizable masses that make them easy to <a href="https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/types/biomarker-testing-cancer-treatment">isolate and analyze</a>.</p>
<p>But skin is a complex mixture of cells. Collapsing these unique cell communities into a single group may obscure genetic signatures essential to diagnosis.</p>
<p>Recent technological advances called <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdin.2020.08.001?">single-cell RNA sequencing</a>, however, have enabled scientists to preserve the identity of each type of cell that lives in the skin. Instead of averaging the genetic signatures across all cell types in bulk, single-cell RNA sequencing analyses allow each cell to preserve its unique characteristics.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/k9VFNLLQP8c?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Single-cell RNA sequencing is used to analyze samples where many different types of cells are present.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Using this approach, my colleagues and I isolated over 158,000 immune cells from the skin samples of 31 patients. We measured the activity of about 1,000 genes from each of those cells to create detailed molecular fingerprints for each patient. By analyzing these fingerprints, we were able to pinpoint the genetic abnormalities unique to the immune cells residing in each rash type. This allowed us to quantitatively diagnose otherwise visually ambiguous rashes. </p>
<p>We also observed that some patients had treatment responses consistent with what we expected with our predicted diagnoses. This suggests that our concept could viably be expanded for further testing.</p>
<p>To make our approach available to clinicians and scientists, we developed an open source web database called <a href="https://rashx.ucsf.edu/">RashX</a> that contains the genetic fingerprints of different rashes. This database will allow clinicians to compare the genetic profile of their patients’ rashes to similar profiles in our database. A closely matching genetic fingerprint might yield clues as to what caused their patient’s rash and lead to potential treatment avenues.</p>
<h2>Open source diagnostics</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/biologics-the-pricey-drugs-transforming-medicine/">rapid development of drugs that target the immune system</a> in recent years has inundated doctors with difficult treatment decisions for individual patients. For example, while certain drugs that act on the immune system are known to work well for conditions like psoriasis or eczema, many patients have atypical rashes that can’t be precisely diagnosed. </p>
<p>An <a href="https://rashx.ucsf.edu/">open source database</a> like ours could help enable clinicians to profile and diagnose these rashes, providing a stepping stone to choose a suitable treatment. </p>
<p>Furthermore, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abf3041">chronic inflammatory diseases</a> that affect organs other than the skin share similar genetic abnormalities. Lab tests that can illuminate the root causes of skin diseases can likely be expanded to many other conditions.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://rashx.ucsf.edu/">RashX</a> project initially focused on just two very common types of rashes, psoriasis and eczema. It is unknown whether <a href="https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/a-z">other types of rashes</a> will have similar genetic profiles to psoriasis and eczema or instead have their own unique fingerprints. It is also unclear which parts of the fingerprint would best predict drug response.</p>
<p>But <a href="https://rashx.ucsf.edu/">RashX</a> is a living web resource that will grow more useful as more scientists collaborate and contribute new data. Our lab is also working to simplify the process of developing genetic profiles of rashes to make participating in this area of research more accessible for clinics around the world. With more data, we believe that projects like RashX will make precision testing for rashes an essential next step in diagnosis and treatment.</p>
<p>[<em>Understand new developments in science, health and technology, each week.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?nl=science&source=inline-science-understand">Subscribe to The Conversation’s science newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181138/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Raymond J. Cho, MD, PhD receives funding from the LEO Foundation, the National Psoriasis Foundation, the National Eczema Assocation, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Sanofi, and Pfizer. </span></em></p>Many doctors currently diagnose skin conditions by eye. Advances in molecular testing could lead to more precise and accurate diagnoses for ambiguous rashes and skin lesions.Raymond J. Cho, Associate Professor of Dermatology, University of California, San FranciscoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1673272022-02-23T12:35:05Z2022-02-23T12:35:05ZHow to capture satellite images in your backyard – and contribute to a snapshot of the climate crisis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442250/original/file-20220124-21-opz0yx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2488%2C1998&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A DIY satellite ground station in London, UK.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dyer & Engelmann</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Documentaries about the climate crisis are often illustrated with spectacular satellite images of forest fires, hurricanes and flooded landscapes. People around the world weather these conditions with little control over how their experiences are recorded and represented. Our project, <a href="https://open-weather.community/">open-weather</a>, offers the tools and knowledge to change that.</p>
<p>On the first day of <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/cop26-80762">COP26</a> (the latest UN climate change conference in Glasgow) our network of 29 volunteers captured a collective image of Earth by tuning into transmissions from three orbiting National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellites. We did this using DIY satellite ground stations made up of radio antennae plugged into laptops.</p>
<p>Each member of the group recorded a satellite image as well as what they could feel and observe of the weather on the ground. Across 14 countries and six continents, the network recorded a total of 38 images which, when stitched together onto a map, produced a <a href="https://cop26-nowcast.open-weather.community/">snapshot of the planet</a> on October 31 2021. </p>
<p>This snapshot included a cyclonic weather system curling around the UK, dust clouds sweeping the Indian subcontinent, and the glaciers of the Patagonian Andes, which have been shown by geographer <a href="http://www.antarcticglaciers.org/glaciers-and-climate/glacier-recession/shrinking-patagonian-glaciers/">Bethan Davies</a> to be rapidly receding and thinning in response to global warming.</p>
<h2>How to take your own satellite images</h2>
<p>Receiving images from the public data broadcast of NOAA satellites is something anyone can learn how to do. All you need is a basic V-shaped antenna, a device called a dongle, and one of many free software programmes, like <a href="https://cubicsdr.com/">CubicSDR</a>. The antenna and dongle together cost around £50 (US$66).</p>
<p>Now you’re ready to launch your DIY satellite ground station. First, use a <a href="https://www.n2yo.com/">free online tool</a> to track satellite orbits overhead, then find somewhere outdoors with a clear view of the sky. Connect the antenna to your laptop using the dongle and tune it to a specific frequency using the software. Position the antenna so that the tip of the V points north, and the arms of the V are parallel to the ground as a NOAA satellite passes overhead.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A person wearing a hat lies on a blanket in a vast field on a sunny day with a laptop and antenna." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431347/original/file-20211110-21-1aw0xt2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431347/original/file-20211110-21-1aw0xt2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431347/original/file-20211110-21-1aw0xt2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431347/original/file-20211110-21-1aw0xt2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431347/original/file-20211110-21-1aw0xt2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431347/original/file-20211110-21-1aw0xt2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431347/original/file-20211110-21-1aw0xt2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Preparing the ground station.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Natasha Honey</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Your antenna captures the satellite’s unique radio transmission and sends it to your laptop, where the software transforms the signal into a sound. The sound can be decoded into two images received by the satellite as it passed over you. The first is composed of mostly visible light reflecting off the surface of the Earth, the second is made of infrared radiation – invisible electromagnetic waves emitted by the land, sea and clouds. The way you position your antenna and even your body are recorded in the image as signal and noise. This means each image is unique to the person and place that created it. </p>
<p>Open-weather was founded in April 2020 out of a desire to open up this practice to non-specialists. We published a series of <a href="https://publiclab.org/wiki/open-weather">how-to guides</a> and <a href="https://publiclab.org/notes/sashae/06-21-2021/diy-satellite-ground-station-workshop">hosted workshops</a> in different countries. We also <a href="https://cop26-nowcast.open-weather.community/">created artworks</a> in collaboration with design studio <a href="https://rectangle.design/">Rectangle</a>, and commissioned by The Photographers’ Gallery in London. As a result, a network of amateur satellite image decoders has begun to form around the world.</p>
<p>Here’s what they captured while world leaders were gathered in Glasgow for COP26.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An over-the-shoulder view of someone editing satellite images on a laptop." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447771/original/file-20220222-13-1eep2x1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447771/original/file-20220222-13-1eep2x1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447771/original/file-20220222-13-1eep2x1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447771/original/file-20220222-13-1eep2x1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447771/original/file-20220222-13-1eep2x1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447771/original/file-20220222-13-1eep2x1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447771/original/file-20220222-13-1eep2x1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Look what the satellite picked up.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sasha Engelmann</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The climate crisis in a snapshot</h2>
<p>For their part in the project, cartographer and marine technician Joaquín Ezcurra and journalist Aimée Juhazs travelled to Parque Nacional Ciervo de los Pantanos in Argentina – a wetland at risk from climate change.</p>
<p>It was “a day of unexpected low temperatures” after the arrival of the cold <em>sudestada</em> wind, Ezcurra and Juhazs wrote in their field notes. They added that “communities living in the delta of the Paraná River in Argentina are suffering dearly from both low levels of water, and increasing numbers of fires during the winter dry season”.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447808/original/file-20220222-23-refm11.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two black-and-white satellite images side by side showing a watery landscape." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447808/original/file-20220222-23-refm11.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447808/original/file-20220222-23-refm11.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447808/original/file-20220222-23-refm11.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447808/original/file-20220222-23-refm11.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447808/original/file-20220222-23-refm11.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447808/original/file-20220222-23-refm11.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447808/original/file-20220222-23-refm11.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Climate change threatens to dry out some of the world’s wetlands.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joaquín Ezcurra & Aimée Juhazs</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Ankit Sharma, a mechanical engineering student in Mumbai, India, submitted a trio of images covering the vast region from the Persian Gulf to the Himalayas. During the second satellite pass, he noted: “My laptop had a layer of dust on it … heavy pollution was felt”.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two black-and-white satellite images side by side showing land and clouds." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448020/original/file-20220223-19-1f8ln60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448020/original/file-20220223-19-1f8ln60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448020/original/file-20220223-19-1f8ln60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448020/original/file-20220223-19-1f8ln60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448020/original/file-20220223-19-1f8ln60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=620&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448020/original/file-20220223-19-1f8ln60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=620&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448020/original/file-20220223-19-1f8ln60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=620&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mumbai from above.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ankit Sharma</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>“The pattern of cloud [reflects] the beauty of the nature”, wrote radio amateur Yoshi Matsuoka in Atsugi Kanagawa, Japan.</p>
<p>He noted, too, that the region had had “extreme torrential rain”. Many contributors wrote about their experiences of exceptional rainfall.</p>
<p>“Weather systems are getting tougher and tougher to predict”, and so too is knowing “what to plant, where to plant, and when to plant”, wrote Natasha Honey, a farmer in New South Wales, Australia.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A person holds an antenna aloft with one hand on a laptop on the roof of a car." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431350/original/file-20211110-13-1gz41vm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431350/original/file-20211110-13-1gz41vm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1234&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431350/original/file-20211110-13-1gz41vm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1234&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431350/original/file-20211110-13-1gz41vm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1234&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431350/original/file-20211110-13-1gz41vm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1551&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431350/original/file-20211110-13-1gz41vm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1551&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431350/original/file-20211110-13-1gz41vm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1551&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tshimbalanga’s ground station in Kinshasa.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Cedrick Tshimbalanga</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Glasgow, not far from the COP26 conference venue, artist and curator Alison Scott commented: “Climate change is felt … in a lack of public transport resilience; in bike lanes being opened (and closed) … in the corporate hijacking of COP26 and the city’s unpreparedness for its scale; in the erosion of rogue-landlord-ed sandstone tenement buildings in need of retro-fitting. It is felt in the history of the place.”</p>
<p>“The sun dominates”, wrote artist Cédrick Tshimbalanga in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Before, “the rainy season was alive and rain was abundant, and during the dry season, it was much colder”.</p>
<p>Zack Wettstein, a doctor in Seattle, Washington, received a satellite transmission during a “cold, dry, autumn morning, with no wind in sight … in stark contrast to the weather of the past week, when we were struck with an atmospheric river of rain from a bomb cyclone off the Pacific”.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447810/original/file-20220222-15-16agcrb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two black-and-white satellite images side by side showing a stretch of coastline occluded by cloud." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447810/original/file-20220222-15-16agcrb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447810/original/file-20220222-15-16agcrb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447810/original/file-20220222-15-16agcrb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447810/original/file-20220222-15-16agcrb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447810/original/file-20220222-15-16agcrb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447810/original/file-20220222-15-16agcrb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447810/original/file-20220222-15-16agcrb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Post-storm calm reigns in Seattle, US.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Zack Wettstein</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>He added: “As a physician working in the emergency department, I see patients affected by these hazards wrought by climate change … with injuries, illness and exacerbations of their underlying disease”.</p>
<p>We received a surprise contribution from Barfrost in Kirkenes, Norway, who imaged the cartographic North Pole and noted that “southern insects [are surviving] the winter”.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447775/original/file-20220222-23-1xhgew6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two black-and-white satellite images side by side showing the outline of coasts in the Arctic." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447775/original/file-20220222-23-1xhgew6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447775/original/file-20220222-23-1xhgew6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447775/original/file-20220222-23-1xhgew6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447775/original/file-20220222-23-1xhgew6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447775/original/file-20220222-23-1xhgew6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447775/original/file-20220222-23-1xhgew6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447775/original/file-20220222-23-1xhgew6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Arctic Circle – a region at the fore of Earth’s changing climate.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Barfrost</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These satellite images and field notes demonstrate that the climate crisis feels different depending on who you are and where you live. In some places, dry seasons are expanding. Elsewhere, it’s clouds of dust, increasingly volatile storms, or health effects triggered by the air that we breathe.</p>
<p>As politicians fail to respond to the climate emergency, a growing community of Earth-watchers has practical and political potential. Together, we might learn to be collectively responsible for, and accountable to, the environments we are changing.</p>
<p><em>For more images, field notes and how-to guides, visit <a href="http://cop26-nowcast.open-weather.community">our website</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
<br><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeTop">Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead.</a> Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeBottom">Join the 10,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.</a></em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167327/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sasha Engelmann does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sophie Dyer is a project manager at Amnesty International.</span></em></p>With an antenna, a laptop and some software, you can take a picture of Earth from space.Sasha Engelmann, Lecturer in GeoHumanities, Royal Holloway University of LondonSophie Dyer, Researcher in Human Rights, Harvard UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1532802021-01-29T12:20:23Z2021-01-29T12:20:23ZMaking hardware ‘open source’ can help us fight future pandemics - here’s how we get there<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380865/original/file-20210127-23-jgz16f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=20%2C0%2C6866%2C3964&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/innovative-contemporary-smart-industry-product-design-1160095369">elenabsl/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In factories and industrial estates across the world, exceptional efforts are being made to ensure hospitals have ventilators, and logistics firms have freezers and refrigerators. Behind the scenes, this manufacturing drive has been taking place on an epic, unprecedented scale. In some places, it’s also been horrendously inefficient.</p>
<p>Some of that inefficiency is only to be expected. Manufacturing responsively at such short notice was <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/car-manufacturers-ventilators">always going to be messy</a>. But many of the hardware hold-ups we’ve witnessed – from production line bottlenecks to parts shortages – could be avoided in the future by applying an “open source” ethos to the world’s production of hardware.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/five-ways-collective-intelligence-can-help-beat-coronavirus-in-developing-countries-136548">Five ways collective intelligence can help beat coronavirus in developing countries</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Open source design is a form of collective intelligence, where experts work together to create a design that anyone has the legal right to manufacture. The software industry has long shown that “open” collaboration is not only possible, but advantageous. Open source software is <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/12/how-open-source-software-took-over-the-world">ubiquitous</a>, and the servers that power the internet itself are largely run on open technology, <a href="https://www.linuxfoundation.org/press-release/linux-foundation-updates-study-on-linux-development-statistics-who-writes-linux-and-who-supports-it/">collaboratively designed by competing companies</a>.</p>
<p>Early in the pandemic, and in recognition of the global emergency that was unfolding, dozens of the world’s largest companies did actually sign up to the “<a href="https://opencovidpledge.org/">Open COVID Pledge</a>”, promising to share their intellectual property to help fight the virus. On a smaller scale, <a href="https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.22942.2">more than 100 project teams</a> set out to create and share “open” ventilator designs that could be produced locally, helping address the pressing need for ventilators around the world.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, neither of these initiatives succeeded in producing ventilators at the rate required by stretched hospitals <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4594">in the early weeks of the pandemic</a>. After examining existing attempts to share the intellectual property of machines, our recent paper concludes that projects must <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14606925.2020.1859168">be open from the start</a> in order to make a success of open hardware. Everything from the first doodle on a napkin to the detailed calculations that verify safety must be available if other experts and manufacturers are going to participate in the design.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A breathing mask on top of a medical ventilator" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380867/original/file-20210127-17-juj317.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380867/original/file-20210127-17-juj317.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380867/original/file-20210127-17-juj317.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380867/original/file-20210127-17-juj317.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380867/original/file-20210127-17-juj317.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380867/original/file-20210127-17-juj317.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380867/original/file-20210127-17-juj317.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Medical ventilators have been in particular demand since the beginning of the pandemic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/respiratory-mask-resuscitator-ventilation-patient-pneumonia-1673318152">Dan Race/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The road to open hardware</h2>
<p>Producing hardware through open collaboration may be daunting. As opposed to the entirely virtual collaboration required for software development, hardware development needs physical parts – raw materials and machinery. It needs testing facilities and engineers to perform stress tests and safety checks.</p>
<p>There are promising signs that these challenges can be met. The <a href="https://reprap.org/wiki/RepRap">RepRap 3D printer</a> project has brought low cost 3D printing to a wider audience, making affordable prototyping possible at a distance. Meanwhile, the <a href="https://white-rabbit.web.cern.ch/">CERN White Rabbit project</a> has shown that even the complex electronics that control the Large Hadron Collider can be developed as as open source hardware. But, <a href="https://zenodo.org/record/3862777">to be efficient we need better work flows for collaboration</a> – systems to help organise the distribution of tasks and responsibilities on collaborative hardware projects. </p>
<p>The journey from prototype to production is much more difficult, and less exciting, than the technical challenge of prototyping a device. Manufacturers must comply with international standards to <a href="https://www.iso.org/standard/59752.html">ensure quality</a> and <a href="https://www.iso.org/standard/72704.html">manage risk</a> related to their products. This is especially true of medical hardware, upon which lives depend. A key challenge for open hardware will be to achieve this certification in the same way that private companies do today.</p>
<p>Under current regulations, no matter how impressive and safe, ventilators constructed in volunteer maker spaces cannot be certified for medical use. But for equipment which is less strictly regulated, <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.20944/preprints202003.0362.v1">like face shields</a>, open hardware is currently being leveraged successfully.</p>
<p>Achieving similar successes with high-tech medical devices will require organisations that are built to manufacture from open designs – dynamic factories, for instance, which will be responsive to global emergencies. It takes time to establish these organisations. But we can’t afford to wait for the next emergency: we should begin creating them today, in preparation for the next pandemic.</p>
<p>Of course, finding sustainable <a href="http://doi.org/10.5334/joh.4">business models</a> for open hardware is a challenge: can a system be created which shares intellectual property for free while helping designers and manufacturers profit? In one sense, open hardware has an advantage here: people are used to buying products, where online consumers are accustomed to using software for free.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, it’s likely that setting up an open hardware manufacturing ecosystem will need public funding, or investor funding buying into non-traditional business models. This would follow the trajectory of the internet, which began life <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/yes-government-researchers-really-did-invent-the-internet/">funded by public institutions</a> and is now home to the world’s biggest private enterprises.</p>
<h2>Closer inspection</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380923/original/file-20210127-21-dk9wun.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A home-made microscope, constructed from plastic and wires" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380923/original/file-20210127-21-dk9wun.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380923/original/file-20210127-21-dk9wun.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380923/original/file-20210127-21-dk9wun.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380923/original/file-20210127-21-dk9wun.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380923/original/file-20210127-21-dk9wun.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380923/original/file-20210127-21-dk9wun.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380923/original/file-20210127-21-dk9wun.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The open source microscope.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We’ve experimented with our own open hardware project to help us understand how the future of collaborative hardware might look. Our <a href="https://openflexure.org/projects/microscope/">OpenFlexure microscope</a> is designed to be manufactured at low cost in sub-Saharan Africa, to be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1364/BOE.385729">used for malaria diagnoses</a>. We’ve probably spent more time designing the processes that help us share our knowledge effectively than designing the microscope itself. </p>
<p>In the short term, this slows our progress. In the long term, we expect that manufacturers anywhere in the world will be able to understand our design and adapt it to their local context. As these processes become further standardised, sharing designs for production will become increasingly simple. The final and most ambitious phase of our project will be working with manufacturers to produce microscopes certified for medical use – a huge step towards open source medical hardware we’d need to better fight a future pandemic.</p>
<p>Humanity already knew how to make ventilators decades before this pandemic hit. What was lacking was the access to this knowledge, the skills to work together on adapting a design, and the logistics to rapidly scale the manufacturing of complex machinery. It will take years to address these issues. Starting that process today will help us tackle global emergencies more dynamically and efficiently in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153280/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors co-founded OpenFlexure Industries, a micro-business selling DIY open source hardware kits.
