7th Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals
Thu 05 May 2022, 9.00 am — Fri 06 May 2022, 6.00 pmFriday, May 6th
Special Event 3: Supporting national capacities and the Partnership in Action for STI4SDG roadmaps
SPECIAL EVENT
12:15 PM-1:15 PM
Gihan Soliman, BA, PGCE, MSc, RSci, Soil Sci
International-Curricula Educators Association
Presented at
the 7th Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the Sustainable
Development Goals
www.icea-global.org
03/05/22
As we look forward to fully recover from COVID 19; thanks to the advances in science, technology, and
innovation (STI), we also worry about the injustice STI brings to the table. Technology has surely enhanced
human performance to an unprecedented level yet intensified inequality among individuals and nations. The
pandemic exposed such paradoxes in the uneven distribution of vaccine and medication, for one.
In fact, the year 2021, witnessed three STI paradigm shifts in the human history, introducing boundless
opportunities as well as fears for the future beyond Covid 19; 1) the STI-triggered emergence of a self-replicating
xenobot [1], 2) the ‘Human Augmentation’ thinkpiece [2] published by the UK Defence and Military, accepting that
technology is a form of evolutionary Selection resulting in an ‘augmented’ existence of the human kind comprising
physical, biological as well as socioeconomic dimensions [3][4][5]; 3) and finally, the issuance of the first 1-12 AI
curriculum by the UNESCO [6], marking a significant adjustment of the educational system to accommodate our
relationship to machines. Despite the improved overall capacity [7], our interaction with technology is generally
mediated by a global economic system deeply rooted in Neoliberalism: cut-throat competition and inequality
among people, genders, age-groups, and nations. Responses [8] include, but not limited to, a) Transformative
education and interdisciplinary research, assessing the environmental and socioeconomic implications of the
ever-evolving human-machine symbiosis; b) Media literacy (and indeed democracy). c) Incentivising STIs solutions
that boost synergies among people, species, genders, and nations and empowering indigenous women, in harmony
with the dynamics of nature. d) Weighing opportunities against risks as we evaluate nature-based solutions against
massive-scale industrialisation and reliance on automation.
Without systemic change and active involvement of all stakeholders, structural inequalities and human rights
violations will continue to shape our post-pandemic world.
