Labs and Legislation: The Role of Science in Politics and Society

The Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings are often a great bellwether, with conversations during coffee breaks and questions at the end of sessions indicative of both, the hopes and fears of the scientific community. For example, during #LINO22 – long before ChatGPT became a household name – Young Scientist were asking Laureates and each other what AI will mean for their job security, what opportunities AI could unlock in their field, and how their roles as scientists might change as a result of this transformative technology.

Fast forward to #LINO25 and AI is still a hot topic, but there is another subject on everyone’s lips too: politics. The rise of populism, economic challenges, major conflicts and increasing social fragmentation have all contributed to a pervasive sense of political turbulence across the globe.

That’s why science diplomacy is an increasingly important topic in addressing global challenges through international collaboration. The #LINO25 closing panel emphasized its integral role.

Soft Power

Later in the week, a number of sessions in the programme looked at the relationship of science and politics in these tumultuous times from the other perspective: how science can and should impact politics. In this, the experiences of Laureates and senior scientists involved in the Panel Discussion on Mainau Island that concluded the scientific programme on Friday, 4 July, were worth hearing.

Peter Agre (2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry), for example, has spent years building bridges between science and politics, cultivating transnational relationships around issues of science, and most recently working with session moderator Ona Ambrozaite in launching the Johns Hopkins Science Diplomacy Hub and the Science Diplomacy Summit.

Instead of focusing on his own achievements, though, Agre recalled how a shared background in science at MIT between US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was pivotal in leading to an Iranian nuclear deal framework in 2015 that lasted until US withdrawal in 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term. With the Panel session taking place just days after the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites, Agre’s story made the audience ponder whether greater involvement of rational scientific minds in political decision-making might benefit all governments.

Frances H. Arnold (2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry), meanwhile, shared an anecdote from her time as co-chair of President Joe Biden’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. In one of her first in-person meetings with the President, he enjoyed talking about science so much that the meeting overran and he had to be practically dragged out of the room. “He looked back at us, and said, ‘I don’t want to go’,” Arnold recalled.

“Science was positive – we had solutions to offer problems, whereas everything else almost seemed without a solution,” she added, arguing that although science is not always top the political agenda, it is critical to try to make sure science always enters into political discussions.

Beyond stepping into politics directly, panellists also discussed what all scientists could be doing to affect change. Martin Chalfie (2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry) was keen to emphasize that scientists need to keep global lines of communication open, even under the most trying circumstances. “Science is a global enterprise – what happens in one country affecting science is affecting all countries,” he said. “And for that reason, we have to be communicating with each other.”

Yuko Harayama, former Executive Director at RIKEN and current Secretary General of the Japanese National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, added to this point, emphasizing the need for scientists to capitalize on modern communication tools to not only communicate with each other, but with all society. “Compared to a few years ago, technology changes so quickly, and the spread of impact is huge,” she said. “It’s important to have a broader view of what you’re doing, not only in your research, but in society. You have to think outside your comfort zone… and you need to be able to exchange information and try to have some common understanding in terms of overall impact.”

Young Scientists Take the Reins

Seeing that perhaps now was the time to move out of their comfort zones and start to make an impact on the science diplomacy stage, several Young Scientist took part in an impromptu Workshop in the bowels of the Inselhalle on Thursday, 3 July. The results of their discussions were presented immediately after the final Panel.

Four Young Scientist made statements, targeted at: enabling broad career aspirations and opportunities in science; improving the resilience of the global scientific community to geopolitical and societal factors; identifying and solving issues regarding equity and wellness in academia; and finally, translating ideas and solutions to these issues into direct actions.

Their hope is that the first of these direct, tangible actions will be carried out at the next Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, as Young Scientist Clara von Randow (Freie Universität Berlin) explained: “We suggest integrating a Young Scientist panel – with Young Scientist of varying career levels and one Nobel Laureate – in the forthcoming Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings, with the goal of giving us a voice and to keep the conversation on these crucial points going in the future.”

Following these statements, in one of the final speeches before the Meeting ended, Moungi Bawendi (2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry) reflected on the impact that actions such as these can have on the outlook of scientists, including himself. “In the last few months, I’ve been pessimistic about the future of science,” he shared. “But today, I feel much more optimistic. This new generation is the future – you are the future. I trust you and I know you will go forth and change the world.”