University of Cambridge > Talks.cam > Departmental Seminars in History and Philosophy of Science > What can Covid modelling during the pandemic teach us about public participation in science?

  Browse A-Z

Log in

Cambridge users (raven)details Other usersdetails No account?details

Information on

Subscribing to talksdetails Finding a talkdetails Adding a talkdetails Disseminating talksdetails Help and Documentationdetails

What can Covid modelling during the pandemic teach us about public participation in science?

Add to your list(s) Download to your calendar using vCal

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Jacob Stegenga.

Values play an ineliminable role in science whenever scientists endorse factual claims. They also become entwined with science whenever scientists build models. Scientists, however, do not always hold a range of values that canvasses the whole spectrum of values held by the public. The goal of this talk is to open a discussion of what to do about this situation, through the lens of recent history: the role of modelling in the Covid-19 pandemic. I start by articulating a framework for understanding the role of values in science that distinguishes the endorsement of facts from the building of representational tools like models. I then use that framework to discuss the famous Imperial College of London model: Covidsim. I then discuss three recent proposals for how scientists, engaged with public policy questions, ought to manage values and I argue that recent history shows how two such proposals are bound to miss the mark. I also show the enormous challenges that the third proposal, the one that calls for a role for public participation in science, will have to surmount if it is going to be successful.

This talk is part of the Departmental Seminars in History and Philosophy of Science series.

Tell a friend about this talk:

This talk is included in these lists:

Note that ex-directory lists are not shown.

Other lists

Biocomputing Workshops Wright Lecture Series The Microsoft AI Residency

Other talks

Our Quantum World: How Quantum Technologies will Shape the Future - One Day Meeting Gateway Stress-unsupervised learning of material models using experimental data How Risk is Communicated in the Insurance Industry Early Life Microbiomes and Long-Term Health Bayesian Inference for Intractable Simulators: Opportunities and Pitfalls in the Era of Machine Learning
 

© 2006-2023 Talks.cam, University of Cambridge. Contact Us | Help and Documentation | Privacy and Publicity