Human-Centered Futures: The Critical Role of the Social Sciences

Daniel SuiVice Chancellor for Research & Innovation

University of Arkansas https://research.uark.edu/

O'Reilly Lecture TheatreOxford

Three Key Points

• Social scientists need to work with industry closely;

• Businesses/industries need to embrace social science fully;

• To accelerate social science-industry engagement/partnership, there are multiple things that need to be done on both sides.

The only possible

conclusion the social

sciences can draw is:

some do, some don't

Earnest Rutherford

But Social Sciences Are Changing!

• From studying problems to solving them;

• From small number of sparse data sets to analyzing large, heterogeneous data science with fine spatial-temporal granularity;

• From isolated/lone scholars toiling away on their own to larger scale, collaborative, interdisciplinary, lab-style research teams;

• From a purely academic pursuit focused inward to aiming for major impacts on policies, industry/business, and major problems at both individual and collective levels.

More Than Ever Social Scientists Need Industry

• Industry sponsored R&D funding: $365 Billion in 2016, far exceeds all government R&D funding combined in the U.S.;

• University-Industry partnership to develop new educational programs: Starbucks-ASU model;

• Student placement: both graduate and undergraduate students in social sciences can now find jobs and develop careers in industry

• Access to the massive data industry controls;

A New Industry-academic Partnership Model for Data Access

Source: King and Persily, 2019

The Business World is also Changing

• The new digital economy serving different human needs

Changing Business Models

• Sharing (platform) economy:

– Out-sourcing;

– Temporary workers;

– Jobs without benefits;

– Lean management.

More Than Ever Businesses/industries Need Social Sciences

• Social science-driven new businesses;

• Using social science to enhance/improve traditional business practices:

– Precision business;

– Team dynamics;

– Human motivation and behavior

1. The End of Power by Moisés Naím2. The Better Angels of Our Nature by

Steven Pinker3. Gang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh4. On Immunity by Eula Biss5. Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull6. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

by Thomas Kuhn7. Rational Ritual by Michael Chwe8. Dealing With China by Hank Paulson9. Orwell's Revenge by Peter W. Huber10. The New Jim Crow by Michelle

Alexander11. The Muqaddimah by Ibn Khaldun12. Sapiens by Yuval Harari

13. The Player of Games by Iain Banks14. Energy: A Beginner's Guide by Vaclav Smil15. Genome by Matt Ridley16. The Varieties of Religious Experience by William

James17. Portfolios of the Poor by Daryl Collins, Jonathan

Morduch, and Stuart Rutherford18. Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemolu and

James A. Robinson19. The Rational Optimist by Matt Ridley20. The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin21. The Idea Factory by Jon Gertner22. World Order by Henry Kissinger23. The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch

23 Books Mark Zuckerberg Thinks You Should Read

19 out of the 23 Books are social science/humanities type of books! Not a single computer science or tech book!

To Accelerate Social Science-industry Partnership

• Cultural change for higher education: esp. the T&P process, new models for universities;

• Redefining the future of work & industry: reorient future businesses towards fulfilling human social, aesthetic, intellectual, and spiritual needs;

• The role of government funding agencies: Promoting convergence research vs. discipline-based inquiries; funding for innovation and industrial partnership at NSF;

• The role of professional organizations: develop new strategies to more systematically involve industry partners in their activities etc.

Two dimensions of convergent research

Technology Translation: A Long Road…

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Ivory Tower to Market:

NSF Funding Programs

Government

InvestmentE

RC

IUC

RC

GO

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Research Proof-of-ConceptEarly Stage

Technology

Development

Product

DevelopmentCommercial

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NSF Fundamental Programs

STC: Science and Technology Centers

MRSEC: Materials Research Science

and Engineering Centers

CCI: Centers for Chemical Innovation

GOALI: Grant Opportunities for

Academic Liaison with Industry

ERC: Engineering Research Centers

IUCRC: Industry University

Cooperative Research Centers

PFI: Partnerships for Innovation

I-Corps: Innovation Corps (Startups)

SBIR/STTR: Small Business Research

Program

Translational

Research

Valley of

Death

Industry Partners

IUCRC

The only possible

conclusion the social

sciences can draw is:

some do, some don't

The only possible

conclusion the social

sciences can draw is:

some do, some don't

Earnest Rutherford