Innovation and Technology Op-Ed Articles

The New Brain Drain in Science
Sami Mahroum

The New Brain Drain in Science

Sami Mahroum NOV 2, 2016 9

Sami Mahroum laments the hegemony of empiricism at the expense of all other research approaches today.
Peter Martell/AFP/Getty Images
A twofold problem has emerged in science worldwide: select academic journals have become disproportionately influential, and they have placed a premium on empirical research. As scientists' research priorities, problems, and methods gravitate to these journals' standards, developing countries – and good science – are losing out. READ MORE
Privacy for Refugees
Inga Kroener

Privacy for Refugees

Inga Kroener OCT 29, 2016 1

Inga Kroener calls for privacy-impact assessments to ensure that sensitive personal data are protected.
NurPhoto/Getty Images
For most consumers, it is possible, if not necessarily easy, to opt out of sharing sensitive personal information. But, for vulnerable people, such as nearly five million Syrian refugees, refusing to provide personal data, which may be shared among a multitude of agencies and organizations, can mean being sent back to a war zone. READ MORE
Gene Editing and Seed Stealing
Chee Yoke Ling, ET AL

Gene Editing and Seed Stealing

Chee Yoke Ling & Edward Hammond OCT 18, 2016 3

Chee Yoke Ling & Edward Hammond warn of the dangers of Internet-facilitated exchanges of biodiversity.
Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
In the last few decades, great strides have been made in regulating the movement of genetic material across countries. But, with the advent of advanced gene-editing techniques, this progress could be lost, to the detriment of the Convention on Biological Diversity – and those it was created to protect. READ MORE
How Scary is Disruptive Technology?
Martin Feldstein

How Scary is Disruptive Technology?

Martin Feldstein SEP 28, 2016 21

Martin Feldstein is confident that US workers, if not their European counterparts, have little to worry about.
Bloomberg/Getty Images
The US unemployment rate currently is less than half the rate in the European Union. There are many reasons for the disparity; but a critical one is the absence in the US of labor laws and union rules that prevent employees and firms from adapting to the latest innovations. READ MORE
Globalization for Everyone
Hernando de Soto

Globalization for Everyone

Hernando de Soto SEP 19, 2016 24

Hernando de Soto proposes an entirely new approach to ensuring that the benefits of interconnectedness are shared.
PhotoAlto/Milena Boniek/Getty Images
Nowadays, globalization’s opponents seem to be drowning out its defenders – not least because of the very real surge in inequality in recent decades. But there is a way to make globalization work for everyone, and it depends on information technology – specifically, blockchain, the decentralized ledger that underpins Bitcoin. READ MORE