Search

There is growing interest in the applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in the agri-food sector, to extract or exploit the information in datasets resulting from the monitoring of products and processes. Artificial intelligence algorithms, and the models derived from them, are used as support systems for better decision making or, in some cases, are implemented in automatic control processes and robotics, to alleviate drudgery. In this study, sensing and data collection in different agri-food ...

Technological sovereignty has been at the heart of recent political debate in the EU. Interest has only been strengthened by the Covid-19 pandemic crisis, due to its impact on many value chains. Key enabling technologies (KETs) – advanced manufacturing and materials, life-science technologies, micro/nano-electronics and photonics, artificial intelligence, and security and connectivity technologies – are crucial for an interconnected, digitalised, resilient and healthier European society, as well ...

Efforts to curb carbon emissions are falling short ‒ and geoengineering is again in the spotlight. Will governments end up tinkering with Earth’s thermostat?

This report addresses the nature, scope and possible effects of digital automation. It reviews relevant literature and situates modern debates on technological change in historical context. It also offers some policy options that, if implemented, would help to harness technology for positive economic and social ends. The report recognises that technological change can affect not just the volume of work but also its quality. It identifies threats to job quality and an unequal distribution of the risks ...

With its recent European Green Deal framework, the EU is striving to achieve climate neutrality in its economy by 2050 and, simultaneously, bring itself on the path of recovery from the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Technology will inevitably play a significant part in this process. However, historical experience tells us that culture and aesthetic have too had significant roles in recovery from a crises, be it war, economic recession, or an epidemic.

While some argue that AI can potentially be useful or even indispensable in ‘green transitions’, important questions remain open. Should AI be only used in resolving different specific problems (for example, intelligent pollinating robots replacing a declining bee population) or should AI be employed in ‘governing’ the sustainability of complex socio-economic systems such as mobility, food, and energy? While the latter option is currently technically unattainable and may be ethically dubious, it ...

Technological development has long been considered as a disruptive force, provoking change at many levels, from the routine daily activities of individuals to dramatic competition between global superpowers. This analysis examines disruption caused by technologies in a series of key areas of politics, economics and society. It focuses on seven fields: the economic system, the military and defence, democratic debates and the 'infosphere', social norms, values and identities, international relations ...

What if blockchain revolutionised voting? What if your emotions were tracked to spy on you? And what if we genetically engineered an entire species? Science and policy are intricately connected. Via monthly 'What if' publications, the Scientific Foresight Unit (STOA; part of the European Parliamentary Research Service) draws Members of the European Parliament's attention to new scientific and technological developments relevant for policy-making. The unit also provides administrative support to the ...

This report examines how digital technology change is affecting artistic activity and how artistic activity is affecting digital technology. Artistic activity is broadly defined to include design, film, computer games, architecture, music and fashion as well as art. The focus is on digital technology’s role in creative activity. The study examines global trends with a particular focus on the European Union (EU). It describes likely future trends and sets out policy options to encourage activity at ...

While we often talk about the need to achieve acceptance of technology in the face of real and potential public opposition, there are frequently gaps between how regulators, developers and experts conceptualise acceptance and opposition. Here, we examine some prominent conceptualisations and suggest that, rather than responding to public opposition with information campaigns designed to transform citizens into acceptors, strategies for managing public acceptability should include meaningful dialogues ...