ASSOCIATION AFFAIRS and technology, and indeed society at large, Conversations with the Community: in the coming decades require us to consid- er three sets of ideas that we and many of AAAS at the Millennium our respondents see as basic to the conduct of science. These can be grouped under the Sheila Jasanoff, Rita Colwell, Mildred S. Dresselhaus, headings of complex causes, interdiscipli- Robert D. Goldman, M. R. C. Greenwood, Alice S. Huang, nary research, and expertise. There has been a movement away from William Lester, Simon A. Levin, Marcia C. Linn, assigning simple causes to complex physical, Jane Lubchenco, Michael J. Novacek, Anna C. Roosevelt, biological, and social phenomena. Feed- Jean E. Taylor, Nancy Wexler backs and synergies are now known to com- plicate causal stories that once were regard- ed as simple and linear. Dynamic cross- systemic explanations are sought where In June 1996, the AAAS board of directors equity, including the global maldistribution static and reductionist models once pre- met for the first time in the newly complet- of wealth; and the public’s understanding of vailed. Nowhere is this more clearly evident ed William T. Golden Building on New science and technology. Most respondents than in our understanding of the global York Avenue in Washington, D.C. The agreed that new technologies such as the environment, where the physical sustain- occasion was appropriate for reflection Internet would have tremendous impact on ability of the biosphere is now seen to be about the association’s responsibilities to its society, including business and government inseparably bound up with issues of eco- members, to science and technology, and to as well as the public. They also noted the nomic development, social equity, and in- Downloaded from society. danger of stratification resulting from un- ternational peace and security. Jane Lub- Two years short of celebrating its 150th equal access to new technologies. There was chenco touched on these themes more ex- anniversary, AAAS was lodged in offices strong commitment to the idea that AAAS tensively in her presidential address at the consciously designed to facilitate communi- should expand its traditional focus on the 1997 annual meeting (4). cation with other scientific societies, poli- advancement of science and technology so In some important problem areas, scien- cy-makers, and the public. The end of a as to further science’s growing obligation to tific inquiry and public policy are already http://science.sciencemag.org/ century loomed near, with accelerating elucidate, and if possible mitigate, the press- responding to basic shifts in our under- changes in knowledge, information, and the ing problems confronting the planet. standing of causes. Scientific solutions are environment transforming the global land- At its December 1996 meeting, the being undertaken with greater attention to scape. President Clinton and high-level of- board reflected on the survey responses and their social context. A case in point is ficials in his administration have issued a considered appropriate next steps. An early population policy, in which recent debate, consistent message about the need for great- and vital task, we concluded, was to com- both at and after the 1994 Cairo conference er outreach to the public about the scien- municate with the AAAS membership and on population and development (5), has tific and technical issues that are affecting to ask for further reactions and guidance. focused as much on the goal of “women’s every aspect of their lives (1). What steps This paper represents the initiation of a empowerment” and the economic concept should the association take to meet the AAAS-wide dialog about the changing of “unmet need” as on the narrowly biolog- challenges and uncertainties of this new roles of science and technology and the ical objective of “fertility control.” Science on October 17, 2017 era? More specifically, what should the responsibilities of science to society. and technology are fundamental in manag- board of directors do to steer AAAS along We hope to identify appropriate new ing global population growth, but there is lines considered most fruitful by the mem- directions for AAAS in the next few years. widespread recognition that the problem bership, who represent a cross section of the We have targeted the association’s 150th cannot be addressed without consideration U.S. scientific community? anniversary in February 1998 as a time to of its economic and social dimensions. In To help frame our thoughts more con- pull together the ideas generated by the other cases, such as emerging diseases (6) cretely, President Jane Lubchenco proposed membership and begin charting a course for and climate change (7), science has begun a survey of present and former board mem- the future. to chart the complex interaction between bers and past presidents to sample their natural and social systems, but policy-mak- ideas about AAAS’s mission. The board New Paradigms ers and the public are only gradually re- sent out a letter in October 1996 (2) posing