Richard has received funding from UKRI, the Royal Society, and the Global Challenges Research Fund (URF\R1\180153, RGF\EA\181034, EP/R013969/1, EP/T029064/1).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors co-founded OpenFlexure Industries, a micro-business selling DIY open source hardware kits. </span></em></p>An ‘open’ approach to hardware could make production bottlenecks a thing of the past.Richard Bowman, Royal Society University Research Fellow and Proleptic Reader, Department of Physics, University of BathJulian Stirling, Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Physics, University of BathLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1526882021-01-25T15:00:06Z2021-01-25T15:00:06ZAs the world changes, science does too – and that’s a good thing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377154/original/file-20210105-15-1gco1pj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Science can become more open and inclusive and can shift its culture.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Suwit Rattiwan/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The term “<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2018/09/02/what-is-industry-4-0-heres-a-super-easy-explanation-for-anyone/?sh=8deb2ac9788a">Industry 4.0</a>” has been used for years to describe the need for societies to adapt their work and productivity to the “4th Industrial Revolution”, in which new technologies bridge the virtual, physical and biological domains. These terms have become so dominant that <a href="https://www.4ir.gov.za">governments</a> have adopted them into their policies and planning.</p>
<p>Against this backdrop it is important to ask whether – and how – the world of science is effectively adapting to an ever more connected and data intensive world. Is there such a thing as “Science 4.0”? What does this mean for society?</p>
<p>As scientists who have been involved in research, technological development, advocacy, diplomacy and the realisation of societal benefits from science, we believe that yes, “Science 4.0” is real. It is about a revolution in which science is an integral part of society, rather than being confined to public or private laboratories and institutions of higher learning. It is about recognising that scientists are people, subjective and opinionated – and people are scientists, curious and eager to learn. It is about embracing new technologies to do better science more responsibly and more inclusively.</p>
<p>Over the past nearly three decades, we have observed trends that show what is possible. These include openness, the importance of data, artificial intelligence, inclusion and crucial changes in the culture of science. </p>
<h2>Openness</h2>
<p>The term “open science” was first captured by the <a href="https://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read">Budapest Open Access Initiative</a> in 2002. It originated from open source software and open access literature; it includes the openness of data, methods, software, results and publications.</p>
<p>Openness is a shift away from traditional thinking around the protectionism of intellectual property. Its <a href="https://content.iospress.com/articles/information-services-and-use/isu861">benefits to science</a> have become increasingly clear. </p>
<p>Today most organisations have policies of openness, from the <a href="https://osp.od.nih.gov/scientific-sharing/nih-data-management-and-sharing-activities-related-to-public-access-and-open-science/">National Institutes of Health in the US</a> to <a href="https://en.unesco.org/science-sustainable-future/open-science/recommendation">UNESCO</a>. The <a href="http://africanopenscience.org.za/">African Open Science Platform</a>, meanwhile, aims to grow open science practices across the continent. </p>
<p>Several business ventures have emerged. The <a href="https://www.cos.io/products/osf">Center for Open Science</a>, for instance, sees people generating value by helping scientists to make their science more open. </p>
<h2>Data-driven science</h2>
<p>Increasingly, scientific research involves very large data sets. From the massive <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1532046413001007">genomics data</a> to the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsta.2019.0060">data</a> expected from future telescopes, data-intensive research is becoming the norm. </p>
<p>There is a shift in the scientific method from, for example, single observations to large scale statistical analyses. This progression calls for new infrastructure models to support scientific research. <a href="https://www.labiotech.eu/genomics/cloud-genomics-big-data-problem/">Cloud computing technologies</a> are at the forefront of this shift; these combine easy access to and collaboration on data and analysis with high-performance computing.</p>
<p>Nowadays, data and codes are part of scientific publications. <a href="https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1435800">Containerisation</a>, a technology that packages code and the computer environment in which codes are run, helps make results easily reproducible by others. Containers can be shared and cited.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cloud-computing-could-be-key-to-speeding-up-africas-development-121344">Cloud computing could be key to speeding up Africa's development</a>
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<h2>AI scientists</h2>
<p>Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a tool of science as both data storage and computing power have become cheaper. Machine learning (computer algorithms improving with experience) is <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200114074044.htm">accelerating the rate of discovery</a> in anything from drug development to image analysis.</p>
<p>AI is becoming advanced enough that <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/04/artificial-intelligence-evolving-all-itself">it could do the whole cycle from hypothesis to result</a>. As research accelerates, the rate of publications follows and AI <a href="https://iris.ai/">can even be used to sift through</a> the overwhelming literature. Scientific unions and other councils are also now <a href="https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/projects/ai-and-society">discussing</a> the ethics of AI.</p>
<h2>Culture of science</h2>
<p>Science 4.0 is not just a transformation of scientific tools and methods. It also affects the culture of science and how we evaluate scientific work. <a href="http://blogs.nature.com/naturejobs/2017/04/14/the-next-generation-of-science-outreach/">Outreach</a> is increasingly valued as a part of a scientist’s tasks. Counting publications and citations is limited and doesn’t reflect the true impact of research.</p>
<p>Scientists are also admitting that science is done by people – and that means acknowledging their failings. Misconduct by scientists is <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-19/science-brilliant-free-pass-bad-behaviour/9879704">not taken lightly</a>. Science is slowly becoming <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07782-3">more family friendly</a> too, with some <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2018/12/are-conferences-providing-enough-child-care-support-we-decided-find-out">conferences offering childcare</a> facilities.</p>
<p>One area that’s worth watching is the speed of science. The race to develop a vaccine for COVID-19 has demonstrated that science can be done fast, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-1015-0">albeit sometimes at the expense of quality</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/international-statistic-of-the-year-race-for-a-covid-19-vaccine-152064">International Statistic of the Year: Race for a COVID-19 vaccine</a>
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</p>
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<p>This speed may become more common in some areas of science. And that’s potentially a good thing because it brings the benefits of science to more people, more rapidly.</p>
<h2>Inclusion</h2>
<p>However, these new ways of science won’t benefit everyone unless scientists have a serious conversation about inclusion. For example, the pandemic also showed a <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/women-in-science-may-suffer-lasting-career-damage-from-covid-19/">disproportionate effect on women scientists</a> as compared to men.</p>
<p>Inclusion has risen to the surface in recent years: minorities have <a href="https://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/PT.3.3536">denounced</a> science as an unwelcoming space of rampant implicit bias that needs to be claimed by diverse identities. This has given rise to large grassroots visibility campaigns such as the <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23BlackInSTEM">#BlackInSTEM</a> hashtag on social media and open conversations about inclusion.</p>
<p>In the developing world, academic isolation is a multifaceted challenge. Academics in relative isolation can become the targets of <a href="https://predatoryjournals.com/publishers/">predatory publishers</a>. Developing countries can be led to giving away their data, for example genomics of endemic species, or oral traditions recorded without permission but with misplaced good intentions of preservation. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/global-academic-collaboration-a-new-form-of-colonisation-61382">Global academic collaboration: a new form of colonisation?</a>
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</em>
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<hr>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/international-research-collaborations-how-can-we-shift-the-power-towards-africa-142421">This situation is not sustainable</a>. <a href="http://trust-project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/San-Code-of-RESEARCH-Ethics-Booklet-final.pdf">Initiatives are emerging</a> to ensure communities are involved and benefit from research carried out on them, on their environment, and ultimately their universe.</p>
<p>It is also worth noting the growth of <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-we-tracked-the-eating-habits-of-snakes-in-africa-with-the-help-of-a-facebook-group-143569">citizen science</a> and <a href="https://www.zooniverse.org/">its evolution</a> from passive data gathering to participatory approaches to research.</p>
<h2>Role of Science 4.0 in a changing world</h2>
<p>Progress in science is not about bringing more people into an ivory tower. It is about breaking down the tower completely and helping scientists work with and among people. </p>
<p>As the world grapples with building back better, the scientific community needs to display engaged leadership and play an active, humanistic role in shaping policies, public perceptions and technologies for a sustainable future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/152688/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>‘Science 4.0’ is real. It is about a revolution in which science is an integral part of society.Carolina Odman, Associate Professor, University of the Western CapeKevin Govender, Director, International Astronomical Union Office of Astronomy for DevelopmentLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1470812021-01-11T13:15:39Z2021-01-11T13:15:39ZHow to turn plastic waste in your recycle bin into profit<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/376186/original/file-20201221-17-utl3uw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1440%2C954&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Saved from the trash heap and ready for transformation.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> Nathan Shaiyen/Michigan Tech</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>People will recycle if they can make money doing so. In places where cash is offered for cans and bottles, metal and glass recycling has been a great success. Sadly, the incentives have been weaker for recycling plastic. As of 2015, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1700782">only 9% of plastic waste is recycled</a>. The rest pollutes landfills or the environment. </p>
<p>But now, several technologies have matured that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.121602">allow people to recycle waste plastic directly</a> by 3D-printing it into valuable products, at a fraction of their normal cost. People are using their own recycled plastic to make decorations and gifts, home and garden products, accessories and shoes, toys and games, sporting goods and gadgets from millions of free designs. This approach is called distributed recycling and additive manufacturing, or DRAM for short. </p>
<p>As a professor of materials engineering at the <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&authuser=1&user=QZ8lPxwAAAAJ">forefront of this technology</a>, I can explain – and offer some ideas for what you can do to take advantage of this trend.</p>
<h2>How DRAM works</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.104810">DRAM method</a> starts with plastic waste – everything from used packaging to broken products. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360926/original/file-20200930-18-1wpcbrf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A chart showing the various routes plastic waste can take to become custom plastic recycled products." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360926/original/file-20200930-18-1wpcbrf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360926/original/file-20200930-18-1wpcbrf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360926/original/file-20200930-18-1wpcbrf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360926/original/file-20200930-18-1wpcbrf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360926/original/file-20200930-18-1wpcbrf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=665&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360926/original/file-20200930-18-1wpcbrf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=665&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360926/original/file-20200930-18-1wpcbrf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=665&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">From trash to treasure – the DRAM flowchart.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joshua M. Pearce</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>The first step is to sort and wash the plastic with soap and water or even run it through the dishwasher. Next, the plastic needs to be ground into particles. For small amounts, a cross-cut paper/CD shredder works fine. For larger amounts, open-source <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies7040074">plans for an industrial waste plastic granulator</a> are available online.</p>
<p>Next you have a few choices. You can <a href="https://www.appropedia.org/Recyclebot">convert the particles into 3D printer filament using a recyclebot</a>, a device that turns ground plastic into the spaghetti-like filaments used by most low-cost 3D printers. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/b04mUaI-oTU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A recyclebot made largely from 3D-printed parts.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Filament made with a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2018.e00026">3D-printable recyclebot</a> is incredibly cheap, costing less than a nickel per pound as compared to commercial filament, which costs about US$10 per pound or more. With the <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-the-coronavirus-interrupts-global-supply-chains-people-have-an-alternative-make-it-at-home-133218">pandemic interrupting global supply chains</a>, making products at home from waste is even more appealing. </p>
<p>The second approach is newer: You can skip the step of making filament and use fused particle fabrication to directly 3D-print granulated waste plastic into products. This approach is most amenable to large products on larger printers, like the <a href="https://re3d.org/gigabotx/">commercial open source GigabotX</a> printer, but can <a href="http://doi.org/10.1089/3dp.2019.0195">also be used on desktop printers</a>. </p>
<p>Granulated plastic waste can also be directly printed with a syringe printer, although this is less popular because print volume is limited by the need to reloading the syringe.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.appropedia.org/Category:MOST">My research group</a>, along with dozens of labs and companies throughout the world, has developed a wide array of open source products that enable DRAM, including shredders, recyclebots and both fused filament and fused particle 3D printers. </p>
<p>These devices have been shown to work not only with the two most popular 3D printing plastics, ABS and PLA, but also a long list of plastics you likely use every day, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13194273">PET water bottles</a>. It is now possible to convert any plastic waste with a recycling symbol on it into valuable products.</p>
<p>Furthermore, an “ecoprinting” initiative in Australia has demonstrated <a href="https://doi.org/0.1109/SusTech.2018.8671370">DRAM can work in isolated communities with no recycling and no power</a> by using solar-powered systems. This makes DRAM applicable anywhere humans live, waste plastic is abundant and the Sun shines – which is just about everywhere.</p>
<h2>Toward a circular economy</h2>
<p>Research has shown this approach to recycling and manufacturing is not only <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.02.009">better for the environment</a>, but it is also <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies5010007">highly profitable for individual users</a> making their own products, as well as for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2019.03.006">small- and medium-sized businesses</a>. Making your own products from open source designs simply <a href="https://www.appropedia.org/Create,_Share,_and_Save_Money_Using_Open-Source_Projects">saves you money</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361060/original/file-20201001-18-1xkmwvk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A series of photos showing how plastic waste first becomes filament and then can be used on a desktop 3D printer to make a camera bubble tripod." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361060/original/file-20201001-18-1xkmwvk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361060/original/file-20201001-18-1xkmwvk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361060/original/file-20201001-18-1xkmwvk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361060/original/file-20201001-18-1xkmwvk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361060/original/file-20201001-18-1xkmwvk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361060/original/file-20201001-18-1xkmwvk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361060/original/file-20201001-18-1xkmwvk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">From waste to filament to a camera tripod.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joshua M. Pearce</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>DRAM allows custom products to be made for <a href="https://www.appropedia.org/Create,_Share,_and_Save_Money_Using_Open-Source_Projects">less than the sales tax on conventional consumer products</a>. Millions of free 3D-printable designs already exist – everything from <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/designs4040050">learning aids for kids</a> to <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies5010007">household products</a> to <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/geriatrics3040089">adaptive aids for arthritis sufferers</a>. Prosumers are already 3D-printing these products, saving themselves collectively millions of dollars. </p>
<p>One study found <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies5030045">MyMiniFactory users saved over $4 million in one month alone</a> in 2017 just by making toys themselves, instead of purchasing them. Consumers can invest in a desktop 3D printer for around US$250 and earn a <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies5010007">return on investment of over 100%</a> by making their own products. The return on investment goes higher if they use recycled plastic. For example, using a recyclebot on waste computer plastic makes it possible to print <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.09.023">300 camera lens hoods for the same price as a single one on Amazon</a>. </p>
<p>Individuals can also profit by 3D-printing for others. Thousands are offering their services in markets like <a href="https://www.makexyz.com/">Makexyz</a>, <a href="https://www.3dhubs.com/">3D Hubs</a>, <a href="https://www.ponoko.com/">Ponoko</a> or <a href="https://printathing.com/">Print a Thing</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/376140/original/file-20201221-15-drtiul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A skateboard is held up before a large 3D printer." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/376140/original/file-20201221-15-drtiul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/376140/original/file-20201221-15-drtiul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=233&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376140/original/file-20201221-15-drtiul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=233&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376140/original/file-20201221-15-drtiul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=233&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376140/original/file-20201221-15-drtiul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376140/original/file-20201221-15-drtiul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376140/original/file-20201221-15-drtiul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Gigabot X 3D printer makes larger items.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Samantha Snabes/re:3D</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Small companies or fab labs can purchase industrial printers like the GigabotX and make <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2019.03.006">high returns printing large sporting goods equipment</a> like snowshoes, skateboard decks and kayak paddles from local waste.</p>
<h2>Scaling up</h2>
<p>Large companies that make plastic products already recycle their own waste. Now, with DRAM, households can too. If many people start recycling their own plastic, it will help prevent the negative impact that plastic is having on the environment. In this way DRAM may provide a path to a circular economy, but it will not be able to solve the plastic problem until it scales up with more users. Luckily we are already on our way.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1311613861171257346"}"></div></p>
<p>3D printer filament is now listed in Amazon Basics along with other “everyday items,” which indicates plastic-based 3D printers are becoming mainstream. Most families still do not have an in-home 3D printer, let alone a reyclebot or GigabotX. </p>
<p>For DRAM to become a viable path to the circular economy, larger tools could be housed at neighborhood-level enterprises such as small local businesses, makerspaces, fabrication labs or even schools. France is already studying the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.104531">creation of small businesses</a> that would pick up plastic waste at schools to make 3D filament. </p>
<p>I remember saving box tops to help fund my grade school. Future students may bring leftover plastic from home (after making their own products) to help fund their schools using DRAM.</p>
<p>[<em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/147081/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Professor Joshua M. Pearce has received funding from the Air Force Research Laboratory (ARFL) through America Makes: The National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, which is managed and operated by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM). He also receives funding from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), and the National Science Foundation (NSF) for 3D printing and recycling related projects. In addition, his past and present research is supported by many non-profits and for-profit companies in the open source additive manufacturing industry including re:3D, Miller, Aleph Objects, Lulzbot, CNC Router Parts, Virtual Foundry, Ultimaker and Youmagine, Cheap 3D Filaments, MyMiniFactory, Zeni Kinetic, Matter Hackers, and Ultimachine. </span></em></p>Consumers can turn plastic waste into valuable products at minimal cost using the open source technologies associated with DRAM – distributed recycling and additive manufacturing.Joshua M. Pearce, Wite Professor of Materials Science & Engineering, and Electrical & Computer Engineering, Michigan Technological UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1458982020-09-18T12:07:39Z2020-09-18T12:07:39ZCOVID-19 vaccines: Open source licensing could keep Big Pharma from making huge profits off taxpayer-funded research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357982/original/file-20200914-18-qfqjei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=71%2C26%2C5911%2C4126&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How many vaccines will be needed to vaccinate the world against COVID-19?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/covid-19-vaccine-with-world-map-in-background-royalty-free-image/1248797862?adppopup=true">Tetra Images/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>An international, multi-billion-dollar race is underway to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, and progress is <a href="https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2020/08/health/coronavirus-vaccine-race-intl/">moving at record speed,</a> but with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30402-1">nationalistic,</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/05/us/politics/coronavirus-vaccine-espionage.html">competitive undertones</a>. If and when an effective vaccine is invented, its production will require an unprecedented effort to vaccinate people across the globe. </p>
<p>However, for the country that invents a safe and effective vaccine, at least in the urgent short term, it will be politically difficult to export vaccines before their own population is immunized. “The only solution,” vaccine development scientist Sandy Douglas told The New York Times, “is to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/02/us/politics/vaccines-coronavirus-research.html">make a hell of a lot of vaccine in a lot of different places.”</a> But how?</p>
<p>Having the public sector fund contracts with vaccine makers is a key component to meeting this future, unprecedented, distribution challenge. But in the United States, there seem to be some disturbing trends.</p>
<p>We are faculty affiliated with two University of Massachusetts campuses. <a href="https://www.uml.edu/Health-Sciences/biomedical-nutritional/faculty/Ford-Timothy.aspx">Ford studies environmental microbiology</a> and infectious disease and is former director of the Institute of Global Health at UMass Amherst. <a href="https://works.bepress.com/charles_schweik/">Schweik studies</a> how humanity can leverage the internet to collaborate and share innovations toward solving pressing societal problems. COVID-19 is such a problem.</p>
<h2>Public sector vaccine R&D contracting</h2>
<p>Early-stage vaccine R&D often relies on <a href="https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20200501.798711/full/">substantial public sector investment</a>, and this is certainly the case for COVID-19. There are at least <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/science/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker.html">26 vaccines undergoing human trials</a>, nine of which are in Phase 3. If results demonstrate safety and effectiveness, regulators will approve a vaccine license that will allow the <a href="https://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center/making-vaccines/process-vaccine-development">organization that invented it to begin manufacturing and distribution</a>.</p>
<p>In the United States, there are many firms with active COVID-19 vaccine R&D contracts financed with <a href="https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2020/08/health/coronavirus-vaccine-race-intl/">large sums of taxpayer money</a>. For example, the company Moderna, which has a vaccine in Phase 3 trials, has <a href="https://investors.modernatx.com/news-releases/news-release-details/moderna-announces-expansion-barda-agreement-support-larger-phase">received a contract valued at approximately US$955 million.</a> Contracts like these typically fall under the jurisdiction of the <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/96/hr6933/text">Bayh-Dole Act</a> of 1980, a law that grants the inventing firm exclusive license over the product patent. But this law also provides safeguards – “march-in rights” – that allows the federal government to withdraw the exclusivity license if the patented invention is <a href="https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20200501.798711/full/">not made available to the public under “reasonable terms</a>.” </p>
<p>Overpricing – essentially asking taxpayers to pay twice for the vaccine, once supporting research and development and then again for purchasing the actual vaccine – would be an example of a situation where march-in rights could apply. In that scenario, the federal government could revoke the exclusive rights from the inventing firm and grant new licenses to other companies to proceed with manufacturing and distribution.</p>
<p>There is, however, an <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/680/674534.pdf">alternative mechanism called “Other Transaction Agreements” </a> (OTA) that allows federal agencies to enter into legally binding R&D contracts which fall outside of the standard types overseen by Bayh-Dole provisions. OTA-based contracts, therefore, are exempt from the “march-in” <a href="https://www.keionline.org/bn-2020-3">safety provisions established by Bayh-Dole</a>. Several current vaccine and other COVID-19-related R&D contracts fall under OTAs. </p>
<p>In these cases, U.S. government agencies made an explicit choice to arrange OTAs with these companies. Consequently, pharmaceutical companies receiving funds could potentially charge unreasonably high prices for their COVID-19 treatment or vaccine, and the U.S. Federal Government <a href="https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20200501.798711/full/">has no “march-in” recourse</a> to revoke the exclusive license to sell the taxpayer-funded vaccine.</p>
<p>Under OTAs, America’s large financial investments in COVID-19 vaccine development could allow firms control over how their inventions are sold, manufactured and distributed. But to be fair, at least one company – Johnson & Johnson – who received an OTA contract has publicly stated: “We have from the beginning decided we are going to do this <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2020/03/30/johnson--johnson-is-already-ramping-up-production-on-its-1-billion-coronavirus-vaccine/#7fec9e87aa66">not for profit so that the vaccine becomes affordable and available</a> on a global scale as quickly as possible.” </p>
<h2>Open sharing of innovations: A case from the industrial revolution</h2>
<p>But if society needs to rapidly invent and deliver a vaccine – <a href="https://developingeconomics.org/2020/07/16/the-use-and-abuse-of-the-phrase-global-public-good/">a global public good</a> – with taxpayer money, why are U.S. federal agencies establishing OTAs that relinquish the government’s ability to share and deploy these inventions and production processes with the world? </p>
<p>We believe that as the U.S. federal government considers future funding to support vaccine manufacturing, policymakers and agency officials need to craft contracts with the suppliers that mandate open sharing of all vaccine production, quality control and distribution.</p>
<p>Schweik has studied open source software that comes with an associated copyright license that <a href="https://works.bepress.com/charles_schweik/29/">promotes free and broad sharing</a>. This licensing dates back to the mid-1980s. The invention of the “General Public License,” sometimes referred to as a viral or reciprocal license, meant that should an improvement be made, the new software version automatically inherits the same license as its parent. We believe that in a time of a global pandemic, a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine should be licensed with General Public License-like properties.</p>
<p>It turns out, in the early days of the Industrial Revolution, in an effort to rapidly develop standardized small arms parts, the U.S. Army and the Springfield Massachusetts Armory gave contractors open access to designs of new manufacturing equipment with the explicit requirement that if they improved the machines or processes related to them, they had to share these innovations with the national armories and their rival contractors. If these organizations did not comply, they would likely be <a href="https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI3000353/">denied future contractual opportunities</a>. In essence, the armory established a contracting policy similar to General Public License invented roughly 150 years later, which then led to rapid innovation.</p>
<h2>A pandemic requires open source sharing</h2>
