Mike Treder Reports on Growing Interest in Accelerating Tech Change

IEET Fellow Mike Treder reports on growing interest in the acceleration of technology:

Today I had a meeting with a young man from Denmark, a PhD student currently working as an independent scholar in Washington, D.C. on regulation of nanotechnology at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He did a two-hour interview with me using a method called “MultiCriteria Mapping.” This approach, developed by Professor Andrew Stirling at the University of Sussex (UK), provides “a structured way to explore which criteria different stakeholders use when they compare different policy options.” After about two dozen interviews are completed, they will be analyzed and compiled for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. As soon as I receive the overall results, I will pass them on to you.

In other news, I had my second meeting in the last ten months with a delegation from Singapore’s Centre of Excellence for National Security. That small but wealthy South Asian country is making a concerted effort to stay ahead of the curve, if that is possible, in understanding and preparing for emerging risks. In March, 2007, they held a symposium on International Risk Assessment & Horizon Scanning. I received a report from the symposium that contains brief overviews of each presentation. You can download a copy here [PDF].

It seems clear that people around the world are becoming more and more aware of the rapid acceleration in technology and the revolutionary upheavals that may await society as a result.