In discussing the responses to the board’s sponding to the resulting challenges. four questions: What are the major issues questionnaire, we were struck by one com- Phenomena whose causes are multiple, facing society? What is the role of science mon characteristic of the issues our col- diverse, and dispersed cannot be under- in addressing these issues? What are the leagues had identified as most urgent. stood, let alone managed or controlled, major issues and challenges confronting sci- Each one, from population and the envi- through scientific activity organized on tra- ence? What should the role of AAAS be? ronment to the public’s understanding of ditional disciplinary lines. More than at any We received many eloquent and science, seemed to have radically out- time in the recent past, there is a demand thoughtful answers. A selection of these can grown its previously accepted conceptual for mechanisms and incentives to foster be reviewed on the AAAS Web page (3). framing. For each of these issues, new interdisciplinary research, education, and In addressing the board’s questions, the au- theories, explanations, and cause-effect problem solving. The distinction between thors converged on some core themes. relationships were appearing on the hori- basic and applied research, and the profes- There was, to begin with, almost universal zon. These paradigm shifts call for more sional hierarchy implicitly founded on that agreement about the critical issues con- creative forms of collaboration between distinction, are increasingly being ques- fronting science and society: environmental scientists and society and for a broader tioned. Boundaries between scientific disci- change and degradation; population; public range of disciplines and competencies to plines are collapsing, and the rise of inter- health, particularly emergent and reemer- take part in the process. disciplinary sciences is challenging the very gent diseases; food and energy; education; The biggest issues confronting science concept of “science as usual.” 2066 SCIENCE z VOL. 278 z 19 DECEMBER 1997 z www.sciencemag.org Institutional reforms have tended, as al- ible tests of scientific literacy. In two-way invaluable assets in fostering more produc- ways, to lag some distance behind scientific exchanges, the ability of scientists to under- tive relationships between science and so- entrepreneurship. We have an unparalleled stand the public becomes at least as much a ciety during a time of unprecedented opportunity to reduce the barriers among concern as the public’s understanding of change. To explore this issue comprehen- disciplines, particularly between the natural science. sively, we will begin on 18 December 1997 and social sciences, as well as those separat- with an 8-week open comment period, ing academia, government, and industry. AAAS Conversations during which readers will be able to post Initiatives for crossing disciplinary and in- In the past, AAAS has originated many their reactions to this piece, offer sugges- stitutional lines will have to come from initiatives to bridge the gaps that separate tions for conversation topics, and begin many quarters, including, prominently, the science, technology, and society. For the online discussion at the AAAS Web site research universities. With its broad-based most part, these have concentrated on spe- (12). At the end of that time, we hope to and active membership, AAAS could serve cific products or outcomes, with primary initiate conversations on a number of spe- as an especially effective forum for raising attention given to written reports and mis- cific themes, both electronically and and debating new possibilities. sion-oriented policy statements. The through events at AAAS headquarters in Changing ideas about expertise are appar- present board of directors believes that ad- Washington, D.C. Ideas for future conver- ent in recent debates concerning the nature ditional forms of activity are needed to sations will be discussed in several public and purposes of graduate training in the sci- address the dynamic, open-ended, and sessions at the 1998 annual meeting. We ences, as well as in sometimes heated ex- boundary-crossing issues currently con- now invite comments and suggestions changes over the public’s scientific illiteracy fronting science and society. AAAS will from our fellow AAAS members. and the rise of antiscientific sentiments. A continue to lead as before with studies, recent study by the National Academy of workshops, seminars, reports, briefings, and References and Notes Downloaded from Sciences (8) concluded that today’s young data collection on significant problems re- scientists will find their advancement re- lated to the advancement of science. How- 1. A. Lawler, Science 276, 1184 (1997); W. J. Clinton, commencement address at Morgan State Universi- stricted unless they are trained from the start ever, we believe that it is now appropriate ty, Baltimore, MD, 18 May 1997; N. F. Lane, Science to diversify their expertise and career objec- to consider a new, more inclusive mecha- 271, 1037 (1996).