<p>Fortunately, some pharmaceutical companies, national governments, nonprofits like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and international organizations like the <a href="https://cepi.net/">Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Initiatives</a> – which supports vaccine development – are putting policies in place that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/19/us/politics/coronavirus-vaccine-competition.html">embrace openness and sharing</a> rather than intellectual property protection. </p>
<p>Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Initiatives officials have stated that all of their funding agreements require that “appropriate vaccines are first available to populations when and where they are needed to end an outbreak or curtail an epidemic, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/02/us/politics/vaccines-coronavirus-research.html">regardless of ability to pay.”</a> That’s an important start. </p>
<p>However, when there is a safe, effective COVID-19 vaccine, the U.S. and other national governments need to create contractual agreements with firms that provide fair and reasonable funding to cover their costs or even some reasonable profit margin while still mandating the open sharing of the processes for vaccine production, quality assurance and rapid global distribution.</p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>Of course, rapid global distribution is only the initial goal. To be sustainable, a critical mass of developing country vaccine manufacturers will be necessary, together with a support system for these manufacturers that provides regulatory guidance and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6291766/pdf/AJPH.2014.302236r.pdf">access to new formulations</a>. </p>
<p>The longer-term goal must be to build sustainable vaccine manufacturing capacity within low- and middle-income countries. This requires a support system leveraged through the WHO and associated organizations such as <a href="https://www.gavi.org/">Gavi</a> to provide regulatory guidance and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6291766/pdf/AJPH.2014.302236r.pdf">access to new formulations</a> through this open source process.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/145898/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Governments must embrace policies that promote sharing and collective invention to create and distribute a vaccine quickly.Charles M. Schweik, Professor of Environmental Conservation, UMass AmherstTimothy Ford, Professor and Chair of Biomedical and Nutritional Sciences, UMass LowellLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1331772020-03-12T14:06:49Z2020-03-12T14:06:49ZThere’s hope, if we wake up to today’s evolutionary potential<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319547/original/file-20200310-61060-cgz5mj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Everyone needs to be fired up with a rage aligned with the feminine principle of care rather than the masculine principle of control.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">GettyImages</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The world is in the grip of two massive opposing forces. While many different forces will shape our future, these two in particular loom large. One is the overwhelming and relentless shift towards the sustainable world envisaged by the <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300">Sustainable Development Goals</a>. In particular, the goal to eradicate poverty without blowing the fuses of the planet. </p>
<p>The other is the force that thrives on inequality, boasts about toxic masculinity, mocks democratic freedoms, and champions big and shiny mega-projects. It rejects the significance of climate change and imminent threats to life.</p>
<p>Our futures depend on how this titanic battle plays itself out. Remarkably, though, what will make all the difference in our hyper-connected world are the choices that individuals and communities make now. </p>
<p>Marked by the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the UN in 2015 and the <a href="https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/what-is-the-paris-agreement">Paris Agreement</a> on the Climate in the same year, the shift towards sustainability brings together a range of disparate but energetic forces. These include the <a href="https://theconversation.com/school-climate-strikes-what-next-for-the-latest-generation-of-activists-111594">youth protest against climate</a> extinction and the scientific consensus about the global threats to life as we know it. </p>
<p>It also brings together the movement against the rising tide of gender-based violence and the increasingly strident rejection of a world so unequal that 1% of the world’s population can amass more wealth than the poorest <a href="https://www.albawaba.com/business/report-world%E2%80%99s-richest-1-percent-more-6.9-billion-people">6.9 billion</a> put together. </p>
<p>The shift towards sustainability gains expression in images of mass protests, massive UN summits, solemn scientific panels and the faces of the new child heroes from all continents. The force that thrives on inequality and rejects the significance of climate change is expressed in the noxious images of arrogant male leaders like Donald Trump (US), Jair Bolsonaro (President of Brazil), Rodrigo Duerte (President of Philippines), Boris Johnson (PM of UK), Recep Tayyip Erdogan (President of Turkey), Viktor Orban (PM of Hungary) and Jacob Zuma (former President of South Africa). </p>
<p>I discuss these opposing forces in my book, <a href="https://www.loot.co.za/product/mark-swilling-the-age-of-sustainability/stlp-6276-g590">Age of Sustainability: Just Transitions in a Complex World</a>. And how they are unfolding at a global level. </p>
<p>I offer a theory of change that goes beyond relying on the belief that at some point there will be a rupture resulting in the seizure of state power by a revolutionary elite that ushers in a new society. Nor do I accept the musings of the doom and gloom brigade who assume that a cataclysmic environmental collapse is pretty much inevitable.</p>
<p>Instead I argue that everyone needs to be fired up with a sense of deep rage: but a rage aligned with the feminine principle of care rather than the masculine principle of control. In my view this is what’s needed to animate the struggle against the forces bent on subverting the transition to a more sustainable world. </p>
<h2>The global commons as a force for good</h2>
<p>The Brazilian Harvard-based social theorist <a href="https://bigthink.com/u/roberto-unger">Roberto Unger</a> writes about what he calls “structure fetishism” – an obsession with the power of social structures. I argue that this fetishism tends to block us off from the significance of the immense transformative, creative and effervescent impulses that bubble up from below. These impulses arise as people and communities respond to the crisis by figuring out solutions for themselves. </p>
<p>This is what radical incrementalism is all about. Radical incrementalism isn’t about reforms that greenwash the status quo. Nor is it about waiting for the revolution. It’s about exploiting the evolutionary potential of the present. </p>
<p>But this doesn’t obliterate a role for the state. Indeed, I devote a whole chapter to rethinking the developmental state in light of the need to connect a commitment to development – to eradicate poverty and reduce inequalities – with a commitment to a just transition to a more sustainable world. </p>
<p>A just transition means fundamental changes in the way economies are structured and governed – an outcome that conventional economists cannot conceive. </p>
<p>To understand radical incrementalism as a force for global change, we must pay much closer attention to the rise of the commons that’s been made possible by new information and communication technologies. The commons is the increasingly significant peer-to-peer exchange economy. It’s sometimes referred to the as the ‘platform economy’. The for-profit extractive versions of this mode of ‘platform capitalsim’ include the likes of Uber, AirBnB and Facebook.</p>
<p>But there are examples of non-profit collaborative peer-to-peer systems. These include Mozilla Firefox (free online web browser), Wikipedia (free online encyclopia), Linux (an open source operating system) and Apache Servers (free open source webserver software), </p>
<p>The <a href="https://commonstransition.org/peer-to-peer-a-commons-manifesto/">global commons movement</a> celebrates the extraordinary human potential that information and communication technologies could unleash if peer-to-peer platform cooperation became more all-pervasive. The primary threat to this is the corporate-led enclosure movement of the information commons. Tech giants like Google, Facebook and a vast array of others mine and extract big data flows in ways that subvert the creative spirit of open source collaboration. </p>
<p>Peer-to-peer cooperation – often just known as “wiki systems” – depend on voluntary workers. They collectively build a knowledge commons that becomes an open source resource that everyone can access to build their own for-gain enterprises. </p>
<p>The expanding commons is not an alternative to the market and state. Rather it’s a new mode of peer-to-peer production that will require a regulatory environment to flourish, and market dynamics to spread.</p>
<h2>Rediscovering what it means to be human</h2>
<p>Change in our complex world will require that we recognise the end of the classic conception of what it means to be human. Represented most clearly by da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, this classic conception portrayed the white, perfectly proportioned male who is alone, disconnected from people (especially those with darker skins) and nature as the ideal way to be human. All else was ‘othered’. </p>
<p>Feminism challenged the othering of women, post-colonial studies the othering that racism aimed to justify, and political ecology the othering of nature. </p>
<p>What we have now is the relational self. Or what sub-Saharan African writers refer to this as <a href="https://philpapers.org/rec/MURAEA-4">Ukama</a> – the relatedness to all people, all things (animate and inanimate) and the ancestors. The Ukamian relational self is the appropriate way of being human in the sustainability age.</p>
<p>The chapters in the book explore this relational way of being across many different contexts with special reference to what sustainability means in the global South. </p>
<p>But what about the counter force? </p>
<p>I explore the rise of extractive authoritarianism around the world, and the way toxic masculinity is being harnessed as a powerful narrative to simulate certainty in a world conditioned to fear uncertainty. </p>
<p><a href="https://sastatecapture.org.za/">State capture</a> in South Africa is used as a case study. Bringing together for the first time the burgeoning literature on toxic masculinity and the political economy literature on state capture, I argue that what emerged during the years under former President Jacob Zuma is best described as “electro-masculinity”. By this I mean a deadly cocktail of climate denialism, the celebration of big and shiny mega-projects, systemic looting and a toxic masculinity. </p>
<p>To activate wave upon wave of radical incrementalist transformative action, it will be necessary to wake people from their slumber and provoke the numbed into awareness. Science on its own cannot do this. Rage helps. Nor will doom and gloom do the trick – that just leads to paralysis.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/133177/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>He has received funding from the National Research Foundation, Open Society Foundation and the International Resource Panel. </span></em></p>How two massive opposing forces - the shift towards a sustainable world and the force that thrives on inequality - are unfolding at a global level.Mark Swilling, Distinguished Professor of Sustainable Development, Stellenbosch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1188362019-06-26T20:27:04Z2019-06-26T20:27:04ZBellingcat’s report on MH17 shows citizens can and will do intelligence work<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280836/original/file-20190623-61747-ktbthw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Large groups inherently possess more diverse knowledge, expertise and perspectives.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/uD1ieQvG81c">Tim de Groot/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Amid the news last week that the perpetrators responsible for shooting down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) will be put to trial next March, a report was released identifying further suspects responsible for <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/peeling-away-russias-lies-about-the-downed-malaysia-airlines-flight/2019/06/20/611a7a1c-92b6-11e9-aadb-74e6b2b46f6a_story.html?utm_term=.2fd974c37198">escorting the missile to and from the launch site</a>.</p>
<p>Who were the investigators behind the report? The CIA? MI6? No. It was <a href="https://www.bellingcat.com/">Bellingcat</a>, a large group of mostly volunteers working from laptops using only information available to anyone with an internet connection. </p>
<p>In February, Bellingcat also <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-47246317">identified a third suspect</a> alleged to have been involved in the poisoning of MI6 double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the United Kingdom last year. </p>
<p>Bellingcat describes itself as citizen journalists, but its activities illustrate a growing phenomenon my colleagues and I call “citizen intelligence.” This is work that would count as intelligence gathering or analysis within an intelligence organisation, but it’s undertaken by citizens operating outside the traditional intelligence ecosystem. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-clever-people-help-societies-work-together-better-93463">How clever people help societies work together better</a>
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<h2>The rise of citizen intelligence</h2>
<p>Citizen intelligence has been made possible by the internet in various ways. </p>
<p>Since its advent, we’ve seen an explosion of “open source” information. That is, data that’s accessible without any special organisational privileges. For example, just by opening Google Earth you can view satellite data of the kind only available to analysts in government agencies not many years ago. </p>
<p>There are now free new tools for gathering and analysing these vast troves of information, such as the analysis platform <a href="https://www.paterva.com/web7/buy/maltego-clients/maltego-ce.php">Maltego</a>. Aspiring citizen analysts can now train themselves using resources available online or in workshops offered by various organisations. </p>
<p>Expertise in intelligence work is no longer the preserve of those hired and trained by traditional organisations. Powerful collaboration platforms, such as Google Docs, allow interested individuals to work effectively together, even when scattered around the world. </p>
<h2>It could get even bigger</h2>
<p>We’ve all seen how global, cloud-based marketplaces such as Amazon, Airbnb and Uber have transformed their respective domains. Citizen intelligence could grow even faster if a suitable marketplace is developed. At <a href="https://www.swarmproject.info">the SWARM Project</a>, we’ve begun exploring the potential design of a platform where those seeking intelligence can transact with those willing to provide it.</p>
<p>What might that look like? A marketplace for citizen intelligence could be built on a “sponsored challenge” crowdsourcing model. </p>
<p>Imagine an organisation with an intelligence question. Say, for example, the organisation wants to identify potential threats to a proposed infrastructure development in an unstable region. The organisation pays to have the question posed as a challenge on the platform, with a prize for the best answer. Groups of citizen analysts self-organize and submit reports. When the deadline is up, the best report garners the prize – and bragging rights. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-cant-expect-intelligence-services-to-prevent-every-terrorist-attack-36676">We can't expect intelligence services to prevent every terrorist attack</a>
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<h2>Why crowdsourced citizen intelligence could be effective</h2>
<p>There are reasons to think that crowdsourced citizen intelligence could match, or outperform, traditional intelligence organisations on some kinds of tasks. Traditional organisations have advantages, such as access to classified information and highly trained analysts, but crowdsourcing has compensating strengths. </p>
<p><strong>Scale</strong></p>
<p>Many intelligence organisations are small and under-resourced for the number and complexity of issues they are supposed to handle. Crowdsourced intelligence can potentially draw from much larger pools of citizens. For example, the analytics crowdsourcing platform <a href="https://www.kaggle.com/">Kaggle</a> has over a million people signed up, and it gets literally thousands of teams competing on big challenges. </p>
<p><strong>Diversity</strong></p>
<p>With scale comes diversity. Large groups inherently possess more diverse knowledge, expertise and perspectives. A question like the one in the example above might require fluency in an obscure dialect, or specific technical know-how. No intelligence agency can maintain in-house everything it might need for any problem. </p>
<p><strong>Agility</strong></p>
<p>Crowds can be more agile than agencies, which are risk-averse bureaucracies. For example, individuals can more quickly access and use many of the latest analytical methods and tools. </p>
<p><strong>Passion</strong></p>
<p>Perhaps most importantly, intelligence work by unpaid volunteers is driven primarily by passion. Passion certainly exists within agencies, but is often stifled in various ways. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-popular-culture-gets-australian-spy-work-wrong-78902">How popular culture gets Australian spy work wrong</a>
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<p>The SWARM Project ran a tournament-style experiment in 2018 that illustrated how everyday citizens can sometimes beat the professionals. Teams tackled four tough, fictional intelligence problems over four weeks. Some teams were made up of analysts provided by organisations with intelligence functions, some of analysts recruited via Facebook, and some of citizens (non-analysts) recruited via Facebook. </p>
<p>On average, the citizen teams outperformed the professional analysts – and some of the citizen reports were astonishingly good. </p>
<h2>How this could affect the intelligence industry</h2>
<p>Citizen intelligence will likely create some headaches for intelligence agencies. For example decision makers might increasingly look to citizen sources over formal intelligence agencies – particularly where citizen intelligence delivers reports more quickly, or with more “convenient” findings.</p>
<p>On the other hand, citizen intelligence could have a lot to offer intelligence organisations. A suitably designed marketplace might enable the traditional agencies to take advantage of the power inherent in the crowd. Such a platform could be a “force multiplier”, at least for certain aspects of intelligence.</p>
<p>In view of these potential threats and opportunities, the Australian intelligence community should get on the front foot, shaping the future of citizen intelligence rather than just reacting to it. </p>
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<p><em>This is a condensed version of a presentation given at the Technology Surprise Forum, Safeguarding Australia Summit, Canberra May 2019</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118836/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim van Gelder receives funding from the U.S. Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity, via the SWARM Project at the University of Melbourne. He is a member of the Australian Institute of Professional Intelligence Officers. </span></em></p>Intelligence work is no longer the sole preserve of intelligence agencies. Powerful platforms now allow everyday people to gather intelligence collaboratively – even from opposite sides of the world.Tim van Gelder, Enterprise Research Fellow, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1086572018-12-17T11:39:19Z2018-12-17T11:39:19ZWhy you should give your grandparents a 3D printer for Christmas<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250327/original/file-20181212-110249-1j5edjc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C35%2C982%2C712&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">3D printed adaptive aids can cut costs by more than 94 percent.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">J.M. Pearce</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Senior citizens might really like – and use – a 3D printer. That’s the surprising, and money-saving, conclusion of a new study I co-authored: 3D printers can <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/geriatrics3040089">save arthritis patients money</a> by more cheaply manufacturing plastic gadgets that help them do routine tasks like open jars and put on socks.</p>
<p>By 2040, about <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/data_statistics/arthritis-related-stats.htm">one-quarter of the U.S. population</a> is expected to have arthritis – a physical ailment making joint movements difficult and painful. In addition to their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/art.22565">health care expenses</a>, arthritis patients often have additional needs that do not show up on medical bills and are not covered by insurance. For example, people with arthritic hands can find daily tasks like opening jars – or even eating with a spoon – to be cumbersome and painful. Many companies make and sell adaptive aids like <a href="https://www.arthritissupplies.com/right-hand-scoop-spoon.html">specially shaped spoons</a> and special handles that makes a toothbrush easier to hold. Some patients need dozens of these sorts of items, to help with various daily tasks. But those devices can be expensive – a <a href="https://www.arthritissupplies.com/right-hand-scoop-spoon.html">basic adaptive spoon can cost US$25</a>, vastly more than a standard spoon in any shop.</p>
<p>Other assistive items like key holders and pill-splitters can help arthritis patients continue to live independently. Though many of these items are made of cheap plastic, the costs can be prohibitively high for poor people as well as better-off people living on fixed incomes. Research I participated in found that using free online designs and a basic 3D printer to make these assistive aids can <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2308-3417/3/4/89">save arthritis patients more than 94 percent</a> of the cost of the commercially available products. A typical adaptive aid costs about $25; a 3D printed one costs about a dollar. That generates savings that add up to more than cover the cost of the printer itself.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-jl4sLLnuQI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">How 3D printing adaptive aids saves money.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What would Grandma make?</h2>
<p>There are dozens of adaptive aids that can be printed for pennies, helping with tasks like refueling a car, chopping vegetables and using scissors.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250091/original/file-20181211-76971-jpqpik.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250091/original/file-20181211-76971-jpqpik.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250091/original/file-20181211-76971-jpqpik.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250091/original/file-20181211-76971-jpqpik.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250091/original/file-20181211-76971-jpqpik.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250091/original/file-20181211-76971-jpqpik.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250091/original/file-20181211-76971-jpqpik.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250091/original/file-20181211-76971-jpqpik.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Make removing the gas cap easy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">J.M. Pearce</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250092/original/file-20181211-76974-1sy5bj3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250092/original/file-20181211-76974-1sy5bj3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250092/original/file-20181211-76974-1sy5bj3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250092/original/file-20181211-76974-1sy5bj3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250092/original/file-20181211-76974-1sy5bj3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250092/original/file-20181211-76974-1sy5bj3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250092/original/file-20181211-76974-1sy5bj3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250092/original/file-20181211-76974-1sy5bj3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">3D printing makes opening locks even with tiny keys less painful.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">J.M. Pearce</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250093/original/file-20181211-76962-14x1yuf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250093/original/file-20181211-76962-14x1yuf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250093/original/file-20181211-76962-14x1yuf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250093/original/file-20181211-76962-14x1yuf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250093/original/file-20181211-76962-14x1yuf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250093/original/file-20181211-76962-14x1yuf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250093/original/file-20181211-76962-14x1yuf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250093/original/file-20181211-76962-14x1yuf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chop your veggies again with ease.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">J.M. Pearce</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250096/original/file-20181211-76968-oy7oa3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250096/original/file-20181211-76968-oy7oa3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250096/original/file-20181211-76968-oy7oa3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250096/original/file-20181211-76968-oy7oa3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250096/original/file-20181211-76968-oy7oa3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250096/original/file-20181211-76968-oy7oa3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250096/original/file-20181211-76968-oy7oa3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250096/original/file-20181211-76968-oy7oa3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">3D printing can help cut paper.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">J.M. Pearce</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our study technically and economically evaluated 20 fully free open-source designs for adaptive aids designed by Michigan Tech students and made available on <a href="http://www.appropedia.org/Economic_Potential_for_Distributed_Manufacturing_of_Adaptive_Aids_for_Arthritis_Patients_in_the_U.S.#Gallery">Appropedia</a> and <a href="https://www.myminifactory.com/">MyMiniFactory</a>. This is just a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mechatronics.2013.06.002">tiny fraction of the 3D printed products available for anyone</a> with access to a 3D printer. People can download not just the designs for free, but also software that lets them adapt, personalize or customize the items for themselves or their loved ones. </p>
<p>We found that we could 3D print all 20 example adaptive aids for $20 – the cost of the plastic filament the 3D printer uses to make items. On the commercial market, the adaptive aids would cost over $20 each. A person, or family, who 3D printed 25 aids would save enough to more than pay for a <a href="https://mashable.com/2018/05/04/best-3d-printers-for-beginners/">relatively inexpensive $500 3D printer</a> – and a senior center that 3D printed another 50 could easily recoup the cost of a middle-range commercial desktop 3D printer.</p>
<p>Some people’s insurance or Medicare plan does help pay for adaptive aids. But even then patients usually must pay a portion, with copays around <a href="https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/durable-medical-equipment-dme-coverage">20 percent</a>. Our analysis found that even this group of patients would save significant amounts of money 3D printing their assistance items at home.</p>
<h2>Arthritis attacks the young, too</h2>
<p>Arthritis is not just for old people. For example, professional tennis player <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/26/sport/caroline-wozniacki-rheumatoid-arthritis-tennis-wta-finals-spt-intl/index.html">Caroline Wozniacki</a> was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at age 28, just a few weeks before the 2018 U.S. Open. Like most young people diagnosed with arthritis, she was shocked. </p>
<p>Younger people diagnosed with what is often viewed as an old person’s disease may <a href="https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/young-people/living-with-arthritis/">feel embarrassed</a> and want to limit the number of people who know about their condition. Those patients would no doubt be glad to save the money, but perhaps be even more interested in 3D printing because it would let them customize and build their aid items in the privacy of their own homes.</p>
<p>Consider, for example, the normally private act of clipping your toenails. Some people with arthritis find it difficult to do this with small nail clippers, so they get <a href="https://www.groupon.com/articles/what-is-a-pedicure-guide-to-cost-tips-and-types">pedicures that cost in general between $35 and $60</a>. Some might pay <a href="https://www.arthritissupplies.com/deluxe-nail-care-board.html">$36 to buy a plastic handle</a> that attaches to a standard nail clipper, letting them cut their own nails at home. But a 3D printed handle costs about a dollar – a 97 percent savings.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250330/original/file-20181212-110237-12vybpt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250330/original/file-20181212-110237-12vybpt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250330/original/file-20181212-110237-12vybpt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250330/original/file-20181212-110237-12vybpt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250330/original/file-20181212-110237-12vybpt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250330/original/file-20181212-110237-12vybpt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250330/original/file-20181212-110237-12vybpt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250330/original/file-20181212-110237-12vybpt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A 3D printed adapter fits standard nail clippers, letting people use a larger lever to clip their own nails.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">J.M. Pearce</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How can you get 3D printed aids?</h2>
