Workshop: Impact of the Primacy of Applied Science and Technology over Basic Science since the Late 20th Century and in the Era of Big Data and AI
Workshop
Program:
9:15-9:30 Refreshments
9:30-9:50 Greetings and Opening Remarks
Prof. Chaim Hames, Rector, BGU
Prof. Gabriel Lemcoff, Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, BGU
Prof. Ute Deichmann, Director of the Jacques Loeb Centre, BGU
9:50-10:50 The Interaction of Basic and Applied Science
Amir Sagi, BGU
From basic to applied science and back
Gabriel Lemcoff, BGU
How practical applications can advance basic science; a personal experience in latent catalysis
10:50-11:20 Coffee Break
11:20-12:10 The Importance of Basic Research in Biology and STEM
Anat Ben Zvi, BGU
From rare diseases to glowing worms – when basic research is where you are, but applications are what you need
Yonatan Dubi, BGU
The tension between pure (curiosity-driven) and applied (tech-driven) science in STEM: Impressions of a practitioner
12:10-13:10 The Shift to Applied Science and its Dangers (1)
Ute Deichmann, BGU
The shift in primacy from pure to applied science and technology: When and why did it occur? How does it affect scientific values?
Yonatan Chemla, MIT
Back to the ivory tower: Reflections from a young scientist on science and technology in academia (on Zoom)
13:10-14:00 Lunch break
14:00-14:30 The Shift to Applied Science and its Dangers (2)
Ron Folman, BGU
The dangers of applied science for fundamental science
14:30-15:20 AI and Collaboration with Industry - Personal Experiences
Shlomi Dolev, BGU
Creating a company from basic research – a personal experience
Anat Milo, BGU
Chymia ex machina: Artificial intelligence in chemistry
15:20-15:35 Coffee Break
15:35-16:25 The Changing Role of the University - The Example of Germany
Sophie Kohler, BGU
The balance between basic and applied science in contemporary Germany
Anthony Travis, HU
Science for money: A slippery path or so what?
16:35-17:20 Round Table Discussion
Tal Manko, BGU
Sharon Moscovitz, BGU
Ofer Ovadia, BGU
Varda Shoshan-Barmatz, BGU
Daniel Somekh, BGU
17:20 Reception (for invited speakers and guests
Workshop Description:
In the late 20th century, the previously prevailing primacy of science - basic or pure science - over applied science or technology was reversed, as explored by the historian of physics Paul Forman (2007). Basic or pure science refers here to scientific research, the goal of which is to understand nature, regardless of the usefulness of the results.
According to Forman, this reversal marks the transition to postmodernity, characterized by a "pragmatic-utilitarian subordination of means to ends," skepticism toward objectivity, and the prevalence of post-truth claims. In contrast, modernity valued science as the "prime exemplar of progress through reliance on proper means, the scientific method," and the pursuit of reliable and objective knowledge. As a consequence of this reversal, the conflation of science, applied science, and technology has become widespread. But, as history has shown, many spectacular technological successes in biotechnology today are based on intricate and often not spectacular basic research. An example is mRNA that was used as vaccine in virus-related epidemics only recently though it was already discovered in 1961.
The workshop aims at discussing Forman's theses among scientists and scholars from multiple disciplines, including biology, computer science, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and history and philosophy of science. We examine the consequences of the increasing emphasis on applications, patents, and company founding by university scientists for the changing self-conception of science. Moreover, we analyze the impact of big data and AI technologies on both basic and applied research and discuss how altered methodologies in big data/AI-based research affect scientists’ ideas about the reproducibility, predictability, and reliability of research.
Among the questions we would like to discuss are the following:
- What are reasons and the historical context for the shift of primacy towards applied research, and what examples of basic research are there today in various disciplines at Israeli universities?
- How has this shift affected the structure and self-conception of the University?
- What incentives encourage scientists to start companies (apart from financial ones)?
- To what extent have the methods of hypothesis and experimental hypothesis testing been replaced by data correlation?
- What role does the search for causes and mechanisms play in the era of big data and AI?
- What impact do big data and AI technologies have on basic and applied research/technology and on the philosophy of the scientific method applied in both?
- Does the decrease of basic research lead to a decrease of the novelty of application?
Organizers:
Ute Deichmann and Sophie Kohler
E-mail: jloebcentre@bgu.ac.il
