At the Science and Technology in Society (STS) forum Plenary Session on the topic of “Society Changed by ICT – Security and Privacy”, Serageldin was Chair Speaker in a dialogue among political leaders, scientists and industrialists. The session discussed the ways in which ICT is changing the dynamics of many traditional industries, and how success in ICT research and development can best be achieved by open and transparent collaboration among industry, government and academia. The panel focused on advances in ICT, as well as the evolution of ICT from local proprietary systems to a global network using global protocols and standards. They examined how ICT is disrupting industries and creating new norms of living, which can be used to improve our society and world, addressing global issues like education equality, economic growth and urban progress. Additionally, they discussed ICT security, development of regulations to protect privacy and public awareness of ethical concerns. Can IT systems ever be 100% secure? Does giving up privacy imply that we are more secure? They explored the tension between open systems and closed systems, as well as local and global interests.
Chair of the session was Pradeep K.Khosla, Chancellor, University of California, San Diego (UCSD) U.S.A.
Speakers on the panel were:
Charles H. Romine, Director, Information Technology Laboratory, U.S. Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S.A.
Kenichiro Yamanishi, Chairman, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, JAPAN
William H. Saito, Vice Chairman, Palo Alto Networks, K.K., Special Advisor - IT, S&T, Cyber Security, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan, JAPAN Thaweesak Koanantakool, President, National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), THAILAND
Japan’s public broadcaster NHK interviewed Serageldin after the session.
The STS annual meeting is held on the first Sunday of October every year in Kyoto, Japan, and gathers top policymakers, business leaders, scientists, researchers, media leaders and Nobel laureates from all over the world, to address science and technology issues in the 21st century. Its aim is to build a human network, of a very broad a range of participants and organizations, that would, in time, resolve the new types of problems stemming from the application of science and technology. Serageldin is one of the forty founding members of the STS.
With Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzō Abe and Koji Omi, Founder STS forum