<p>Making adaptive aids using a 3D printer is particularly useful because of how easy it is to customize printed items for a person’s hand size or personal aesthetic. The software programs that make and modify designs, and that control 3D printers, are <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies5010007">getting easier to use</a>; in any case, many older people are technically adept. In fact, some of the <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:380987">best 3D printable designs</a> for <a href="http://www.appropedia.org/Recyclebot">recyclebots</a> were made by a retired engineer.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250095/original/file-20181211-76980-h8srnm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250095/original/file-20181211-76980-h8srnm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250095/original/file-20181211-76980-h8srnm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250095/original/file-20181211-76980-h8srnm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250095/original/file-20181211-76980-h8srnm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250095/original/file-20181211-76980-h8srnm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250095/original/file-20181211-76980-h8srnm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250095/original/file-20181211-76980-h8srnm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Writing is easy again with a 3D printed pen holder.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">J.M. Pearce</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Of course, not everyone is interested in buying the machinery or learning how to use it. In many communities there are volunteers who are willing to <a href="https://ultimaker.com/en/blog/52650-connecting-students-and-seniors-to-solve-real-world-challenges-using-3d-printing">help people with disabilities</a> or medical conditions make what they need. The <a href="https://www.makersmakingchange.com/">Makers Making Change</a> nonprofit group even takes requests online. Many <a href="http://themakermap.com">community centers</a> and <a href="https://opensource.com/article/17/12/paying-it-forward-aalto-fab-lab">local libraries</a> also offer machinery, software and knowledgeable helpers. Senior centers and medical offices may soon start offering similar services as well, helping people with arthritis help themselves every day.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108657/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Professor Joshua M. Pearce receives funding from the Air Force Research Laboratory (ARFL) through America Makes: The National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, which is managed and operated by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM). He also receives funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), and the National Science Foundation (NSF) for 3D printing related projects. In addition, his past and present research is supported by many non-profits and for-profit companies in the open source additive manufacturing industry including re:3D, 3D4Edu, Miller, Aleph Objects, CNC Router Parts, Virtual Foundry, Ultimaker and Youmagine, Cheap 3D Filaments, MyMiniFactory, Zeni Kinetic, Matter Hackers, and Ultimachine. He has no direct conflicts of interests.</span></em></p>Seniors and other people suffering from arthritis could do more daily tasks for themselves, and save money, by 3D printing their own small plastic aids, like key holders and pill-splitters.Joshua M. Pearce, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, and Electrical and Computer Engineering, Michigan Technological UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1044732018-10-17T10:27:50Z2018-10-17T10:27:50ZOpen-source hardware could defend against the next generation of hacking<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240672/original/file-20181015-165900-11odtkc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What if you could make a microchip at home?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/view-on-production-line-microchips-progress-439506838">Vladimir Nenezic/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Imagine you had a secret document you had to store away from prying eyes. And you have a choice: You could buy a safe made by a company that kept the workings of its locks secret. Or you could buy a safe whose manufacturer openly published the designs, letting everyone – including thieves – see how they’re made. Which would you choose?</p>
<p>It might seem unexpected, but as an <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=QZ8lPxwAAAAJ&hl=en">engineering professor</a>, I’d pick the second option. The first one might be safe – but I simply don’t know. I’d have to take the company’s word for it. Maybe it’s a reputable company with a longstanding pedigree of quality, but I’d be betting my information’s security on the company upholding its traditions. By contrast, I can judge the security of the second safe for myself – or ask an expert to evaluate it. I’ll be better informed about how secure my safe is, and therefore more confident that my document is safe inside it. That’s the value of open-source technology. </p>
<p>Computer hardware is, for the most part, like the safe whose security mechanisms are secret. Any weaknesses are hidden, as well as any of their strengths. In the wake of revelations that <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-10-04/the-big-hack-how-china-used-a-tiny-chip-to-infiltrate-america-s-top-companies">Chinese spies may have been able to install a tiny computer chip</a> inside devices used by as many as 30 companies, like Amazon and Apple, as well as the U.S. military and the CIA, I suggest re-evaluating the hardware people and corporations rely on to protect their secrets.</p>
<p>Hacking hardware is particularly dangerous because it can bypass even the most secure programming safeguards – like taking control of a server without needing a password at all. Hardware customers could benefit from the clear – if surprising – lesson the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/03/opinion/open-source-software-hacker-voting.html">software industry has learned</a> from decades of fighting prolific software hackers: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/1188913.1188921">Open-source systems can be more secure</a>.</p>
<h2>Lessons from open-source software</h2>
<p>Software users and developers already embrace computer software whose source code is publicly accessible. <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/supercomputers-all-linux-all-the-time/">All supercomputers</a>, 90 percent of cloud servers, 82 percent of smartphones and 62 percent of embedded systems – like those inside consumer electronics – <a href="https://www.serverwatch.com/server-news/linux-foundation-on-track-for-best-year-ever-as-open-source-dominates.html">run on open-source operating systems</a>. More than <a href="https://www.itprotoday.com/iot/survey-shows-linux-top-operating-system-internet-things-devices">70 percent of “internet of things” devices</a> also use open-source software.</p>
<p>Open-source software isn’t <a href="https://doi.org/10.23919/FRUCT.2017.8250205">inherently or automatically more secure</a>. But it creates more possibilities, and <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/01/on-the-reign-of-benevolent-dictators-for-life-in-software/283139/">market pressure</a>, for <a href="https://www.infoworld.com/article/2985242/linux/why-is-open-source-software-more-secure.html">improving security</a>. Just as when choosing a safe to store a secret document in, customers must decide – should they pick a system whose security is vouched for by the company that makes it, or a system that can be explored, examined and tested?</p>
<p>Open-source software users choose not to trust a program unless they can verify it independently. Many of them don’t have the expertise themselves to be able to evaluate security claims, of course – but they can wait until consumer-protection groups do so independently, hire a verified expert to check things out, or even learn the skills needed to investigate for themselves. They could even decide to <a href="https://www.redhat.com/en/technologies/linux-platforms/enterprise-linux">pay for a version of the software</a> that has been checked out and is supported by experts. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239523/original/file-20181005-72133-110sy3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239523/original/file-20181005-72133-110sy3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239523/original/file-20181005-72133-110sy3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239523/original/file-20181005-72133-110sy3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239523/original/file-20181005-72133-110sy3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239523/original/file-20181005-72133-110sy3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239523/original/file-20181005-72133-110sy3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239523/original/file-20181005-72133-110sy3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An open-source electronics board under inspection with ultraviolet light.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shane Oberloier and Joshua Pearce</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Security with open-source hardware</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.oshwa.org/definition/">Open-source hardware</a> offers users the same choice. Many people who buy electronics have no idea what’s inside them. Even technically sophisticated companies like Amazon have to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-10-04/the-big-hack-how-china-used-a-tiny-chip-to-infiltrate-america-s-top-companies">hire outside forensic experts</a> to be sure of exactly what is in the hardware their companies rely on.</p>
<p>Open-source hardware would mean each device’s designs and components would be open for public view at any time. People could study the information, follow the directions to build a device, test it and distribute it – or even sell it. All that transparency would give attackers more data about their potential targets, for sure. But it would help customers downstream much more, by giving them the means to verify their own devices’ security themselves. </p>
<p>This does not mean people would be left to build their own hardware. The open-source software movement has found a number of <a href="https://openhardware.metajnl.com/articles/10.5334/joh.4/">opportunities for entrepreneurs and innovators</a> to sell systems and services based on software that itself is free. For instance, <a href="https://www.redhat.com/en/technologies/linux-platforms/enterprise-linux">90 percent of the companies on the Fortune Global 500 list</a> pay for a brand-name version of the open-source Linux operating system from Red Hat, a company that makes <a href="https://www.redhat.com/en/about/press-releases/red-hat-reports-fourth-quarter-and-fiscal-year-2018-results">billions of dollars a year</a> for the service they provide on top of the product that can ostensibly be downloaded for free. The open-source hardware movement is <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/inventions3030044">not yet as mature as its software counterpart</a>, but it could catch up fairly quickly.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239522/original/file-20181005-72110-1fb8i4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239522/original/file-20181005-72110-1fb8i4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239522/original/file-20181005-72110-1fb8i4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239522/original/file-20181005-72110-1fb8i4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239522/original/file-20181005-72110-1fb8i4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239522/original/file-20181005-72110-1fb8i4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239522/original/file-20181005-72110-1fb8i4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239522/original/file-20181005-72110-1fb8i4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An open-source circuit mill built using low-cost components from 3D printers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shane Oberloier and Joshua Pearce</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The future of distributed manufacturing</h2>
<p>Making open-source hardware systems more available increases regular people’s security by giving them verifiably secure options. If someone is especially concerned, they could even <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/inventions3030064">manufacture their own electronics</a>. There are a wide range of designs already publicly available on sites like <a href="https://hackaday.io/">Hackaday</a>, <a href="https://www.open-electronics.org/">Open Electronics</a> and the <a href="http://opencircuitinstitute.org/">Open Circuits Institute</a>. There are also many communities based on specific products like <a href="https://www.arduino.cc/">Arduino</a>.</p>
<p>Even <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/using-open-source-designs-to-create-more-specialized-chips/">open-source chips are gaining traction</a>. It’s already possible for people to build electronics that are open-source from the chips all the way up to the physical components. If hardware hacks become more common, that may be a key way for people to protect their cybersecurity. Companies and governments can also be expected to adopt policies that favor open-source hardware and require better testing to ensure their equipment is safe to use.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104473/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Professor Joshua M. Pearce is the author of the Open Source Lab. He receives funding for various projects involved in open hardware from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) through America Makes: The National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, which is managed and operated by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM). He also receives funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), and the National Science Foundation (NSF) for technical projects. In addition, his past and present research is supported by many non-profits and for-profit companies in the open source industry including re:3D, 3D4Edu, Miller, Aleph Objects, CNC Router Parts, Virtual Foundry, Ultimaker and Youmagine, Cheap 3D Filaments, MyMiniFactory, Zeni Kinetic, Matter Hackers, and Ultimachine. He has no direct conflicts of interests.</span></em></p>Cybersecurity efforts could take a lead from open-source software, creating hardware whose designs are open for all to see and examine.Joshua M. Pearce, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, and Electrical and Computer Engineering, Michigan Technological UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/938922018-03-27T21:41:59Z2018-03-27T21:41:59ZCorporate accelerators: bringing together startups and large firms to foster innovation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211731/original/file-20180323-54878-779ktq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C94%2C1491%2C956&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Hub:raum’s open office workspace.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hub:raum</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The article was co-written with Peter Borchers, founder Hub:raum, and Moyra Marval, PhD candidate at ESCP Europe</em>.</p>
<hr>
<p>Like start-ups and business incubators, corporate accelerators have had the wind in their sails. However, the vast differences between start-ups and larger corporations can make collaboration a challenge. In an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/JBS-12-2016-0145">article</a> published in the <em>Journal of Business Strategy</em>, we examine the experience of one of the very first corporate accelerator programs in Europe to deduce potential success factors.</p>
<h2>Accelerators have become key players, and companies are interested</h2>
<p>According to the <a href="http://gust.com/accelerator_reports/2016/global/">“Global Accelerator Report”</a> by Gust, in 2016 $207 billion dollars ($192 in 2015) were injected in 11,305 start-ups (8,836 in 2015) by 579 accelerator programs (387 in 2015). While traditional business incubators generally take no equity, are often government-funded and focus on certain industries or technologies, start-up accelerators, also known as seed accelerators, are typically privately or publicly funded and focus on a wide range of industries. Unlike business incubators, the application process for start-up accelerators also is open to anyone, and is more competitive.</p>
<p>The report also pointed out the growing ties between accelerators and corporations, with now about 52.1% (53.7% in Europe) of all accelerator programs being at least partially funded by corporates. Furthermore, 67.2% (66.8% in Europe) of all accelerator programs hope to generate revenues by selling services to corporates. As writes report co-author Miklos Grof, the co-founder of Fundacity, Campus Inc and Nosso Capital:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“On the one hand, this is because corporations are discovering that accelerators are an efficient and effective way to engage with start-ups. On the other hand, accelerators understand that corporations can help them fund operations in the short-to-medium term (exits are often far out). They improve the prospects of their portfolio companies that can potentially sell to, raise funds from, or be acquired by these corporations.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As the accelerator industry matures, there is increased collaboration between accelerators and corporations, as indicated by a 2015 study, <a href="https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/105309">“Corporate Accelerators: A Study on Prevalence, Sponsorship, and Strategy”</a>:</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211734/original/file-20180323-54881-9gm9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211734/original/file-20180323-54881-9gm9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211734/original/file-20180323-54881-9gm9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211734/original/file-20180323-54881-9gm9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211734/original/file-20180323-54881-9gm9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211734/original/file-20180323-54881-9gm9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211734/original/file-20180323-54881-9gm9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Collaboration between accelerators and corporations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/105309">Heinemann, Florian. 2015</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Corporate accelerators, one of a kind</h2>
<p>This is all the more true for corporate accelerators, a specific form of seed accelerator which are often subsidiaries or programs of larger corporations that act like start-up accelerators. In contrast to regular seed accelerator programs, corporate accelerators derive their objectives from the sponsoring for-profit organisation(s). According to <a href="https://corporate-accelerators.net/database/index.html">Corporate Accelerator DB</a>, 105 corporate accelerators were launched globally between 2013 and 2015, 47 in 2015 alone. Half of corporate accelerators launched over these three years were outsourced to a partner such as Techstars, LMarks, or Nest. The other half were directly run by large, established companies like Orange, Microsoft, Axel Springer, Telefonica, Airbus, Wells Fargo, Samsung, Barclays, Citrix, Intel, Cisco, Google, Telstra, AT&T, Coca-Cola, La Poste, Walt Disney, Mondelez and Unilever.</p>
<p>As TechSpark/The Next Silicon Valley founder <a href="http://www.thenextsiliconvalley.com/2015/10/30/8746-the-rise-of-the-corporate-accelerator/">Nitin Dahad</a> asserted in 2015, corporate accelerators were already taking the place of research and development:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Orange Fab, Microsoft Ventures, Hub:raum and Wayra [editor’s note: Telefonica’s accelerator] are just few examples of a wider trend that has been shaping the industry in the last few years. Entrepreneurs and venture-capital firms have come to recognise that corporate accelerators are now beginning to provide a strong node in the overall start-up ecosystem. Corporations encourage entrepreneurship and innovation through the community of the accelerator, and filter the most viable and promising new ideas”.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Maybe so, but why do companies do that and why do start-ups join them, as they might fear that their ideas get stolen or used by the company? Is the companies’ main motivation really the threat of digital disruptors?</p>
<h2>A match made in heaven – or in hell?</h2>
<p>Corporate accelerators can clearly fulfil a purpose for both the corporate and the entrepreneur ecosystems, but it’s not that simple: as Tobias Weiblen and Henry W. Chesbrough <a href="https://cmr.berkeley.edu/search/articleDetail.aspx?article=5782">wrote</a> in a 2015 article in the journal <em>California Management</em>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“When it comes to agility, start-ups have an edge over large corporations – whereas large corporations sit on resources which start-ups can only dream of. The combination of entrepreneurial activity with corporate ability seems like a perfect match, but can be elusive to achieve.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Corporate accelerators have faced criticism, even been called an oxymoron, as they might be less effective as seed accelerators because of their “pernicious influence”, as Canny Crichton wrote in a <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2014/08/25/corporate-accelerators-are-an-oxymoron/">2014 article</a> in <em>TechCrunch</em>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Corporate accelerator programs have the ability to connect founders to interesting networks of customers, but they also have the potential to deeply harm the early product thinking of entrepreneurs. Care is needed to ensure that these programs are accelerating start-ups, and not the corporations themselves”.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>To Thomas Kohler, corporate accelerators offer a potent approach to nurturing innovations from entrepreneurial ventures. Writing in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0007681316000094"><em>Business Horizons</em></a>, he said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“However, the vast differences between corporations and start-ups make collaboration a challenge. Corporate accelerators need to be designed effectively to add value for start-ups and create innovation benefits for the company.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>For his work, Kohler interviewed 40 managers and participants of corporate accelerators. In our research, we describe one specific program in depth to understand its value-adding determinants to early stage ventures and deduct key success factors. For five years we worked closely with the management of <a href="https://www.hubraum.com/">Hub:raum</a>, the first corporate accelerator in Germany and one of the pioneers in Europe. Founded in 2012, it enables and encourages the innovation transfer from start-up world to Deutsche Telekom, creating business opportunities for both sides. More than 200 start-ups at sites in Berlin, Krakow and Tel Aviv have been supported, and direct investments were made in more than 20 of them.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211736/original/file-20180323-54866-j7yzjq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211736/original/file-20180323-54866-j7yzjq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=221&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211736/original/file-20180323-54866-j7yzjq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=221&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211736/original/file-20180323-54866-j7yzjq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=221&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211736/original/file-20180323-54866-j7yzjq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=278&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211736/original/file-20180323-54866-j7yzjq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=278&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211736/original/file-20180323-54866-j7yzjq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=278&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hub:raum has accelerated start-ups like DeviceHub, the first open-source ecosystem management platform for the Internet of things (IoT).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hub:raum</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What the case study reveals</h2>
<p>The example of Hub:raum is telling because of its success, and the research’s main findings could help start-ups and large firms work better together and thereby enjoy more benefits:</p>
<p>First, while in the beginning these programs’ objectives varied considerably (attracting talent, image, good place to work, PR, innovation), there now is a a growing focus on business development goals.</p>
<p>Second, several areas of conflict between the start-ups and the corporate sponsor can occur. They are mainly due to:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Different speeds in the decision-making process</p></li>
<li><p>Evolving strategy both at company level and start-ups level</p></li>
<li><p>Wrong expectations</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Finally, to manage those challenges and avoid conflict, it is important to:</p>
<ul>
<li>Set transparent goals with a long term focus:
It is important that there is a large consensus within the established company on the overall objective of the initiative. At Deutsche Telekom, they decided to set up a set of different formats, as described in the JBS article, with the goal of evaluating ventures, for further investments and future partnerships as part of the process.</li>
</ul>
<p>Moreover, focusing in a long-term time horizon is highly important. Everybody involved should be aware that a large number of startup projects fail and that a corporate accelerator program might not be able to reverse this. Counting the number of successful or failed startups will, therefore, always have the danger of misinterpreting the failure of one project with the failure of the initiative.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Recruit an independent accelerator team that views themselves as advocates for the start-ups:
At hub:raum, many of the managers have a first-hand understanding of the specific issues associated with developing startup business. These corporate teams see themselves first and foremost as advocates of the startups and a neutral partner which goes as far as protecting the startup from the corporate if required</p></li>
<li><p>Secure a large and committed external network:
Providing an easy and frictionless access to this expertise is, therefore, a key asset for a good acceleration program that is attractive for high-quality startupsAt hub:raum many mentors are from outside Deutsche Telekom and constitute successful founders themselves and valuable experts within their respective fields such as specific technologies, legal, human resource, online marketing and branding.</p></li>
<li><p>Set long-term objectives and performance indicators, and measure accordingly</p></li>
<li><p>Secure top-management backing</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The Hub:raum case clearly shows that a fruitful coexistence and collaboration between the start-ups and the major business units can exist. While connecting the two worlds of start-ups and established large organisations is often tricky, the potential benefits are also big…</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/93892/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martin Kupp ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>Start-ups are innovative and agile, while big companies have abundant resources. Corporate accelerators bring them together, and a new case study outlines best practices.Martin Kupp, Associate Professor for Entrepreneurship and Strategy, ESCP Business SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/935152018-03-21T00:56:19Z2018-03-21T00:56:19ZCan digital social innovations tackle big challenges?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210793/original/file-20180316-104663-1k9qtuc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C6%2C1479%2C898&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Digital social innovations (DSI) are booming in Europe, empowering people to solve problems in areas as diverse as social inclusion, health, democracy, education, migration and sustainability. Examples include civic tech, neighbourhood-regeneration platforms, collaborative map-making, civic crowdfunding, peer-to-peer education and online time banks. A wide range of organisations support DSIs, through offering consultancy services, network access, funding, resources and skills.</p>
<p>The UK-based <a href="https://www.nesta.org.uk/">NESTA</a> is one of the central think tanks in the field, as well as the coordinator of the EU-funded project <a href="https://digitalsocial.eu">DSI4EU</a>. At the European level, different schemes exist to support social innovations and also DSIs, such as the <a href="http://eusic.challenges.org/">Social Innovation Competition</a>, whose 6th round took place in Paris on March 20 this year. Many events, festivals and conferences are also being organised, such as the <a href="http://www.socialgoodweek.com/">Social Good Week</a> in Paris or the <a href="http://ouisharefest.com/">Ouishare Fest</a>, which was born in France and is now an international event.</p>
<p>While significant time, effort, and resources are spent on these activities, there are some obstacles to their development and efficacy in tackling the big challenges of our times, which seem necessary to address.</p>
<h2>1. Questioning openness</h2>
<p>Many DSIs emphasise participation and transparency, but the use of open-source software remains limited, at least in France. The openness of a platform is an important indicators about its capacity to encourage participation, by decentralising power, enabling others to access, replicate, and build upon the source code. Proprietary software, on the other hand, raises questions about the extent to which it is being manipulated by the innovator. Valentin Chaput, the editor of the site Open Source Politics <a href="https://medium.com/open-source-politics/la-civic-tech-fran%C3%A7aise-risque-de-se-d%C3%A9tourner-de-la-cr%C3%A9ation-des-biens-communs-num%C3%A9riques-dont-9ebcf5c55c2e">states</a>: “When we do not master its code, it is the authors of this code who control us”.</p>
<h2>2. What happens to user data?</h2>
<p>Social entrepreneurs often struggle to build sustainable business models that will ensure their autonomy and independence. There exist different business models through which DSIs generate income. One of these is the commercialisation of user data. Here, the main problem is not commercialisation per se (although to prevent it would be preferred), but how the background business model is communicated with the users. </p>
<p>To have information, users need to read in detail the platform’s “terms of use”, which are often not communicated by an attractive design. As a consequence, users can easily skip this part, due to ignorance or lack of interest. Platforms should be more transparent about their business models, and communicate these with the audience in a user-friendly way. This will also reduce some users’ hesitations in involvement, caused by a lack of trust.</p>
<h2>3. Systemic change or short-term relief?</h2>
<p>There is also a deeper concern about the sharing economy. Evgeny Morozov, author of <em>Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom</em>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/28/sharing-economy-Internet-hype-benefits-overstated-evgeny-morozov">wrote</a>, “it’s like handing everybody earplugs to deal with intolerable street noise instead of doing something about the noise itself”. Sometimes this is also valid for DSI. How can innovations that can bring a systemic change be distinguished from system-enhancing ones? It is not meaningful to categorise platforms as systemic ones and others, as there are different shades of grey between purely black or white.</p>
<p>But there is some scope for thinking deeper, by observing the activities of platforms. For example, <a href="https://www.humaid.fr/">Humaid</a> is a crowdfunding platform in which people with disabilities or their caregivers can raise money to purchase necessary assistive technologies. In so doing, Humaid in a sense reproduces exclusionary practices in the society by taking people with disabilities as objects of charity, rather than as individuals with rights and freedoms, as outlined in the <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities.html">UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities</a>.</p>
<p>Another example is from the sharing economy. <a href="https://www.karos.fr/">Karos</a>, a car-sharing platform launched a year ago, provides the option of “ladies only” car sharing. In doing so, doesn’t Karos reproduce existing practices that give rise to inequalities in the first place? Rather than using information and communication technologies (ICTs) to alleviate inequalities embedded in societies, such initiatives enhance existing norms and exclusionary barriers. Addressing big challenges require awareness raising and educational activities around rights and freedoms.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211258/original/file-20180320-80627-cxz801.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211258/original/file-20180320-80627-cxz801.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=310&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211258/original/file-20180320-80627-cxz801.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=310&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211258/original/file-20180320-80627-cxz801.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=310&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211258/original/file-20180320-80627-cxz801.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211258/original/file-20180320-80627-cxz801.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211258/original/file-20180320-80627-cxz801.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Karos ‘ladies only’ car-sharing. Part of the solution to inequality or a reinforcement?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://villedurable.parisandco.paris/Actualites/A-la-une?thematic=evenements&page=9">Karos</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>4. The struggle of traditional civil-society organisations</h2>
<p>Established civil-society organisations that have field-specific experience with targeted populations, and who are involved in social movements and awareness raising activities can have an important role in systemic change, but most of them find themselves in a vulnerable position faced with digital platforms. For example, some are facing competition from start-ups that build resources and finances from the digital sector. Digital competences of the new economy and traditional associations’ field-specific experiences should find spaces of synergy building. But there are barriers to the successful building-up of such spaces, sometimes due to polarised ideological worlds between non-profits and organisations of the digital economy.</p>
<h2>5. Under-engagement of users</h2>
<p>There is also the important issue of attracting users to these platforms. Most DSI platforms rely on civic engagement, which could be for volunteering, providing skills, information, services, goods, opinions. At the same time, the online world is likely to reflect the economic, social and cultural relationships in the offline world – a research paper by Alexander Van Deursen and Jan Van Dijk of the University of Twente <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1461444813487959">sheds light on this question</a>.</p>
<p>This suggests that the DSI users could be those who are already active in civic life in the offline world, as <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1461444815616225">indicated by the research</a> of Marta Cantijoch, Silvia Galandini, and Rachel Gibson. If this is the case, DSIs can strengthen existing divides instead of alleviating them. To be able to develop effective and informed policies, more research about the nature of users, their engagement patterns in different platforms are needed, but there are obstacles on the way; most important is the lack of data.</p>
<h2>6. Lack of data in a world of ‘big data’</h2>
<p>The lack of data on users and the ecosystem are serious barriers to carry out research on DSIs and their potential to address big challenges. Platforms do not share data due to privacy and confidentiality reasons. Or, as in the case of France, regulations about data collection can prevent research about the users of DSI. At the national and EU levels, initiatives to collect and standardise data are much needed, so that researchers can have access to essential data about the use of and participation in DSI. This is also important to carry out research on the specific capabilities of different EU countries on DSI and develop means to transfer good practices and make use of potential synergies.</p>
<h2>7. Fascination with (rapid) impact measurement</h2>
<p>For investors, funders, and social entrepreneurs, social impact measurement is essential. But this can be problematic, complex and difficult issue. What’s more, it is important to remember a quote from William Bruce Cameron: “Not everything that can be counted counts. Not everything that counts can be counted”. In addition, sometimes time pressures result in employing vague and ineffective means to measure impact that lack a deep understanding of the returns. Amount of funds raised, growth in the number of participants, number of supported projects, and so on, are often used as indicators of success, but such statistics are problematic.</p>
<p>For instance, participants of a platform are often “dormant”, meaning they register but do not use the platform later on. It is necessary to change the way “social impact” is understood by policy makers and investors to distinguish what needs to be measured and what not, and if measurement is a must the focus should be on tangible changes that the platform brings. For example, which regulations have changed as a result of platform activities? Which medical research results are obtained by patient-doctor platforms? Which civic projects are realised, and what are potential benefits? Social indicators should focus on a deeper understanding of how the actual social practices that give rise to social problems are tackled, and what the role of platforms are in this process.</p>
<h2>8. Innovation (un)readiness of population</h2>
<p>While most of the policy focus is on supporting the generation of innovations, the innovation readiness of the user population is not given enough attention. Investments in developing Internet skills are of crucial importance, which include operational, formal and strategic skills. The research of Alexander Van Deursen and Jan Van Dijk <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1461444810386774">provides insight on this question</a>.</p>
<p>In addition, potential users can be unaware, uninterested, or unconnected even if they have a benefit to gain. Paradoxically, those who are most likely to benefit from DSI are more likely to be unaware, uninterested, or unconnected. Instead of being confined to the online sphere, social entrepreneurs should work actively with target populations in the field, in developing solutions and encouraging participation. As Tom Saunders of NESTA states, it is important to “remember that there’s a world beyond the Internet”. For example, the city of Amsterdam is remarkable in efforts to <a href="https://www.siceurope.eu/countries/netherlands/how-amsterdam-developing-collaborative-economy-works-everyone">integrate the people in the collaborative economy</a>.</p>
<h2>9. Duplication, duplication, duplication</h2>
<p>Most digital platforms operate according to the logic of network externalities, also called as multi-sided platforms. This means that the existence of one group of users in a platform makes it <a href="https://digitalsocinno.wp.imt.fr/research-on-dsi/">more attractive for other groups to join</a>. In this way, certain digital platforms build up their user base rapidly and become dominant players. While this can be problematic in terms of building up of monopolistic power, too many start-ups in the same field is also problematic, which is the case today in some areas of DSI. </p>
<p>For example, there are more than 20 civic-tech platforms with similar functions in France. The potential gains and losses in terms of social welfare and efficiency should be understood and evaluated better in the case of DSI. Many of these platforms struggle to grow, their user base is divided, and finally they close down within a few years of launching. One solution can be to allow for sharing reputation, or other information about users between platforms, which helps in sustaining diversity, while avoiding centralisation of power.</p>
<h2>10. Lack of cross-fertilisation</h2>
<p>The importance of the above problems also depends on the field of activity and type of DSI considered, as there are many <a href="https://digitalsocinno.wp.imt.fr/2017/12/21/types-of-digital-social-innovations-and-why-they-are-important/">different types of DSI</a>s. Aggregating all DSIs in a single group may be misleading. At the same time it is precisely this diversity that gives this emerging ecosystem its dynamism and resilience. Unfortunately, this diversity is not made use of in an effective way. Instead, field-specific bubbles have formed with weak interactions between them. Cross-fertilisation and synergies between these are potentially important to increase resilience, but networks rest weak. A recent initiative in France is <a href="http://plateformes.coopdescommuns.org">Plateformes en Communs</a>, which aims to form a common platform of cooperatives and associations in diverse domains of activity, so as to leverage synergies between them.</p>
<p>Given the high level of penetration of digital technologies in our lives, digital social innovations promise to address big challenges, yet for there to be better outcomes, more needs to be done. Participation to civic life – online or offline – is always valuable in an increasingly problematic world. Digital platforms make this participation much easier. As the saying goes, little drops of water make a mighty ocean.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>DSI4EU, Muge Ozman and Cedric Gossart are organising a special stream on digital social innovations in the <a href="http://www.isircconference2018.com/">10th International Social Innovation Conference</a>, which will take place in Heidelberg, in September 2018</em>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/93515/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Müge Ozman ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>Even as digital social innovations (DSI) are booming in Europe, obstacles remain for their being able to provide effective solutions to the big challenges of our times.Müge Ozman, Professor of Management, Institut Mines-Télécom Business School Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/909292018-03-06T19:30:30Z2018-03-06T19:30:30ZMaking climate models open source makes them even more useful<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209045/original/file-20180306-146675-1qxavh2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">MiMA: an open source way to model the climate.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Martin Jucker</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Designing climate experiments is all but impossible in the real world. We can’t, for instance, study the effects of clouds by taking away all the clouds for a set period of time and seeing what happens. </p>
<p>Instead, we have to design our experiments virtually, by developing computer models. Now, a <a href="https://www.geosci-model-dev.net/11/843/2018/">new open-source set of climate models</a> has allowed this research to become more collaborative, efficient and reliable.</p>
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<p>
<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-scientists-adjust-temperature-records-and-how-you-can-too-36825">Why scientists adjust temperature records, and how you can too</a>
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<p>Full climate models are designed to be as close to nature as possible. They are representations of the combined knowledge of climate science and are without a doubt the best tools to understand what the future might look like. </p>
<p>However, many research projects focus on small parts of the climate, such as sudden wind changes, the temperature in a given region, or ocean currents. For these studies, concentrating on a small detail in a full climate model is like trying to find a needle in the haystack.</p>
<p>It is therefore common practice in such cases to take away the haystack by using simpler climate models. Scientists usually write these models for specific projects. A quote <a href="https://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/05/13/einstein-simple/">commonly attributed to Albert Einstein</a> maybe best summarises the process: “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”</p>
<p>Here’s an example. In <a href="http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/10.1175/JCLI-D-17-0127.1">a paper from last year</a> I looked at the temperature and wind changes in the upper atmosphere close to the Equator. I didn’t need to know what happened in the ocean, and I didn’t need any chemistry, polar ice, or even clouds in my model. So I wrote a much simpler model without these ingredients. It’s called “MiMA” (<strong>M</strong>odel of an <strong>i</strong>dealised <strong>M</strong>oist <strong>A</strong>tmosphere), and is freely available <a href="http://mjucker.github.io/MiMA/">on the web</a>.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">MiMA.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>The drawbacks of simpler models</h2>
<p>Of course, using simpler models comes with its own problems. </p>
<p>The main issue is that researchers have to be very clear what the limits are for each model. For instance, it would be hard to study thunderstorms with a model that doesn’t reproduce clouds. </p>
<p>The second issue is that whereas the scientific results may be published, the code itself is typically not. Everyone has to believe that the model does indeed do what the author claims, and to trust that there are no errors in the code.</p>
<p>The third issue with simpler models is that anyone else trying to duplicate or build on published work would have to rebuild a similar model themselves. But given that the two models will be written by two (or more) different people, it is highly unlikely that they will be exactly the same. Also, the time the first author spends on building their model is then spent a second time by a second author, to achieve at best the same result. This is very inefficient.</p>
<h2>Open-source climate models</h2>
<p>To remedy some (if not all) of these issues, some colleagues and I have <a href="https://www.geosci-model-dev.net/11/843/2018/">built a framework of climate models called Isca</a>. Isca contains models that are easy to obtain, completely free, documented, and come with software to make installation and running easier. All changes are documented and can be reverted. Therefore, it is easy for everyone to use exactly the same models. </p>
<p>The time it would take for everyone to build their own version of the same model can now be used to extend the existing models. More sets of eyes on one model means that errors can be quickly identified and corrected. The time saved could also be used to build new analysis software, which can extract new information from existing simulations.</p>
<p>As a result, the climate models and their resulting scientific experiments become both more flexible and reliable. All of this only works because the code is publicly available and because any changes are continuously tracked and documented.</p>
<p>An example is my own code, MiMA, which is part of Isca. I have been amazed at the breadth of research it is used for. I wrote it to look at the tropical upper atmosphere, but others have since used it to study the life cycle of weather systems, the Indian monsoon, the effect of volcanic eruptions on climate, and so on. And that’s only one year after its first publication.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-models-too-complicated-heres-one-that-everyone-can-use-48758">Climate models too complicated? Here's one that everyone can use</a>
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<p>Making models openly available in this way has another advantage. Using an accessible proof can counter the mistrust of climate science that is still prevalent in some quarters. </p>
<p>The burden of proof automatically falls on the sceptics. As all the code is there and all changes are trackable, it is up to them to point out errors. And if someone does find an error, even better! Correcting it is just another step to make the models even more reliable.</p>
<p>Going open source with scientific code has many more benefits than drawbacks. It allows collaboration between people who don’t even know one another. And, most importantly, it will make our climate models more flexible, more reliable and generally more useful.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/90929/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martin Jucker receives funding from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science. </span></em></p>The creation of climate models with open source code, available for anyone to use, has improved scientific collaboration and helped research get more efficient.Martin Jucker, Maritime Continent Research Fellow, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/914692018-02-26T19:12:56Z2018-02-26T19:12:56ZWhy blockchain challenges conventional thinking about intellectual property<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/207393/original/file-20180221-132660-2papfy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Blockchain technology has turned conventional thinking about intellectual property and copyright on its head.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Cryptocurrencies are getting a lot of attention, but finance is only one of many applications of the blockchain technology behind it.</p>
<p>Blockchain technology is poised to revolutionise almost everything from supply chains (including <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-blockchain-is-strengthening-tuna-traceability-to-combat-illegal-fishing-89965">illegal fishing</a> and human rights abuses), insurance and <a href="https://www.ip-watch.org/2018/02/07/new-open-source-drug-discovery-initiative-takes-aim-devastating-disease/">health</a>. </p>
<p>It is flourishing in an open-source environment, which raises the question whether our current intellectual property laws are fit for purpose to foster innovation.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/demystifying-the-blockchain-a-basic-user-guide-60226">Demystifying the blockchain: a basic user guide</a>
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<h2>Intellectual property law’s incentive theory</h2>
<p>Intellectual property laws, such as patents and copyright, are premised on the <a href="https://ir.law.fsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1027&context=lr">incentive theory</a>. To incentivise people to create, they are given, in effect, a monopoly (with some exceptions) on their creations and can go to court and stop others from free-riding on their work.</p>
<p>The digital world has made the tension between innovators and free riders even more acute. In the pre-digital era, copying a book incurred considerable costs for the copier. Now, given that digital files can be copied indefinitely for near zero cost, one could argue that we need even stronger IP laws to prevent rampant and unfair copying. </p>
<p>But theory does not always match reality. History is littered with examples of patents <a href="https://www.nasdaq.com/article/the-impact-patent-trolls-have-on-innovation-cm578479">harming rather than aiding innovation</a>. </p>
<p>James Watt’s steam engine was an advance over existing steam engines, yet the technology could not be built upon because of <a href="http://levine.sscnet.ucla.edu/papers/ip.ch.1.m1004.pdf">Watt’s patents</a>. It was not until the patents expired — one of which had inexplicably been extended by Parliament — that steam power came into its own in <a href="https://mises.org/library/james-watt-monopolist">driving the industrial revolution</a>.</p>
<p>We should not be surprised that patent law can harm innovation. The English Crown used patents to raise revenue and patents were granted over common goods such as salt. Such was the public outcry, James I was <a href="http://law.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/1705278/33_2_4.pdf">forced to revoke the existing monopolies</a> and only grant them for novel inventions. </p>
<p>In the United States, patents were granted for inventions, such as a textile spinning machine, that the <a href="http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2017/07/05/americas-industrial-revolution-based-trade-secret-theft/id=85377/">government knew were stolen</a> from the United Kingdom. In 1950, in his review of the patent system for the US congress, the distinguished economist <a href="https://mises.org/library/interview-fritz-machlup">Fritz Machlup</a> wrote: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>If we did not have a patent system, it would be irresponsible, on the basis of our present knowledge of its economic consequences, to recommend instituting one. But since we have had a patent system for a long time, it would be irresponsible, on the basis of our present knowledge, to recommend abolishing it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Countries’ use of law to protect themselves at the expense of others is, of course, not limited to patents. At one time the United States was an <a href="https://www.charmcitylegal.com/charles-dickens-and-the-american-copyright-problem/">unabashed copyright pirate</a>. The US was keen to educate its population and refused to grant copyright protection to works published by non-citizens such as Charles Dickens. </p>
<h2>Open source and IP laws</h2>
<p>The first blockchain application, Bitcoin, was not patented. It is not unique in this regard. Sir Tim Berners-Lee did not patent the world wide web. Likewise the internet was released to the public free from patent restrictions. </p>
<p>The lack of patents has meant that blockchain’s rate of development has been nothing short of breathtaking. Bitcoin, released in 2009, has a block time (the time it takes for a transaction to be recorded) of around 10 minutes. Ethereum, released in 2015 and designed to fix some of Bitcoin’s shortcomings, has a block time of around 14 seconds. </p>
<p>The key for blockchain’s rapid development is that the <a href="https://coincenter.org/entry/what-is-open-source-and-why-is-it-important-for-cryptocurrency-and-open-blockchain-projects">source code is open source</a>. People are free to copy the code and improve upon it. A deliberate decision is made not to use copyright law to protect the source code, unlike proprietary software. </p>
<p>In addition, traditional industries work on products in secret for many years until they are released. In contrast, many blockchain entrepreneurs explain what they are doing before they have anything to release. Some even provide that information before they have started to build anything. Others are able to use those ideas and create competing products. </p>
<p>Indeed, blockchain has turned conventional thinking on its head. If the community does not like what a blockchain technology is doing, it can fork the blockchain (copy the blockchain and its data) and create a competing one. This happened when <a href="https://www.finder.com/nz/ethereum-classic">Ether Classic</a> was created (a copy of the Ethereum blockchain), and <a href="https://coinsutra.com/bitcoin-cash-bch/">Bitcoin Cash</a> (a copy of Bitcoin). </p>
<p>Innovation is progressing so fast that Bitcoin’s blockchain is now comparatively primitive technology. More recent technology such as <a href="https://iota.org/">IOTA</a> and <a href="https://medium.com/@justindanneman/blockchain-just-became-obsolete-the-future-is-hashgraph-de4948609cbf">Hashgraph</a> makes blockchain look dated. However, without Bitcoin there would be no IOTA or Hashgraph – both were designed to fix blockchain’s limitations. </p>
<h2>Open source is a viable business model</h2>
<p>People can make money in the absence of intellectual property protection. Large corporations have made their money through using open source software and providing additional services, for which they charge. </p>
<p>Red Hat, an open-source software company, generates more than US$2 billion in <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/13/red-hat-continues-steady-march-toward-5-billion-revenue-goal/">revenue</a>. IBM is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/04/business/dealbook/blockchain-ibm-bitcoin.html">building blockchain solutions</a> for numerous multinational companies such as Maersk and Walmart using Hyperledger Fabric, an open source programme from the Linux Foundation. </p>
<p>The question is: are our current intellectual property laws fit for purpose if three paradigm-shifting technologies – the internet, the world-wide-web and now the blockchain – are flourishing in the absence of protection under such laws? </p>
<p>Granted, with Machlup’s words in mind, it would be irresponsible to abolish patent law unless other systems were put in place. In the short term, in regards to copyright law, the Australian Law Reform Commission recommends that to foster innovation, fair use needs to be implemented in Australia. New Zealand should <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11805338">follow this recommendation</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91469/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexandra Sims receives funding from the New Zealand Law Foundation. She is a member of the Asian Pacific Copyright Association and the Blockchain Association of New Zealand. </span></em></p>Blockchain technology is flourishing in an open-source environment, which raises the question of whether current intellectual property laws are the best tools to foster innovation.Alexandra Sims, Associate Professor in Commericial Law , University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata RauLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/817272017-09-01T06:07:53Z2017-09-01T06:07:53ZOpen soil science: technology is helping us discover the mysteries under our feet<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184209/original/file-20170831-32123-1axf38z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Soil has many secrets: technology can help reveal its mysteries.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/noddymini/12995728445/">Martin Bridgen</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Have you ever taken the time to stop and consider the dirt under your feet? <a href="https://extension.illinois.edu/soil/quotes/quotes.htm">Leonardo da Vinci said</a>: “We know more about the movement of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot.” Yet, our very survival as humans - and life on this planet - is intimately linked with the health of a thin layer of soil enveloping the earth. </p>
<p>Soil provides society with essential food, feed, fibre and raw materials, as well as being home to a quarter of the earth’s biodiversity. Soils are also the largest organic carbon reservoir on Earth and although highly dynamic, are very fragile. Chop a forest down and it might grow back in 50 years, but lose 10 cm of soil and get ready to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2013.10.007">wait 1000 years</a> to get it back. Without soil, our planet would be unrecognisable to us, and more like the barren and inhospitable surface of the Moon or Mars. </p>
<p><a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2016MS000686">Until recently</a>, we did not even know how deep the soil is below our feet. Like the best mysteries, a bit of digging is required for soils to be fully understood and for their history to be laid bare.</p>
<p>When they are visible, a range of questions arise. What does the variation in colour with depth mean? How much carbon is stored? Is the soil dense or light, damaged or healthy? Answering these questions is important, but presents a significant challenge and may require years of training.</p>
<h2>Online soil resources</h2>
<p>A group of researchers working on <a href="http://opendefinition.org/">Open Soil Science</a> data and technology met recently <a href="http://gsif.isric.org/doku.php/wiki:workshop_2017">in the Netherlands</a> to discuss current and future developments in citizen soil science. By <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v496/n7445/full/496300d.html">developing electronic resources</a> and making them freely available, we hope to share the secrets of the soil with a wider community and improve the distribution and <a href="http://online-journals.org/index.php/i-jim/article/view/3645">availability of soil observations</a> and our knowledge of soil properties across the globe. This will help us develop targeted strategies to conserve this fragile resource. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184208/original/file-20170831-22629-159sc7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184208/original/file-20170831-22629-159sc7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184208/original/file-20170831-22629-159sc7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184208/original/file-20170831-22629-159sc7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184208/original/file-20170831-22629-159sc7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184208/original/file-20170831-22629-159sc7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184208/original/file-20170831-22629-159sc7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Soil Explorer landscape technology makes it possible to better understand soil properties.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Darrell Schulze, Purdue University</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If you want to know more about the soil around you, <a href="https://www.soilgrids.org">the SoilGrids system</a> provides <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0169748">open access to a diversity of soil</a> properties and soil types. The online <a href="http://www.isric.org/">World Soil Information Service</a> (<a href="https://www.earth-syst-sci-data.net/9/1/2017/essd-9-1-2017.pdf">WoSIS</a>) and the <a href="http://wsm.isric.org">Virtual World Soil Museum</a> provide information about a diverse array of soil profiles worldwide, with high resolution images of soil profiles accompanied by detailed explanations of the individual soil horizons.</p>
<p>These portals (and there are many more) are a great starting point to get to know soil, so that farmers and land-users can understand the processes leading to soil development and how this affects soil health and ecosystem functioning such as carbon storage.</p>
<h2>Apps for the ground</h2>
<p>Different users may have different expectations for soil apps. Farmers and gardeners in the field are frequently interested in soil fertility, whereas teachers in the classroom may wish to explain soil diversity and soil function within the large natural variation in landscapes across the globe. </p>
<p>Regardless of user expectations, the use of smartphone apps and online resources can help people discover and understand various aspects and potential uses of soil, helping to highlight the beauty, diversity and importance of this underappreciated natural resource.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.bgs.ac.uk/mysoil/">mySoil</a> app, developed by the British Geological Survey in 2012, is aimed at raising awareness of the diversity of soil properties across Europe and also has the capability to crowdsource photos and data on the soils around you. Designed for the non-expert, more than 50,000 people are exploring soils around them and have provided more than 4000 observations globally. </p>
<p><a href="https://soilexplorer.net/">Soil Explorer</a> designed by ISEE network from 2015-2017, shows how soils vary at different scales and why this matters. This app provides a framework of knowledge, in particular for users wishing to understand how soilscapes vary within the context of different landscapes and climates (why is the soil here red, but grey over there?, is my soil particularly wet compared with other soils?). For example, you can zoom into the areas recently flooded by <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/hurricane-harvey-42406">Hurricane Harvey</a> in Houston, Texas, and identify many of the flooded soils as “recent alluvium” (soil materials deposited by water), showing the strong link between soil properties and flooding. This can be used for decision-making, such as where to build houses when local area planning is inadequate or maps are not easily available. Maps of soil properties are based on the detailed soil survey data available in the US, with seven states online and more to be added soon. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184211/original/file-20170831-32123-1kik3r.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184211/original/file-20170831-32123-1kik3r.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184211/original/file-20170831-32123-1kik3r.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184211/original/file-20170831-32123-1kik3r.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184211/original/file-20170831-32123-1kik3r.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184211/original/file-20170831-32123-1kik3r.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184211/original/file-20170831-32123-1kik3r.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Farmers and scientists in Kenya use LandPKS, an app to explore the ground.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Adam Beh</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Scotland, Soil Organic Carbon Information Technology <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1665642316300104">(SOCIT)</a>, developed by the James Hutton Institute in 2015 uses the user’s location and the colour of the soil to estimate the concentration of organic matter in the topsoil. This app (available for <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.ac.hutton.SOCiT&hl=en_GB">Android</a> and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/socit/id631266307?mt=8">Apple</a>) should soon extend its range to the UK and Europe. Soil organic carbon is the single most important indicator of soil fertility, and soils contain <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v528/n7580/full/nature16069.html">more carbon than vegetation and the atmosphere combined</a> so that soil carbon storage - and understanding how to protect it - is vital to the the health of the global ecosystem, and therefore everyone on earth.</p>
<p>LandPKS (<a href="https://www.landpotential.org/landpks.html">Land Potential Knowledge System</a>) aims to improve the information available to land managers when making decisions related to productivity and sustainability. It guides the user through open soil and climate data to provide free, easy to use, locally appropriate information to optimize land management decisions. It was developed in Kenya and Namibia and is being tested in Tanzania as well as the United States.</p>
<h2>So what’s the point of all the data?</h2>
<p>All this soil data begs the question: what is it good for? One immediate use for globally accessible soil data is to identify which crops can be grown where. <a href="https://cropbase.org">CropBASE</a> aims to do just that, by combining soil, climate and crowd-sourced data to answer the `what, where and when’ questions that we will need to ask for future agriculture.</p>
<p>These are just a handful of apps and portals available to delve into the treasures of soil. We hope that by highlighting the complexity and importance of soils with modern technology we can raise awareness about the importance of healthy soils across the globe. This will help to reveal the rich diversity of soils between places and impart some basic knowledge for assessing soil properties.</p>
<p>Thanks to modern technology, unlocking the vital secrets of soils is becoming easier.</p>
<p><em>Skye Wills, soil scientist and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Skye_Wills">researcher with the National Soil Survey</a>, US department of agriculture, has contributed to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81727/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eleanor Hobley receives funding from The Technical University of Munich and The German Ministry for Education and Research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Darrell G. Schulze receives funding from the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, and the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David A. Robinson receives funding from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, part of NERC.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ebrahim Jahanshiri isemployed by Crops For the Future Research Centre a research institute that receives funding from the Ministry of Agriculture Malaysia and guaranteed by both Malaysian government and Nottingham University.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matt Aitkenhead receives funding from the Scottish Government's Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS), and from Innovate UK.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Niels H. Batjes receives funding from the Netherlands Government;
ISRIC is an independent foundation by Dutch law.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tomislav Hengl does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Mapping the soil with open source application is vital to understanding how to protect it.Eleanor Hobley, Postdoctoral Fellow, Technical University of MunichDarrell G. Schulze, Professor of Soil Science, Purdue UniversityDavid A. Robinson, Soil Scientist, UK Centre for Ecology & HydrologyEbrahim Jahanshiri, Senior Programme Coordinator, Crops For the Future Research Institute, Malaysia campus, University of NottinghamMatt Aitkenhead, Soil Scientist, James Hutton InstituteNiels H. Batjes, Sr soil scientist, Head WDC Soils at ISRIC, Wageningen UniversityTomislav Hengl, Senior researcher, ISRIC, Wageningen UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/761222017-07-25T01:15:13Z2017-07-25T01:15:13ZA bold, bipartisan plan to return the US to the vanguard of 21st-century technological innovation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179513/original/file-20170724-28519-15xs1xj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How can we ensure technology brings prosperity to us all?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/female-finger-touching-beam-light-surrounded-653381008">ra2studio/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Digital technologies like the internet and smartphones are transforming our lives and society. They are proving to be powerful tools for liberating individuals’ creative and entrepreneurial potential, as well as providing new educational opportunities and higher wages for marginalized people, both in the U.S. and around the globe. Unfortunately, in the U.S., <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/07/3-most-outdated-tech-laws/">outdated government</a> <a href="https://techliberation.com/2010/03/30/digital-due-process-protecting-americans%E2%80%99-privacy-by-restoring-constitutional-limits-to-government-in-ecpa/">regulations</a> and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/consumers-lose-with-a-weak-consumer-financial-protection_us_591f427ae4b0e8f558bb2637">weak consumer protections</a> are <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250071583">undermining these opportunities</a>.</p>
<p>What’s more, the Trump administration has not yet made significant moves to address this growing crisis: As of this writing, <a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/office-of-science-and-technology-policy-trump-jobs">five key White House positions are vacant</a>, without even acting directors or interim leaders to help the executive branch formulate U.S. science and technology policy. </p>
<p>As the founder of both the <a href="http://opentechinstitute.org">Open Technology Institute</a> and <a href="http://thexlab.org">the X-Lab</a> policy and innovation organization, I have spent years at the heart of <a href="http://business.time.com/2013/05/01/time-tech-40-the-ten-most-influential-tech-ceos/slide/sascha-meinrath-new-america-foundation/">many Washington, D.C. battles over technology policy</a>, <a href="http://radio.wpsu.org/post/take-note-privacy-digital-age-sascha-meinrath">fighting for ideas</a> that would <a href="https://blog.p2pfoundation.net/best-keynote-of-the-year-so-far-sascha-meinrath-on-policy-hacking/2009/03/31">best serve American workers</a> and <a href="http://law.emory.edu/eilr/_documents/volumes/26/2/symposium/meinrath-ammori.pdf">the general public</a>. As <a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/05/19/the-new-digital-economy/">technology spreads</a> throughout nearly <a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/03/10/public-predictions-for-the-future-of-workforce-automation/">every facet of our society</a>, including health care, transportation, education and electricity, the benefits tend to grab the headlines, while their <a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/2017/02/08/code-dependent-pros-and-cons-of-the-algorithm-age/">costs are often downplayed</a> or ignored outright. My work, and that of many other technology policy experts and public interest advocates, has focused on ensuring that the digital revolutions in our society and our economy bring the most freedoms and benefits to the most people, with as little oppression and harm as possible – a goal that is <a href="http://www.fourthadvisory.org/steering-board">shared by a vast majority of the general public</a> from across traditional political, socioeconomic, racial and cultural divides.</p>
<p>While many lament the <a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/10/25/the-political-environment-on-social-media/">current state of political bickering</a>, my experience is that technology is a domain where panpartisan agreement is often possible. With this in mind, here are 10 big ideas that resonate <a href="http://www.people-press.org/2016/06/22/partisanship-and-political-animosity-in-2016/">across traditional political boundaries</a> – common ground that yields solid support among lawmakers and constituents spanning the ideological spectrum from the libertarian right to the progressive left.</p>
<p><iframe id="DeaJZ" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/DeaJZ/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Transition to a real sharing economy</h2>
<p>Today’s dominant business models hold great promise, <a href="http://us.macmillan.com/rawdeal/stevenhill">but also great peril, for millions of working-class Americans</a>. Many companies are using digital tools to shift work <a href="http://www.govtech.com/policy/Employee-or-Independent-Contractor-Its-the-Uber-Important-Question-of-Todays-Economy.html">from traditional full-time employees to part-time independent contractors</a>. At present, this lets them circumvent <a href="https://www.sba.gov/starting-business/hire-retain-employees/hire-contractor-or-employee">rules protecting full-timers’ health, safety and equal access to work</a>. We need true portability of benefits – including <a href="http://bostonreview.net/us/steven-hill-uber-economy-individual-security-accounts">better retirement savings plans</a> and <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2017/06/28/news/warren-buffett-single-payer-health-care/index.html">single-payer health insurance</a>.</p>
<p>In addition, we need to address the effects of disruptive technologies, like those that will <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/02/when-robots-take-bad-jobs/517953/">replace truckers with automated vehicles</a>, full-time taxi drivers with <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-ride-hailing-apps-like-uber-continue-cab-industrys-history-of-racial-discrimination-68462">part-time Uber and Lyft drivers</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-really-help-us-workers-we-should-invest-in-robots-71125">factory workers with robots</a>. We need <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Works-Progress-Administration">a modern-day Works Progress Administration</a> for the tens of millions who will soon become displaced workers. It can be a way to retrain workers, and at the same time make <a href="https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/">badly needed improvements</a> to roads, bridges and other key structures our economy depends on. With forethought, we can prevent mass unemployment and underemployment.</p>
<h2>Protect consumers from technological barriers</h2>
<p>In today’s post-industrial age, <a href="https://www.schneier.com/books/data_and_goliath/">software controls traditional mechanical, financial and agrarian practices</a>. But <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-20/should-america-s-tech-giants-be-broken-up">rather than spurring innovation</a> to improve people’s lives, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-cant-we-fix-our-own-electronic-devices-77601">technology is blocking progress</a> in key ways: for example, by <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/03/23/tractor-hack-farmers-are-harnessing-hacked-software-for-john-deere-repairs.html">preventing farmers from fixing their own tractors</a>. The <a href="https://www.publicknowledge.org/issues/patent-reform">progressive left</a> and <a href="http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/patent-nonsense/">libertarian right agree</a>: <a href="http://www.aei.org/publication/copyright-law-crony-capitalism-and-economic-growth-a-qa-with-derek-khanna">Major reforms to copyright</a> and <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/04/senate-gets-serious-about-patent-reform-patent-act">patent law</a> are desperately needed to foster innovation and empower consumers.</p>
<p>Our current laissez-faire regulatory environment may have worked well when these were fledgling markets filled with small-scale startups. But today’s technology sector is dominated by a handful of corporate behemoths who’ve routinely engaged in what critics contend is <a href="http://www.yalelawjournal.org/article/amazons-antitrust-paradox">anti-competitive behavior</a> and consumer-disempowering business practices <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings?items_per_page=100">only barely addressed by current governmental oversight</a>.</p>
<p>Businesses use complex algorithms that engage in <a href="https://theconversation.com/removing-gender-bias-from-algorithms-64721">harmful discrimination</a>, such as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/10/upshot/when-algorithms-discriminate.html">showing higher-paying online job advertisements to men than women</a>, or advertising arrest records services to people searching for “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/10/upshot/when-algorithms-discriminate.html">distinctly black names</a>.” Retailers even <a href="http://time.com/money/3534651/price-discrimination-travelocity-orbitz-home-depot/">charge different people different amounts for the same good or service</a>, meaning only the most tech-savvy consumers are able to get the lowest price.</p>
<p>These practices make it harder for marginalized people to climb out of poverty, and more difficult for working-class Americans to spend their hard-earned money efficiently. While <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/bureaus-offices/bureau-consumer-protection">consumer protection laws</a> clearly outlaw unfair pricing and require equal employment opportunities, the regulations enforcing these laws are <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/08/31/how-the-worlds-biggest-tech-companies-could-wriggle-out-of-all-privacy-regulations/">increasingly obsolete and impotent</a>. It’s time to update these rules of the road to make sure they meaningfully protect everyone from digitally mediated discrimination.</p>
<h2>Free educational materials</h2>
<p>Today’s textbooks, worksheets and other educational materials are often <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/01/why-are-college-textbooks-so-absurdly-expensive/266801/">both outdated and expensive</a>. They lock teachers and students into one-size-fits-all lessons, rather than encouraging the localized, tailored educational experiences that <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/edu/105/4/932/">better meet the needs of students and teachers alike</a>.</p>
<p>There are plenty of free resources available for teachers to customize their lessons. Public copyright licenses like <a href="https://creativecommons.org/">Creative Commons</a> can promote free sharing of useful information, much as <a href="https://opensource.org/licenses/alphabetical">open-source software</a> can accomplish all the same tasks without buying costly licenses. <a href="http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1153/2256">Textbook costs can be cut in half</a> if schools were allowed to buy so-called “open textbooks,” rather than paying shockingly high premiums to a handful of commercial publishers. And <a href="http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1153/2256">students learn just as well</a>. We should be requiring schools to incorporate open, customizable digital technologies to personalize educational materials and teaching methods to better meet individual student needs.</p>
<h2>Promote broadband competition</h2>
<p>Roughly <a href="http://www.telecompetitor.com/pew-u-s-smartphone-ownership-broadband-penetration-reached-record-levels-in-2016/">80 million Americans don’t have high-speed internet access</a> at home. The main reason for that is <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/12/28/lack-of-broadband-can-be-a-key-obstacle-especially-for-job-seekers/">high cost</a>. Things aren’t much better for the two-thirds of Americans who do have broadband: Collectively, they’ll be <a href="https://www.newamerica.org/oti/policy-papers/the-cost-of-connectivity-2014/">charged more than a quarter-trillion dollars</a> more for internet service by 2025 in comparison to what residents in other countries are paying.</p>
<p>These negative consumer impacts are a direct result of <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/indusclient.php?id=B09">extensive lobbying by Comcast and other media and telecom companies</a>, who’ve created noncompetitive markets that hurt consumers and stifle innovation. </p>
<p>Policies that drive universal access to low-cost, high-speed connectivity are a must. Politicians of all stripes support <a href="https://theconversation.com/americas-broadband-market-needs-more-competition-71676">creating or increasing competition</a>, preventing price-gouging in communities served by monopoly broadband providers and encouraging companies to provide internet service in remote areas. It’s also worth <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/16/opinion/expect-a-cozy-trump-telecom-alliance.html">reexamining anti-trust laws</a> (and how they are enforced) to make sure they are properly applied, especially since telecommunications services have become critical Americans’ personal and working lives.</p>
<h2>Modernize the electricity grid</h2>
<p>The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that <a href="http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=105&t=3">6 percent of all electricity produced is lost in transmission</a>. Allowing people to generate power at their homes, through residential solar panels and wind turbines, helps keep power generation and ownership local while also <a href="http://www.npr.org/2016/08/22/490932307/aging-and-unstable-the-nations-electrical-grid-is-the-weakest-link">making the entire electrical grid more robust</a>.</p>
<p>However, scaling up this approach, called distributed microgeneration, requires an electrical system that enables two-way metering – a smart utility system that <a href="https://www.smartgrid.gov/files/description_of_assets.pdf">credits customers for power generated and charges them for power consumed</a>. We also need <a href="https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/smartgrid/FinalSGDoc2010019-corr010411-2.pdf">open standards for interoperability</a> between battery-powered vehicles and local grids, to help store locally generated power. And we need <a href="https://energy.gov/eere/buildings/tax-incentives-energy-efficiency-upgrades-commercial-buildings">financial supports for consumers to deploy microgeneration solutions</a>, in much the same ways we’ve done for other energy efficiency efforts.</p>
<p>Modernizing our electrical grid means integrating a host of new digital technologies – from enhancing two-way communications among different components of the grid to enabling micro-payments among local consumers and micro-generators – all of which will improve efficiency while simultaneously lowering the cost of energy.</p>
<h2>Give users control of their data</h2>
<p>Mass surveillance – including of <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/technology/320357-nra-claims-nsa-illegally-created-a-gun-database">gun owners</a>, <a href="https://www.aclu.org/other/factsheet-nypd-muslim-surveillance-program">Muslims</a> and <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-new-york-police-idUSKBN1762KB">African-American</a> leaders – limits Americans’ freedom.</p>
<p>An increasing array of networked devices, such as fitness trackers, smart thermostats, smartphones and cars, <a href="https://www.schneier.com/books/data_and_goliath/">collect information on their users’ activities</a>. Consumer protections in the 21st century must ensure that we have <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/DigitalAge/Pages/DigitalAgeIndex.aspx">access to and control over our own data</a>.</p>
<p>We need to expand upon the work of pioneers in privacy-protecting devices like <a href="http://freedomboxfoundation.org/">Freedom Box</a> and <a href="https://www.silentcircle.com/products-and-solutions/devices/">BlackPhone</a>, to give individuals control of the data their activities generate. This also opens the door for innovators to develop smart connected devices that serve as part of a more free, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/09/internet-of-things-smart-devices-spying-surveillance-us-government">more privacy-protecting “Internet of Things.”</a></p>
<p>Because the Federal Trade Commission is <a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/free-future/can-consumers-trust-ftc-protect-their-privacy">unwilling or unable to step in</a>, Congress will likely have to act – the way it did to <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/rules/rulemaking-regulatory-reform-proceedings/childrens-online-privacy-protection-rule">protect children online</a> and <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/">patients’ medical records</a>. A comprehensive framework that places consumers in control of their data is essential in an era where <a href="http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/worlds-biggest-data-breaches-hacks/">companies increasingly fail to protect our private information</a>.</p>
<h2>Make software and data open to all</h2>
<p>The United States spends billions of dollars every year on information technology, and <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/transparency/Pages/OverviewOfAwards.aspx">tens of billions more on government-funded research and other grants</a>. This represents an enormous investment by American taxpayers. Yet <a href="http://www.jetlaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/KimbroughGasaway_SPE_7-FINAL.pdf">the public often gets only limited access</a> to the tools, research and data that we have so generously funded.</p>
<p>Software, data and research results should be available to the citizen-investors who paid for its development. This will, in turn, stimulate innovation, improve efficiency and ensure that taxpayers <a href="https://www.data.gov/research/">get the value we deserve from the investments we make</a>. </p>
<p>In addition, reviews of grant applications should ensure applicants’ prior work has accomplished the results that were promised. We cannot afford technological “<a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/nov/8/alaska-kills-bridge-to-nowhere-that-helped-put-end/">bridges to nowhere</a>” that eat up money while providing no real tangible benefits or improved scientific understanding. </p>
<p>We must make smart government investments that avoid duplication of existing private and nonprofit open technology initiatives. This means focusing on support for innovations that maximally benefit the general public (and not just corporations and their major stockholders). Federal research money should be a public investment in a public good.</p>
<h2>Lay the groundwork for intelligent transportation</h2>
<p>As autonomous vehicles become more common, we’ll need to update laws about traffic, insurance and liability. New rules will protect the general public and <a href="http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/wiki/index.php/Automated_Driving:_Legislative_and_Regulatory_Action">create real opportunities for smart vehicles to prove their value</a>.</p>
<p>The first major effect from autonomous vehicles will be the <a href="https://medium.com/basic-income/self-driving-trucks-are-going-to-hit-us-like-a-human-driven-truck-b8507d9c5961">large-scale displacement of drivers</a> who currently work in the trucking and delivery sector. The country needs a transition plan for the country’s <a href="http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-fi-automated-trucks-labor-20160924/">3.5 million professional truckers who may lose their jobs to autonomous vehicles</a> in the coming years. Without a plan for putting truckers back to work, <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/2d70469c-140a-11e7-b0c1-37e417ee6c76?mhq5j=e2">millions of American families will suffer economic disaster</a>. We cannot ignore the coming economic and social impacts of technological innovations.</p>
<h2>Standardize medical record storage and transmission</h2>
<p>Regardless of its other shortcomings, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has also built one of the most <a href="https://connectedcare.va.gov/">sophisticated electronic health platforms on the planet</a>. The rest of us, however, live with separate health information fiefdoms – databases controlled by large insurance companies like Anthem, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Community Health Systems. </p>
<p>Having all those data locked up in proprietary systems creates <a href="https://digitalguardian.com/blog/top-10-biggest-healthcare-data-breaches-all-time">tempting targets for hackers</a>. That’s bad, but much worse is how hard it is to <a href="http://health.usnews.com/health-news/best-hospitals/articles/2015/10/15/hospitals-are-moving-slowly-to-electronic-medical-records">transfer patients’ health records among doctors, hospitals and insurers</a>. We should use open and nonproprietary technologies to make electronic medical records more functional and eliminate redundant paperwork. It’s the 21st century: we shouldn’t have to keep <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/04/but-seriously-now-why-do-doctors-still-make-you-fill-out-forms-on-clipboards/360308/">filling out the same information on clipboards</a> every time we go to a doctor. </p>
<p>Even more importantly, the life and cost savings of an interoperable health IT system are staggering. If doctors knew what others were prescribing to their mutual patients, they could all but eliminate negative drug interactions that <a href="http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/814847_6">cost hundreds of dollars every time</a> they happen – not to mention causing over two million serious drug interactions leading to over <a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/developmentapprovalprocess/developmentresources/druginteractionslabeling/ucm110632.htm">100,000 deaths every year</a>. With <a href="https://www.fda.gov/forconsumers/consumerupdates/ucm096386.htm">40 percent of Americans on four or more medications</a> at once, the direct savings from this improvement alone would be in the tens of millions of dollars a year (far more than enough to pay for the systems initial development and ongoing improvement).</p>
<h2>Focus government on technology</h2>
<p>Given its role in countless facets of our lives, technology can no longer be an afterthought in our governmental deliberations. The head of the National Institute of Standards and Technology should be empowered to <a href="http://csrc.nist.gov/">set executive branch technology and online security policies</a> and implement the best practices they’ve already developed. NIST should receive the budget and decision-making authority necessary to implement reforms across governmental units.</p>
<p>In addition, NIST should mandate the use of encryption by default for all government IT systems. And Congress should promote strong encryption in society at large by banning federal entities from demanding <a href="https://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/07/why-a-back-door-to-the-internet-is-a-bad-idea/?_r=0">back doors or other unbelievably bad ideas</a> that undermine our collective security. Together, these actions will help ensure that Americans’ communications and data are as secure as they can be.</p>
<p>We must forge a bold new trajectory for a 21st-century civil society – one that prioritizes individual liberty and consumer empowerment. Otherwise, the detrimental impacts of new digital technologies will continue to undermine our livelihoods, our happiness and the underpinnings of our democratic society.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/76122/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sascha Meinrath has been an Ashoka Fellow for Social Entrepreneurship since 2012. He serves as a board member for the Fourth Amendment Advisory Committee; Schools, Health, and Libraries Broadband Coalition; Brave New Software Foundation; Bill of Rights Defense Committee; Acorn Active Media Foundation; and Freedom to Connect Foundation. He is also a member of the advisory councils for the Alliance for Affordable Internet, the Calyx Institute, FreedomBox Foundation, Loomio, and the Open Internet Tools Project.</span></em></p>Political and community leaders must act now to preserve the American middle class and adapt the US economy for the 21st century.Sascha Meinrath, Director of X-Lab; Palmer Chair in Telecommunications, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/797172017-06-27T18:25:32Z2017-06-27T18:25:32ZHow Madrid’s residents are using open-source urban planning to create shared spaces – and build democracy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174795/original/file-20170620-29242-1mvrtv7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Neighbours enjoy Madrid's outdoor Cinema Usera. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://afasiaarchzine.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Todo-por-la-Praxis-.-CINEMA-USERA-.-Madrid-10.jpg">Todo por la Praxis </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Since the 2008 economic crisis, Madrid has become the epicentre of major political and urban change. The city’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-spanish-political-laboratory-is-reconfiguring-democracy-74874"><em>Indignados</em></a>
are back, asserting that residents have a <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0042098009360239">“right to the city”</a> as well as “lodging, work, culture, health, education, political participation, the freedom of personal development and the right to first-necessity products”, as expressed in the manifesto of the <a href="http://www.democraciarealya.es/manifiesto-comun/manifesto-english/"><em>¡Democracia Real Ya!</em> movement</a>. These and other groups have thus revived a traditional Madrilenian citizens’ movement, based in part on self-management.</p>
<p>This is witnessed today in the phenomena of <em>laboratorios ciudadanos</em> (citizen laboratories) created in vacant city spaces. Not the result of any urban-planning strategy, they seem to have materialised from the spontaneous impulse of ordinary citizens and highly qualified groups working together in areas like collaborative economy, the digital technology, urban ecology or social urbanisation. These laboratories are fertile grounds for open-source urban planning (in Spanish, <em>urbanismo de codigo abierto</em>) and collectively rethinking the urban commons. The challenge is to (re)make the city <em>in situ</em>, using neighbourhood resources rather than acting like public authorities or already-established municipal groups.</p>
<h2>Hacking, a production mode common to Madrilenians</h2>
<p>Citizen laboratories use digital tools and “hacker ethics” to reclaim and coproduce in Madrid’s vacant spaces. Some twenty <em>laboratorios ciudadanos</em> have emerged over the last few years, including <em><a href="http://latabacalera.net/c-s-a-la-tabacalera-de-lavapies/">La Tabacalera</a></em>, <em><a href="http://estaesunaplaza.blogspot.fr/">Esta es une plaza</a></em> or <em><a href="https://es-la.facebook.com/campodecebada/">Campo de la Cebada</a></em>. Each specialises in a particular field, such as agriculture and urban economy, social and cultural integration, collaborative art or digital economy.</p>
<p>The <em>Campo de la Cebada</em> came to be in October 2010, when the city decided to demolish a sports complex in the La Latina area. Residents and neighbourhood groups worked together to create and manage an area dedicated to citizen social and cultural initiatives, with shared gardens and sports fields. Benches and bleachers were designed and made from recycled materials using free designs and fab-lab tools. Participants even created a geodesic dome 14 metres in diameter for hosting different cultural and social events.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174513/original/file-20170619-22116-1imq8pq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174513/original/file-20170619-22116-1imq8pq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=288&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174513/original/file-20170619-22116-1imq8pq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=288&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174513/original/file-20170619-22116-1imq8pq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=288&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174513/original/file-20170619-22116-1imq8pq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174513/original/file-20170619-22116-1imq8pq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174513/original/file-20170619-22116-1imq8pq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Campo de la Cebada in Barcelona.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Raphaël Besson</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <em>Campo de la Cebada</em> has since grown to include exchange services, workshops for street art, photography, poetry and theatre, and events such as open-air music and film festivals. Activities are totally self-managed by groups representing residents, retailers, and associations, as well as architects, urban planners, researchers and engineers. It’s administered collectively rather than within the closed circle of a few elected officials or experts. Its objective is “that anyone may feel concerned and be implicated in the functions of the place”, according to Manuel Pascual of the <a href="http://www.zuloark.com/">Zuloark</a> architectural agency.</p>
<h2>Toward open-source urban planning</h2>
<p>Community groups such as <em><a href="http://www.ecosistemaurbano.com/">Ecosistema Urbano</a></em>, <em><a href="http://basurama.org/">Basurama</a></em>, <em><a href="http://www.todoporlapraxis.es/">Todo por la Praxis</a></em> or <em><a href="http://www.paisajetransversal.org/">Paisaje Transversal</a></em> are also testing an urbanism based on collaborative management, experimentation, sustainable development, and the integration of artistic and cultural events. Inspired by the universe of open-source software, these groups advocate open-source urban planning. This translates into the development of design-thinking methods and digital tools that can help stimulate citizens’ ability to express themselves and their needs and turn projects into co-productions.</p>
<p>For example, the <em>Basurama</em> group organised an initiative called <em><a href="http://basurama.org/proyecto/autobarrios-sancristobal/">Autobarrios San Cristobal</a></em> in which residents of a neglected Madrid neighbourhood developed a shared space using local knowledge and recovered materials. The <em>Paisaje Tetuàn</em> project encouraged residents of the Tetuàn neighbourhood to collaborate with urban architects, artists and designers to rehabilitate the central Leopoldo Luis square as well as its surrounding area.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174514/original/file-20170619-22108-11b7flr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174514/original/file-20170619-22108-11b7flr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174514/original/file-20170619-22108-11b7flr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174514/original/file-20170619-22108-11b7flr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174514/original/file-20170619-22108-11b7flr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174514/original/file-20170619-22108-11b7flr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174514/original/file-20170619-22108-11b7flr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Autobarrios San Cristóbal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Basurama</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Open-source urban planning is less a business than a process of establishing relational spaces required for building the commons. This is one of the objectives of collaborative digital platforms that can connect of socially different worlds. These platforms serve as a “middle ground”, connecting the “underground” of residents, users, hackers and artists, with the “upper world” of administrations, businesses and engineers.</p>
<p>Online social networks thus facilitate self-managed citizen laboratories and mobilise hundreds of people for events in record time – equipment and infrastructure for <em>Campo de La Cebada</em> were financed through crowdfunding. Platforms for citizen laboratory networking, like the program “Ciudadania 2.0” (“citizenship 2.0”) created by <a href="http://medialab-prado.es/">Media Lab Prado</a> and the <a href="http://segib.org/">Secretaria General Iberoamericana</a> (SEGIB), facilitate resource sharing and visibility. The collaborative map <a href="http://www.losmadriles.org/">“Los Madriles”</a> features real-time polls of social and citizen innovations, including social centres, shared gardens, artistic events and more.</p>
<p>The Media Lab Prado <a href="http://medialab-prado.es/convocatorias">call-for-projects platform</a> helps spread the word about workshops and experiments related to the city and shared spaces – urban agriculture, data visualisations, cultural events, urban economics, etc. The Media Lab Prado digital façade provides real-time information on research, workshops, and on-going experiments to residents of the <em>Letras</em> district are updated on programs, and also enables them to publish their own announcements for events as well as neighbourhood news.</p>
<h2>Making the Madrid commons : intense daily activism</h2>
<p>The movement around Madrid’s public spaces has roots that stretch back to the <a href="https://monoskop.org/Situationist_International">Situationist International</a> of the 1960s. It asserts that experimentation and the mobilisation of a wide range of knowledge, be it expert or profane, are the basis for renewed vision of the urban fabric. By inciting citizens to act directly on the urban landscape and to freely create daily life, it differentiates itself from militant politics, to defend an intense daily activism.</p>
<p>In contrast to Madrid’s experiments, the Situationist movement
remains largely confined at a <a href="https://metropoles.revues.org/2902">literary and conceptual level</a>. New digital manufacturing techniques and tools have changed this situation. They enabled Madrid activists and residents to demand the material realisation of the Situationist ideal and to defend a “right to the infrastructure of cities”. This right is not limited to demanding equal access to city resources, but also concerns the city’s infrastructure, the “urban hardware”.</p>
<p>It going beyond social, educational and cultural life to coproducing city public spaces, equipment and other urban infrastructures. Thus Madrid’s movements are part of the “maker age”. In citizen laboratories, physical and material aspects come before intellectual and political considerations. Residents go first to the garden, where they can exchange and create; only then do they debate broader political issues. In this “soft activism”, the shared space becomes the new <a href="https://www.cairn.info/revue-multitudes-2007-4-page-101.htm">“interstice where political reconstruction could begin”</a>.</p>
<p>Exploring Madrid’s urban experiments permits us to better understand the conditions needed to making the urban commons. First is some vacant space and the possibility of using a portion of it to experiment and create. The space also need to be intermediate – neither private nor public – and inherently unstable and suitable for gathering. Then come the digital tools and acquisition of the technical capacity to produce shared space. Finally the “making” begins, and with it the continuous interaction between the materials and the intellectual end result.</p>
<p>How such urban commons experiments are to be developed and managed over the long-term remains to be answered. From this point of view, everything remains to be done.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This text was translated by Joan Thomas and Sarah Marcelly Fernandez.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/79717/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Raphaël Besson ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>Born seemingly spontaneously out of a desire to create and manage shared spaces, Madrid’s “citizen laboratories” are using new tools to build a new vision of how cities should be planned and run.Raphaël Besson, Directeur de l'agence Villes Innovations, Chercheur associé au laboratoire PACTE (Université de Grenoble), Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/793182017-06-14T17:57:34Z2017-06-14T17:57:34ZExpert conversation: using open source drug discovery to help treat neglected diseases<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173858/original/file-20170614-15456-3fcw3z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Professor Samir Brahmachar: 'Why should drug discovery be kept in the Wright brothers’ era of trial and error?' </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://alchetron.com/Samir-K-Brahmachari-193618-W#-">Alchetron.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="http://www.osdd.net/">Open Source Drug Discovery</a> project, launched in 2008 by biophysicist <a href="http://samirbrahmachari.rnabiology.org/">Samir Brahmachari</a>, aims to develop low-cost treatments for neglected diseases using an open-source approach. Brahmachari is founding director of India’s <a href="https://www.igib.res.in/">Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology</a>. He was interviewed by Gaëll Mainguy, director of development and international relations for the CRI (conversation has been edited and condensed for publication).</em></p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Gaëll Mainguy: Professor Brahmachari, can you introduce yourself in a few words?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Samir Brahmachari:</strong> I have dedicated most of my career to DNA structure and function, and in particular to repetitive sequences – long before the discovery of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3913379/">trinucleotide repeats</a>, a major cause of neurological and neuromuscular diseases. I got hooked to the subject of the potential functions of the so called “junk” portion of the genome when I was a post-doc in Paris in <a href="http://www.ijm.fr/">Jacques Monod’s laboratory</a>. The field was virtually blank and not yet competitive – a real bonanza for a young researcher looking to start a scientific career. This uncharted territory was fascinating. </p>
<p>In 1997, I moved to Delhi and founded the <a href="https://www.igib.res.in/">Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology</a>, associated with a large number of hospitals and doctors, to annotate and analyse the functions of genome variations. I led the <a href="http://www.hgvs.org/">Human Genome Variation</a> project for Asia and mapped the Indian genomic diversity to identify predictive markers for complex diseases and pharmacogenomics studies. </p>
<p>That’s when I decided to move to bacteria: as people were discussing the need for <a href="https://www.genome.gov/10001772/all-about-the--human-genome-project-hgp/">modelling an entire human genome</a>, I realised that the complexity of our species and the paucity of data would preclude such an endeavour for a long time to come. The question was: is it possible to build a computational model of 4,000 genes?</p>
<p>Right now I’m in Paris as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Centre for Research and Interdisciplinarity because of my work on <a href="http://www.osdd.net/">Open Source Drug Discovery</a> (OSDD). </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173786/original/file-20170614-31550-1eze52g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173786/original/file-20170614-31550-1eze52g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173786/original/file-20170614-31550-1eze52g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173786/original/file-20170614-31550-1eze52g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173786/original/file-20170614-31550-1eze52g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173786/original/file-20170614-31550-1eze52g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173786/original/file-20170614-31550-1eze52g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Samir Brahmachari (right) speaks with Ariel Lindner, cofounder of the Centre for Research and Interdisciplinarity and its director of research.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CRI</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>What is Open Source Drug Discovery and why did you start the project?</strong></p>
<p><strong>S.B.:</strong> OSDD is a global platform – one of the first crowdsourcing pharma projects – where the best minds can collaborate and collectively discover novel therapies for neglected diseases. </p>
<p>While I was serving as director general of the <a href="http://www.csir.res.in/">Council of Scientific & Industrial Research</a> and at the <a href="http://www.dsir.gov.in/">Department of Scientific and Industrial Research</a> (DSIR), for the Indian government, I designed and led a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3447952/">project on <em>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</em></a> (MTB), the bacteria responsible for tuberculosis (TB). TB is a dreadful disease: it infects a third of the world’s population and claims <a href="http://www.who.int/gho/tb/epidemic/cases_deaths/en/">1.4 million lives per year</a>. Yet it is neglected; the last TB drug was developed in the 1960s. </p>
<p>I felt the obligation to use the TB genome – which was known for ten years without anyone making any effort to turn these data into useful knowledge – to develop new therapies.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173844/original/file-20170614-21345-1548bep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173844/original/file-20170614-21345-1548bep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173844/original/file-20170614-21345-1548bep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173844/original/file-20170614-21345-1548bep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173844/original/file-20170614-21345-1548bep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173844/original/file-20170614-21345-1548bep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173844/original/file-20170614-21345-1548bep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Under a high magnification of 15549x, a details of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Mycobacterium_tuberculosis_8438_lores.jpg">CDC/ Dr. Ray Butler; Janice Carr/Wikimedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Why did you decide to go open source? What advantages does it bring?</strong></p>
<p><strong>S.B.:</strong> The Wright brothers paved the way to modern aeronautics by conceiving and testing prototypes that were more or less able to fly. That was brave and courageous but also slow and perilous. Today, aircraft are entirely conceived and designed on computers, which model them in all their complexity. Why should drug discovery be kept in the Wright brothers’ era of trial and error? </p>
<p>It should be possible to upgrade and design drugs in computers. For us, the first challenge was to obtain a comprehensive understanding of <em>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</em>. The genome was only 50% annotated, and completing it was a daunting task that required retrieving and reading more than 45,000 articles on the subject. </p>
<p>No single team could do this alone – it had to be scaled. With crowdsourcing, the work was completed within one year. We started with 1,200 students, and 400 remained until the end. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173431/original/file-20170612-603-125nwgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173431/original/file-20170612-603-125nwgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173431/original/file-20170612-603-125nwgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173431/original/file-20170612-603-125nwgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173431/original/file-20170612-603-125nwgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173431/original/file-20170612-603-125nwgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173431/original/file-20170612-603-125nwgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173431/original/file-20170612-603-125nwgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with Samir Brahmachari in 2013.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/science/young-scientists-must-dream-big-pm/article3939055.ece">Kamal Narang/Hindu Business Line</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Involving so many people must be difficult.</strong></p>
<p>Yes, you need to share and collaborate at a massive scale. Only open source can deliver the necessary level of confidence and trust. Once all our notes, protocols and findings went open source, we witnessed a profound cultural change. A lot of young students were hungry for science and wanted to contribute. We gave them wings. </p>
<p>A second challenge was to create a virtual laboratory for suggesting and screening drug targets. After creating an open source inventory of existing pharma facilities, we then used chemicals to synthesise more than 2,000 molecules (all this for less than US$500,000). </p>
<p>The third and biggest challenge was to actually build, <em>in silico</em> [via computer simulation], a system biology model of <em>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</em>. The “simple” organism still has 50 pathways, 890 genes, 1,152 metabolic reactions involving 961 metabolites. But we made it! We also identified 33 novel targets for multiple drug-resistant TB as well as Metformin, a Type II diabetes drug.</p>
<p><strong>What is the future of open-pharma and the OSDD?</strong></p>
<p><strong>S.B.:</strong> Today, an open source <em>in silico</em> model exists that can be used for any other organism, not just <em>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</em>. This offers a framework for drug design targeting other neglected disease. OSDD is now globalised – no longer a project but a movement. I think my job is done!</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/79318/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gaëll Mainguy is Director, Development and International Relations, for the CRI, which is a partner of The Conversation France.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samir Brahmachari ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>Professor Samir Brahmachari’s innovative Open Source Drug Development allows thousands of researchers to work together to discover novel therapies for under-studied diseases.Gaëll Mainguy, Director, Development and International Relations, Learning Planet Institute (LPI)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/771812017-05-13T10:22:53Z2017-05-13T10:22:53ZWhat a new university in Africa is doing to decolonise social sciences<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/168323/original/file-20170508-20732-g4g32j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's time for students to see Africa differently.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s not often that you get to create a new university from scratch: space, staff – and curriculum. But that’s exactly what we’re doing in Mauritius, at one of Africa’s newest higher education institutions. And decoloniality is central to our work.</p>
<p>I am a member of the Social Science Faculty at the <a href="https://alueducation.com/">African Leadership University</a>. Part of our task is to build a canon, knowledge, and a way of knowing. This is happening against the backdrop of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2015/nov/18/why-south-african-students-have-turned-on-their-parents-generation">a movement</a> by South African students to <a href="https://theconversation.com/africa/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=decolonisation+curriculum">decolonise</a> their universities; Black Lives Matter protests in the United States; and in the context of a much <a href="http://frantzfanonfoundation-fondationfrantzfanon.com/IMG/pdf/maldonado-torres_outline_of_ten_theses-10.23.16_.pdf">deeper history</a> of national reimagination <a href="http://www.sundaynews.co.zw/decoloniality-in-africa/">across Africa</a> and the world.</p>
<p>With this history in mind our faculty is working towards what we consider a decolonial social science curriculum. We’ve adopted seven commitments to help us meet this goal, and which we hope will shift educational discourse in a more equitable and representative direction.</p>
<h2>Seven commitments</h2>
<p><strong>#1: By 2019, everything we assign our students will be open source</strong></p>
<p>Like <a href="http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/%7Embolin/echezona-ugwuanyi.htm">most institutions</a> of higher education in Africa (and across much of the world) ALU’s library is limited. Students often deal with this by <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-it-piracy-how-students-access-academic-resources-55712">flouting</a> copyright and piracy laws and illegally downloading material. We don’t want to train our students to become habitual law breakers. Nor do we want them to accept second-tier access to commodified knowledge. </p>
<p>Our aspiration is that by 2019 everything we assign in our programme will be open source. This will be achieved by building relationships with publishers, writers and industry leaders, and negotiating partnerships for equitable access to knowledge. This will ensure that a new generation of thinkers is equipped with the analytic tools they need. </p>
<p>It will also move towards undoing centuries of <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/libr.2003.53.issue-3/libr.2003.160/libr.2003.160.xml">knowledge extraction</a> from Africa to the world that has too often taken place with little benefit to the continent itself.</p>
<p><strong>#2: Language beyond English</strong></p>
<p>Students who read, write and think in English often forget that knowledge is produced, consumed, and tested in other tongues. </p>
<p>We commit to assigning students at least one non-English text per week. This will be summarised and discussed in class, even when students are unable to read it themselves. Our current class comprises of students from 16 countries who between them speak 29 languages. English is the only language they all share. Exposing students to scholarly, policy, and real-world work that’s not in English means they are constantly reminded how much they don’t know. </p>
<p>As we grow, students will also be expected to learn languages from the continent: both those that originated in colonialism (Arabic, English, French, Portuguese), and those that are indigenous such as isiZulu, Wolof, or Amharic.</p>
<p><strong>#3: 1:1 Student exchange ratio</strong></p>
<p>Having cross-cultural experiences, particularly as an undergraduate, has become an <a href="https://frontiersjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/STEBLETON-CHERNEY-SORIA-FrontiersXXII-GoingGlobal.pdf">important part</a> of demonstrating work readiness and social competency in a “globalised” world. But scholars have <a href="https://www.dukeupress.edu/global-shadows">shown</a> that globalisation is often uneven. Strong currencies enable such experiences, so those who benefit usually come from Europe and North America. </p>
<p>This has had huge implications for higher education, where “student exchange” usually takes place at a ratio of 10:1 – ten Americans or Norwegians, for instance, exploring South African townships, for one Ghanaian who might make it to the Eiffel Tower. </p>
<p>In Social Sciences the body is the research tool and the mind the laboratory in which experiments are undertaken. We support as much exchange as possible across the broader institution. But our commitment when it comes to student exchange is strictly 1:1 – one ALU student goes abroad for every one exchange student we welcome into our classroom. </p>
<p><strong>#4: Text is not enough</strong></p>
<p>Africa’s long intellectual history has only recently begun to be recorded and stored through text. If students are exposed only to written sources, their knowledge is largely constrained to the eras of colonisation and post-coloniality. </p>
<p>To instil a much deeper knowledge and more sensitive awareness to context and content, we are committed to assigning non-textual sources of history, culture, and belief: studying artefacts, music, advertising, architecture, food, and more. Each week students engage with at least one such source to attend to the world around them in a more careful way. </p>
<p><strong>#5: We cannot work alone</strong></p>
<p>Social scientists often assign themselves the role of deconstructor: unpacking power, race, capitalism and consumption with glorious self-righteous abandon. My colleagues and I recognise that we cannot work alone, and require our students to play a central role in contributing to the university’s outputs. </p>
<p>We design our curricula in such a way that students are compelled to create, iterate, work with feedback, apply that feedback, and critically appraise it. We want them to collaborate with as wide a range of other people as possible, stretching them to use language and the tools of analysis that they acquire in their training with real world implication. For example, students recently worked with our legal, policy, and learning teams to write the university’s <a href="https://alueducation.com/about/">statement on diversity</a>.</p>
<p><strong>#6: Producers, not only consumers</strong></p>
<p>The students who choose to come to the university bring with them tremendous insight and experience. These are often developed and augmented by spending time in the quintessential multi-cultural environment of the campus and dormitories. That allows certain fusions, tensions and commonalities to emerge much more clearly than they might in other places. </p>
<p>Working and living within this environment, it’s essential that students start contributing to discourses surrounding Africa as early as possible. It might take years to know how to write a publishable scholarly article – but an op-ed, podcast or YouTube video is not quite so demanding. This allows students to get accustomed to their voices contributing to and shaping public dialogue in and about Africa.</p>
<p><strong>#7: Ethics above all</strong></p>
<p>Social Sciences both reflect and shape the world. Our programme, then, is committed to the principle of “do no harm”, and also to be an impetus for good. </p>
<p>Students will learn to think and act to the highest ethical standards, and to feel confident in asking the same of others working with them. This is essential in bringing into being a world in which Africa’s place is both central – as it has arguably always been to global capitalism – and also respected.</p>
<h2>Collaboration</h2>
<p>It’s early days at ALU. There’s a lot we still need to do, and it will take time for us to build the institution into what we collectively envision. These seven commitments are an important foundation for the Social Sciences.</p>
<p>We’re inviting responses and collaborations through <a href="https://decolonizedsocialscience.wordpress.com/">our blog</a>, through email or through collaborations with our students.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77181/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jess Auerbach is faculty at the African Leadership University. </span></em></p>It’s important to shift educational discourse in and around Africa in a more equitable, representative direction.Jess Auerbach Jahajeeah, Faculty, Social Science, African Leadership UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/709882017-01-09T15:23:16Z2017-01-09T15:23:16ZTen years on, the iPhone has taken us back as many steps as it has taken us forward<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152092/original/image-20170109-23468-92bb4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C185%2C1936%2C1110&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A reinvention, yes. But has it taken us in the right direction?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Steve_Jobs_presents_iPhone.jpg">Blake Patterson</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6246063.stm">10th anniversary of the Apple iPhone</a> reminds us that while it was not the <a href="http://pocketnow.com/2014/07/28/the-evolution-of-the-smartphone">first smartphone</a>, it was the first to achieve mass-market appeal. Since then the iPhone has defined the approach that other smartphone manufacturers have taken. </p>
<p>Smartphones have transformed our lives, essentially giving us an internet-connected computer in our pocket. But while we’re distracted by <a href="https://theconversation.com/mps-could-do-a-lot-worse-than-play-candy-crush-in-meetings-35290">Candy Crush</a> or <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-niantic-didnt-need-marketing-to-make-pokemon-go-viral-63159">Pokemon Go</a>, we are losing freedoms. We are losing control of our own devices, and losing access to the information they contain – in the very same devices that are increasingly important in our life.</p>
<p>To see how far we’ve come, consider that personal desktop computers only became widespread with the <a href="https://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/pc25/pc25_birth.html">IBM PC</a>. By designing the PC with an open architecture, an enormous industry of PC-compatible products from other manufacturers sprang up. It’s the same today: when you purchase a computer, you’ll have (if you wish) the ability and the right to add or remove, swap or upgrade any element of the system hardware, install or remove any software you wish, including the operating system, and access to any information stored on it.</p>
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<p>However, today the smartphone or tablet have in many cases effectively replaced the desktop or laptop computer. In parts of the developing world, smartphones are the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/08/africa-calling-mobile-phone-broadband-revolution-transform-democracies">first experience many have of computing and internet access</a>. The fact that they are small and portable and work wirelessly means they are put to many other uses, such as receiving guidance from navigation systems, listening to music while exercising, or playing games in waiting rooms.</p>
<p>Yet doing something that’s very simple on a computer – such as listing your files – is impossible on an iPhone. iPhone users can change their background image, their ring-tone, the time of their alarm. But the iPhone guards what files it contains jealously. Your phone that is carried everywhere with you, which knows your precise location, which records the websites you visit – has all of its files completely inaccessible to you. If you care about privacy this should sound disturbing.</p>
<p>We have always had the right to govern our own computers, to do with them as we wished. But the smartphones and tablets we’re buying today come without administrator rights: we are merely users in the hands of the big tech companies, and these firms effectively rule the machines we live with.</p>
<h2>Information and freedom</h2>
<p>Of course, the iPhone does allow access to some information, such as photos, emails or documents. But it is often difficult to get that data off the phone. The way the iPhone communicates with your computer is a closed, proprietary protocol, and Apple changes this protocol each time it updates the phone. So if you use neither Microsoft Windows or Apple Mac computers you will have a hard time even to get your own photos out of your own phone.</p>
<p>Apple also restricts what information can be stored on the device. For example, iPhone users are obliged to transfer any music files on the phone through Apple iTunes software. If you cannot or do not wish to run iTunes – no music for you. Additionally, iTunes will automatically delete all the music tracks on your phone if you try to <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201253">transfer files from more than one computer</a>, due to digital rights management software that assumes that access from more than one computer means that the file has been shared illegally. It’s a bit like buying spectacles that control the conditions under which you’re allowed to read books. Or a backpack that will destroy all its contents if you attempt to carry items bought from different stores.</p>
<p>The same issue also affects which applications can be installed. If you learn how write code, you can develop your own applications to solve your own unique problems. But the iPhone doesn’t allow you to run those programs: only software authorised by Apple and distributed via the Apple Store is permitted.</p>
<h2>Open alternatives</h2>
<p>Why so tightly control what we can do with our devices? Some may argue that these restrictions are necessary in favour of security. If we look again at computers, however, we find that Linux, an open source non-commercial operating system, is also the <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/article/uks-security-branch-says-ubuntu-most-secure-end-user-os/">most secure</a>. It’s true that the Android mobile phone operating system, which is more open, is not as secure as the iOS operating system that runs Apple’s iPhone. But it shows that it is possible to have a system that is both secure and open.</p>
<p>In fact, <a href="http://www.puredarwin.org/">iOS is built around several open source software projects</a> – those whose internal workings are open to anyone to view or modify, for free. But while elements of iOS are open source, they are used as part of a tightly closed system. Android, an open source mobile phone operating system originally created by Google, is the chief alternative to the iPhone. But Android phones too have many closed source components, and Google is constantly <a href="http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/10/googles-iron-grip-on-android-controlling-open-source-by-any-means-necessary/">replacing open components with closed source ones</a>.</p>
<p>Another alternative comes in the form of <a href="http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2016/09/ubuntu-phone-ota-13-new-features">Ubuntu Touch</a>, a recent version of the popular <a href="https://www.ubuntu.com/">Ubuntu Linux</a> for phones and tablets, although it is not yet widely used. The fact remains that ten years on, the mobile revolution kicked-off by the iPhone has taken us several steps forward and several steps back; leaving us uncertain of whether some day we will actually fully own our devices.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/70988/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This article was written based on discussions with Rafael Sahb, manager of the web for development team at the Council on Health Research for Development, an NGO which develops online platforms for health research in Africa and the developing world.</span></em></p>The iPhone mobile revolution put powerful computers in our pockets, but took away our rights to control them. Is that worth celebrating?Leandro Soriano Marcolino, Lecturer in Data Engineering, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/663832016-10-03T19:14:26Z2016-10-03T19:14:26ZWhy health implants should have open source code<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140020/original/image-20161003-7750-1o8gpve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Open-source code can be a literal lifesaver.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/132889348@N07/20013034233/in/photolist-wuu2Qn-dnXwdA-a4gXT6-x9RxXT-9CwCuC-dnc3UK-47SBh-9CtJ5k-6Fb6Jz-64ff7i-pH6M1U-7AWDcR-fazkoJ-9fLoqt-9CtGDg-6V29dN-5yhmsT-EtLn2-8g2i2x-8cFoLy-pqA8cr-bwskff-2QxSi-9p9zyS-oDBeep-qTySso-686vNk-pqC4rj-oLaXQ3-LEQYA-7HBT3k-dJGFX-efyeGY-55dmhq-i2CQPW-7uaWcv-8MYQk8-mRuiEo-5598w2-ppqYS-3YgB7-686yEi-5Y5Q27-n4pRc-aF72ma-6gfXFF-8KGU3A-ac89Up-9c8T6e-aF72nF">Christiaan Colen/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As medical implants become more common, sophisticated and versatile, understanding the code that runs them is vital. A pacemaker or insulin-releasing implant can be lifesaving, but they are also vulnerable not just to malicious attacks, but also to faulty code. </p>
<p>For commercial reasons, companies have been reluctant to open up their code to researchers. But with lives at stake, we need to be allowed to take a peek under the hood.</p>
<p>Over the past few years several researchers have revealed lethal vulnerabilities in the code that runs some medical implants. The late Barnaby Jack, for example, <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/article/2492453/malware-vulnerabilities/pacemaker-hack-can-deliver-deadly-830-volt-jolt.html">showed that pacemakers could be “hacked”</a> to deliver lethal electric shocks. Jay Radcliffe <a href="https://media.blackhat.com/bh-us-11/Radcliffe/BH_US_11_Radcliffe_Hacking_Medical_Devices_WP.pdf">demonstrated a way</a> of wirelessly making an implanted insulin pump deliver a lethal dose of insulin. </p>
<p>But “bugs” in the code are also an issue. Researcher Marie Moe recently discovered this first-hand, when her Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) <a href="https://www.wired.com/2016/03/go-ahead-hackers-break-heart/">unexpectedly went into “safe mode”</a>. This caused her heart rate to drop by half, with drastic consequences. </p>
<p>It took months for Moe to figure out what went wrong with her implant, and this was made harder because the code running in the ICD was proprietary, or closed-source. The reason? Reverse-engineering closed-source code is a crime under various laws, including the US <a href="http://copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf">Digital Millennium Copyright Act 1998</a>. It is a violation of copyright, theft of intellectual property, and may be an infringement of patent law.</p>
<h2>Why researchers can’t just look at the code</h2>
<p>Beyond legal restrictions, there’s another reason why researchers can’t just look at the source code in the same way you might take apart your lawnmower. It takes a very talented programmer using expensive software to reverse-engineer code into something readable. Even then, it’s also not a very exact process. </p>
<p>To understand why, it helps to know a bit about how companies create and ship software.</p>
<p>Software starts as a set of requirements – software must do this; it must look like that; it must have these buttons. Next, the software is designed – this component is responsible for these operations, it passes data to that component, and so on. Finally, a coder writes the instructions to tell the computer how to create the components and in detail how they work. These instructions are all the source code – human-readable instructions using English-like verbs (read, write, exit) mixed with a variety of symbols which the programmer and the computer both understand. </p>
<p>Up to this point, the source code is easily understood by a human. But this isn’t the end of the process. Before software is shipped it goes through one final transformation – it is converted to machine code. It now looks like just a lot of numbers. The source code is gone, replaced by the machine code. It’s now a bit like the inside of your car stereo; it “contains no serviceable parts”. Users are not supposed to mess with the machine code. </p>
<h2>The alternative</h2>
<p>The alternative to closed-source software is open-source, which is freely available both as source code (published on websites) and as binaries or machine code. The philosophy of open-source software is that there are no secrets and no ownership. In the <a href="https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT">MIT licence</a>, which is just one kind of open-source licence, anyone can download and use the software and anyone can contribute to it, provided they retain the messages embedded in the source code by its various authors. </p>
<p>The biggest difference between open-source and closed-source is money. Developers of closed-source software get paid because they have a monopoly on their software, and software sales generate income. Open-source software developers have to find another source of income. </p>
<p>You might think that no one can make any money from open-source software, but that’s not entirely true. A lot of businesses thrive on the distribution and support of open-source software. Because open-source software is written by programmers, generally for programmers, it’s not as polished and easy to use as proprietary software. This provides a role for businesses like RedHat, IBM, Oracle, Google and Mozilla, who make the open-source software experience nicer.</p>
<h2>Closed-source or open-source?</h2>
<p>The argument has raged for decades and centres on issues of code quality and security. Open-source supporters subscribe to a “the more eyes the better” argument. If any programmer can see your code, the reasoning goes, they will discover bugs and tell you about them. The same argument is used to support the proposition that open-source software is more secure. </p>
<p>Both assertions are difficult to prove. Security vulnerabilities in <a href="http://www.openssh.com/">openSSH</a> (an open-source tool for securing connections) are constantly being found, and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-heartbleed-bug-reveals-a-flaw-in-online-security-25536">2014 Heartbleed attack</a> was based on bugs in the code that have been there for more than 12 years. On the other hand, <a href="http://arstechnica.com/security/2016/07/20-year-old-windows-bug-lets-printers-install-malware-patch-now/">a vulnerability was recently found</a> in a Windows (closed-source) automatic printer driver installer that had been in the code for almost 20 years. </p>
<p>Closed-source advocates say that their code is better because professionals (not amateurs and volunteers) are paid to read the code and find the bugs. Open-source people point out that many closed-source products (such as Windows, Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat) are so big that no one, paid or otherwise, understands the entire code. </p>
<p>Another argument for closed-source software is that bugs and in particular, security flaws (which do not affect the user) can remain hidden indefinitely. This is referred to as “security by obscurity”. If you can’t see the errors, then they can’t be used in cyber-attacks. The <a href="http://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-1-4419-5906-5_487">opposing principle</a> is that an effective security system does not rely on secrecy; only good design and a secret key.</p>
<h2>How code gets fixed</h2>
<p>When it comes to actually fixing code, the real difference between open and closed-source software is who can modify, fix or exploit the bugs when they are found. If it’s closed-source, the user has to report the bug to the author or software vendor. They then replicate the fault, open up their private code repository, find a way to fix the bug, and write a patch. Problems arise <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/help/14223/windows-xp-end-of-support">when products are no longer supported</a>, or companies extend “security by obscurity” to the point where they will ignore, <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/security-it/backlash-after-oracle-it-security-executive-mary-ann-davidson-pens-nutty-3000word-rant-mocking-customers-for-trying-to-find-its-security-flaws-20150811-giwymy.html_">discredit</a> or <a href="http://www.scmagazineuk.com/researcher-threatened-with-prosecution-for-exposing-flaws/article/426700/3/">even prosecute</a> those who point out flaws.</p>
<p>When dealing with open-source software, on the other hand, you can report the flaw to the team of volunteers who maintain the project through the public code repository (such as GitHub, SourceForge, or GoogleCode). Then if someone is working on the project (many projects are abandoned and are not supported at all), they may fix the bug and you can then download and install the updated version. Of course there is always the possibility of a malicious programmer adding “features” like malware and backdoors to the software, although if others are working on the project they should detect such tampering. </p>
<h2>Implant manufacturers should open source software</h2>
<p>Having a open-source software run closed-source hardware is nothing new. The <a href="https://www.raspberrypi.org/">Raspberry Pi</a>, for example, uses a proprietary Broadcom graphics processing unit (GPU), the internals of which are kept secret. Broadcomm has published just enough information to allow any programmer to use the chip while maintaining its monopoly on the hardware design. In theory there is nothing stopping implant manufacturers doing the same. </p>
<p>The reason they should do it comes down to real-world experience. When someone’s pacemaker misbehaves, doctors, medical technicians and their programmers do not have the luxury of waiting for a manufacturer to release a patch or update. They need the fix immediately. That’s why manufacturers use only lightweight security on these products. When your doctor needs to access your device, they don’t have the time to mess around with cryptographic keys and authentication protocols. The most they have time for is to look up your device’s serial number and default password in your medical records. </p>
<p>While this is a security flaw, the same medical imperative argument applies to the source code. If your device goes crazy, your programmer needs to be able to find the code fast – that means open-source repository. When lives are at stake, there’s no time for secrecy. Just publish the code.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66383/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James H. Hamlyn-Harris does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When lives are at stake, there’s no time for secrecy. Just publish the code.James H. Hamlyn-Harris, Senior Lecturer, Computer Science and Software Engineering, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/647442016-09-14T12:00:54Z2016-09-14T12:00:54ZMaking drug development less secretive could lead to quicker, cheaper therapies<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/137680/original/image-20160914-4972-20gqi9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">By working in real time together, we can create something robust and inexpensive in a short time frame</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-140803288/stock-photo-close-up-shot-of-a-hand-holding-two-white-pills.html?src=eF_oELVWleK8oTFao3pkgw-1-1">Johan Larson/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Almost all new medicines are discovered by the pharmaceutical industry. It’s an expensive process that requires investment up front, so investors need guarantees, secrecy and patents to safeguard their return.</p>
<p>This financial model is a major constraint on the pharmaceutical industry. Medicines for diseases with small markets are not prioritised and areas associated with unclear basic science are considered too risky. </p>
<p>The world was surprised to learn there were no medicines for Ebola, or Zika, but why would there be? Before the outbreaks, these diseases were of little interest to a profit-making industry.</p>
<p>Our <a href="http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acscentsci.6b00086">new research</a>, published today in the journal ACS Central Science, shows that with the right investment, an open source drug discovery system – based on sharing all information in the public domain in real time – might compete with the traditional pharmaceutical industry to deliver the drugs we need.</p>
<h2>Secrecy vs openness</h2>
<p>Secrecy ruins the efficiency of the research process. Competing groups operate in ignorance of each others’ results, experts fail to talk to each other and there’s unnecessary duplication. </p>
<p>There are groups pursuing projects known to others to be dead-ends. </p>
<p>In contrast, open source projects are developed by communities where everything is shared. Mutual learning is fast.</p>
<p>The ability to “look over the shoulder” of people working on the same problem can lead to extraordinary leaps of productivity. Contributors can rapidly identify problems and can join and leave a nimble team as required. </p>
<p>Examples of open source products are the Android operating system on our phones, the Firefox and Chrome web browsers on our computers and much of the infrastructure of the internet. Such things are often market-leading.</p>
<p>By working together in real time, we can create something robust and inexpensive in a short time frame; as well as something that has community ownership, rather than being owned by an individual. </p>
<h2>Opening up drug discovery</h2>
<p>Our new paper explains how we’ve used open source principles in the discovery of new medicines for malaria.</p>
<p>The aim was to enable anyone in the community (from professors and pharmaceutical professionals, to undergraduates and school classes) to help solve our most pressing health concerns. </p>
<p>As part of an international consortium of people called <a href="http://opensourcemalaria.org/">Open Source Malaria</a>, we investigated some chemical compounds that work well at killing the malaria parasite, and employed an open source research framework.</p>
<p>Anyone could take part, all the data and ideas had to be public domain, and there were to be no patents. Our lab notebooks were no longer sitting on the bench of a locked lab, but were updated in real time on the internet. </p>
<p>We showed the molecules have great promise. Ultimately, we couldn’t take them any further because of problems with their solubility and how long they were active in blood. </p>
<p>But although we decided to move on to other potential medicines, everything is in the public domain so anyone can continue the project if they can see a way to solve the problems that we didn’t.</p>
<p>The research mechanism works. People contributed, probably for all sorts of reasons that were selfless (to cure a terrible disease) and selfish (to get an academic publication or community recognition). </p>
<p>Pharmaceutical industry professionals ran experiments and gave valuable advice. Students contributed new molecules and insights. Academics advised and steered the project as it was happening. Open source is inclusive.</p>
<p>Decisions were made communally in open meetings recorded online. All the details, warts and all, are visible, so it should be simple for anyone to reproduce any of the research or to adopt a similar model for a different purpose.</p>
<h2>Why doesn’t everyone do this?</h2>
<p>As you move a molecule towards the market, the process becomes more expensive. This raises the question: who’s going to pay? </p>
<p>Discovering a drug is said to cost <a href="http://csdd.tufts.edu/news/complete_story/pr_tufts_csdd_2014_cost_study">US$2.6 billion</a>. Some people dispute that, and of course it depends on the disease – <a href="http://policycures.org/downloads/From%20Pipeline%20to%20Product%20full%20report.pdf">it’s thought to take about a twentieth of that</a> to discover a new drug for malaria. </p>
<p>Open Source Malaria is now looking at later, more expensive stages of drug development for a promising set of molecules, and there are more community inputs than ever. </p>
<p>Clinical trials are ultimately needed if a drug is to be approved. But it’s unclear who is going to pay for these. Nobody has taken an open source drug through to market before and that makes investors nervous. </p>
<p>There are, however, lots of other possible ways of funding drug development. The research that led to the polio vaccine, for example, was funded by a remarkably successful crowdsourcing campaign, <a href="http://www.marchofdimes.org/mission/polio.aspx">the March of Dimes</a>. </p>
<p>If we operated in an open source way, we could involve patients in the design of clinical trials and we would be unable to hide any <a href="http://www.alltrials.net/">“bad data” that came from those trials</a>, since all the data would be visible to everyone.</p>
<p>Governments, philanthropists and entrepreneurs will be interested in the open development of medicines. An open source project allows for the self-assembly of talented teams, committed to the maximum value for each research dollar. </p>
<p>Open source drug discovery need not be limited to medicines where there is little market. Rather, it could become a new approach to medicines for a range of diseases, from health crises such as antimicrobial resistance through to rare forms of cancer. </p>
<p>We could work together to get the medicines to market that we really need – and be responsive to threats such as Ebola or Zika – without the need for a prospective profit. </p>
<p>The licence covering Open Source Malaria is a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons licence</a>, meaning manufacture could be handled by the thriving generics industry, keeping costs for patients as low as possible. </p>
<p>There’s no need for secrecy, anywhere. With the right investment, open source could provide the traditional pharma industry with some genuinely distinctive competition.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/64744/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Todd works for The University of Sydney and is the founder of the Open Source Malaria Consortium, which receives direct funding from the Australian Research Council and the Medicines for Malaria Venture, as well as in-kind contributions from individuals and organisations that contribute in the public domain. He is affiliated with the Open Source Pharma Foundation established by a grant from the Tata Trusts, in Bangalore in 2016. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alice Williamson is the principal synthetic organic chemist for the Open Source Malaria consortium at the School of Chemistry at the University Sydney. She receives funding on an ARC Linkage Grant, jointly funded by the Medicines for Malaria Venture and the Australian Government. </span></em></p>With the right investment, an open source drug discovery system might compete with the traditional pharmaceutical industry to deliver the drugs we need.Matthew Todd, Associate Professor, School of Chemistry, University of SydneyAlice Motion, Postdoctoral Research Associate and Teaching Fellow in Chemistry, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/615542016-08-04T01:29:23Z2016-08-04T01:29:23ZExpanding citizen science models to enhance open innovation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133010/original/image-20160803-12227-d71ph8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=342%2C8%2C4816%2C3548&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Imagine where working together on open data can get us?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-314041658/stock-photo-teamwork-concept-high-angle-view-of-businessmen-hands-forming-circle-and-holding-puzzle-pieces-on.html">Puzzle pieces image via www.shutterstock.com.</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the years, <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-citizen-science-16487">citizen scientists</a> have provided vital data and contributed in invaluable ways to various scientific quests. But they’re typically relegated to helping traditional scientists complete tasks the pros don’t have the time or resources to deal with on their own. Citizens are asked to count wildlife, for instance, or classify photos that are of interest to the lead researchers. </p>
<p>This type of top-down engagement has consigned citizen science to the fringes, where it fills a manpower gap but not much more. As a result, its full value has not been realized. Marginalizing the citizen scientists and their potential contribution is a grave mistake – it limits how far we can go in science and the speed and scope of discovery.</p>
<p>Instead, by harnessing globalization’s increased interconnectivity, citizen science should become an integral part of open innovation. Science agendas can be set by citizens, data can be open, and open-source software and hardware can be shared to assist in the scientific process. And as the model proves itself, it can be expanded even further, into nonscience realms.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132997/original/image-20160803-12223-n5ue2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132997/original/image-20160803-12223-n5ue2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132997/original/image-20160803-12223-n5ue2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132997/original/image-20160803-12223-n5ue2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132997/original/image-20160803-12223-n5ue2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132997/original/image-20160803-12223-n5ue2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132997/original/image-20160803-12223-n5ue2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132997/original/image-20160803-12223-n5ue2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Since 1900 the Audubon Society has sponsored its annual Christmas Bird Count, which relies on amateur volunteers nationwide.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwsmtnprairie/5436727240">USFWS Mountain-Prairie</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Some major citizen science successes</h2>
<p>Citizen-powered science has been around for <a href="http://www.audubon.org/conservation/history-christmas-bird-count">over 100 years</a>, utilizing the collective brainpower of regular, everyday people to collect, observe, input, identify and crossmatch data that contribute to and expand scientific discovery. And there have been some marked successes.</p>
<p><a href="http://ebird.org/content/ebird/about/">eBird</a> allows scores of citizen scientists to record bird abundance via field observation; those data have contributed to over <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320713003820">90 peer-reviewed research articles</a>. <a href="http://earthquake.usgs.gov/data/dyfi/">Did You Feel It?</a> crowdsources information from people around that world who have experienced an earthquake. <a href="https://theconversation.com/crowdsourcing-the-serengeti-how-citizen-scientists-classified-millions-of-photos-from-home-42930">Snapshot Serengeti</a> uses volunteers to identify, classify and catalog photos taken daily in this African ecosystem.</p>
<p><a href="https://fold.it/portal/">FoldIt</a> is an online game where players are tasked with using the tools provided to virtually fold protein structures. The goal is to help scientists figure out if these structures can be used in medical applications. A set of users determined the <a href="http://doi.org/10.1038/nsmb.2119">crystal structure</a> of an enzyme involved in the monkey version of AIDS in just three weeks – a problem that had previously gone <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/19/aids-protein-decoded-gamers_n_970113.html">unsolved for 15 years</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.galaxyzoo.org/#/story">Galaxy Zoo</a> is perhaps the most well-known online citizen science project. It uploads images from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and allows users to assist with the morphological classification of galaxies. The citizen astronomers discovered an entirely new class of galaxy – <a href="http://doi.org/10.1126/science.333.6039.173">“green pea” galaxies</a> – that have gone on to be the subject of over 20 academic articles. </p>
<p>These are all notable successes, with citizens contributing to the projects set out by professional scientists. But there’s so much more potential in the model. What does the next generation of citizen science look like?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132998/original/image-20160803-12230-1adv34h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132998/original/image-20160803-12230-1adv34h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132998/original/image-20160803-12230-1adv34h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132998/original/image-20160803-12230-1adv34h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132998/original/image-20160803-12230-1adv34h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132998/original/image-20160803-12230-1adv34h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132998/original/image-20160803-12230-1adv34h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132998/original/image-20160803-12230-1adv34h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People can contribute to crowdsourced projects from just about anywhere.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Summer_-_Nazareth_College_(8510602468).jpg">Nazareth College</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Open innovation could advance citizen science</h2>
<p>The time is right for citizen science to join forces with open innovation. This is a concept that describes partnering with other people and sharing ideas to come up with something new. The assumption is that more can be achieved when boundaries are lowered and resources – including ideas, data, designs and software and hardware – are opened and made freely available.</p>
<p>Open innovation is collaborative, distributed, cumulative and it develops over time. Citizen science can be a critical element here because its <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/12/magazine/professional-amateurs.html?_r=0">professional-amateurs</a> can become another significant source of data, standards and best practices that could further the work of scientific and lay communities. </p>
<p>Globalization has spurred on this trend through the ubiquity of internet and wireless connections, affordable devices to collect data (such as cameras, smartphones, smart sensors, wearable technologies), and the ability to easily connect with others. Increased access to people, information and ideas points the way to unlock new synergies, new relationships and new forms of collaboration that transcend boundaries. And individuals can focus their attention and spend their time on anything they want.</p>
<p>We are seeing this emerge in what has been termed the “solution economy” – where citizens find fixes to challenges that are traditionally managed by government. </p>
<p>Consider the issue of accessibility. Passage of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act aimed to improve accessibility issues in the U.S. But more than two decades later, individuals with disabilities are still dealing with substantial mobility issues in public spaces – due to street conditions, cracked or nonexistent sidewalks, missing curb cuts, obstructions or only portions of a building being accessible. These all can create physical and emotional challenges for the disabled. </p>
<p>To help deal with this issue, several individual solution seekers have merged citizen science, open innovation and open sourcing to create mobile and web applications that provide information about navigating city streets. For instance, <a href="http://healthland.time.com/2013/10/14/wheelchair-inaccessible-the-story-behind-an-app-that-maps-obstacles-for-the-disabled/">Jason DaSilva</a>, a filmmaker with multiple sclerosis, developed <a href="https://www.axsmap.com/">AXS Map</a> – a free online and mobile app powered by Google Places API. It crowdsources information from people across the country about wheelchair accessibility in cities nationwide. </p>
<h2>Broadening the model</h2>
<p>There’s no reason the diffuse resources and open process of the citizen scientist model need be applied only to science questions.</p>
<p>For instance, <a href="https://www.sciencegossip.org/">Science Gossip</a> is a <a href="https://www.zooniverse.org/">Zooniverse</a> citizen science project. It’s rooted in Victorian-era natural history – the period considered to be the <a href="http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Victorian_era">dawn of modern science</a> – but it crosses disciplinary boundaries. At the time, scientific information was produced everywhere and recorded in letters, books, newspapers and periodicals (it was also the beginning of mass printing). Science Gossip allows citizen scientists to pore through pages of Victorian natural history periodicals. The site prompts them with questions meant to ensure continuity with other user entries.</p>
<p>The final product is digitized data based on the 140,000 pages of 19th-century periodicals. Anyone can access it on <a href="http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/">Biodiversity Heritage Library</a> easily and for free. This work has obvious benefits for natural history researchers but it also can be used by art enthusiasts, ethnographers, biographers, historians, rhetoricians, or authors of historical fiction or filmmakers of period pieces who seek to create accurate settings. The collection possesses value that goes beyond scientific data and becomes critical to understanding the period in which data was collected.</p>
<p>It’s also possible to imagine flipping the citizen science script, with the citizens themselves calling the shots about what they want to see investigated. Implementing this version of <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-citizen-science-empower-disenfranchised-communities-53625">citizen science in disenfranchised communities</a> could be a means of access and empowerment. Imagine Flint, Michigan residents directing expert researchers on studies of their drinking water.</p>
<p>Or consider the aim of many localities to become so-called <a href="http://www.techrepublic.com/article/smart-cities-6-essential-technologies/">smart cities</a> – connected cities that integrate information and communication technologies to improve the quality of life for residents as well as manage the city’s assets. Citizen science could have a direct impact on community engagement and urban planning via data consumption and analysis, feedback loops and project testing. Or residents can even <a href="http://datasmart.ash.harvard.edu/news/article/prioritizing-resident-engagement-when-implementing-the-internet-of-things-8">collect data on topics important to local government</a>. With technology and open innovation, much of this is practical and possible.</p>
<h2>What stands in the way?</h2>
<p>Perhaps the most pressing limitation of scaling up the citizen science model is issues with reliability. While many of these projects have been proven reliable, others have fallen short.</p>
<p>For instance, <a href="http://doi.org/10.1038/515321a">crowdsourced damage assessments</a> from satellite images following 2013’s Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines faced challenges. <a href="http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/clay-westrope-28042014-065633-phl-osm-damage-assessment-final-report-to-submit.pdf">But according to aid agencies</a>, remote damage assessments by citizen scientists had a devastatingly low accuracy of 36 percent. They overrepresented “destroyed” structures by 134 percent.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132999/original/image-20160803-12207-ni26bc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132999/original/image-20160803-12207-ni26bc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132999/original/image-20160803-12207-ni26bc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132999/original/image-20160803-12207-ni26bc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132999/original/image-20160803-12207-ni26bc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132999/original/image-20160803-12207-ni26bc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132999/original/image-20160803-12207-ni26bc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132999/original/image-20160803-12207-ni26bc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Crowds can’t reliably rate typhoon damage like this without adequate training.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/54329415@N00/10850549285">Bronze Yu</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Reliability problems often stem from a lack of training, coordination and standardization in platforms and data collection. It turned out in the case of Typhoon Haiyan the satellite imagery did not provide enough detail or high enough resolution for contributors to accurately classify buildings. Further, volunteers weren’t given proper guidance on making accurate assessments. There also were no standardized validation review procedures for contributor data.</p>
<p>Another challenge for open source innovation is organizing and standardizing data in a way that would be useful to others. Understandably, we collect data to fit our own needs – there isn’t anything wrong with that. However, those in charge of databases need to commit to data collection and curation standards so anyone may use the data with complete understanding of why, by whom and when they were collected.</p>
<p>Finally, deciding to open data – making it freely available for anyone to use and republish – is critical. There’s been a strong, popular push for government to open data of late but it isn’t <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/2014/10/29/measuring-the-value-of-open-data/">done widely</a> or <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/2014/11/06/the-transparency-tragedy-of-open-data/">well enough</a> to have widespread impact. Further, the opening of of nonproprietary data from nongovernment entities – nonprofits, universities, businesses – is lacking. If they are in a position to, organizations and individuals should seek to open their data to spur innovation ecosystems in the future.</p>
<p>Citizen science has proven itself in some fields and has the potential to expand to others as organizers leverage the effects of globalization to enhance innovation. To do so, we must keep an eye on citizen science reliability, open data whenever possible, and constantly seek to expand the model to new disciplines and communities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/61554/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kendra L. Smith does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>This method of crowdsourcing science legwork is ready to expand into other disciplines – and maybe the amateurs themselves can start calling some of the shots.Kendra L. Smith, Policy Analyst at the Morrison Institute for Public Policy, Arizona State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.