STATEMENTS

Franz Fischler, President European Forum Alpbach

SCIENCE & INNOVATION – "FUNDAMENTALS" OF OUR SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS OF THE FUTURE

Monika Eigensperger, ORF Radio Director

For years now, populist, anti-democratic and otherwise backward-looking forces have been trying to delegitimize science and elites in general and equate fact-based findings with personal opinions. Fundamentally fact-based decision-making is important for our survival. In the corona crisis, political decisions were suddenly made on the basis of scientific findings.

Europe is facing many challenges. The climate crisis, which really hit the headlines only in 2019, is an example of a much greater threat than the corona pandemic. Climate change deniers continue to sit in high offices almost everywhere in the world. Lax laws still exist that offer environmental sinners a number of loopholes or opportunities for delay. An immediate, united and above all effective response from all countries of the world is absolutely necessary.

The Technology Symposium made it clear that phenomena such as the current pandemic situation and the climate catastrophe by no means exist independently of each other, but have common causes and also direct effects on each other, as was shown, e.g., by the restriction of mobility. A shift towards sustainability in the mobility sector is urgently needed. It is important that new technologies such as AI are always used in such a way that they serve humanity and improve life.

Organizing the European Forum 2020 was a challenge. I am therefore particularly proud to be able to say that there are strong teams behind our organization and also behind our partner organizations such as AIT and Ö1, for whom innovative thinking and the constant reinvention of our event is an integral part of their work.

It remains to be seen how long the pandemic will be with us. But we will do our best again in 2021 to provide an ideal framework for building strong intra-European and international relations. For there is nothing more important for our future than mutual support and trust. More than 60,000 studies dealing with the corona virus, consequences of the corona pandemic and possible solutions are currently recorded in the World Health Organization (WHO) database. The expectations on pandemic research are high. However, basic research must also address other topics in order to use the versatility and robustness of the science system to lay the foundations for overcoming the crises of tomorrow.

In this "exceptional year", the Technology Symposium once again addressed a wide range of topics that demonstrate the significance of this event as a "trend radar" and forum for future topics. The focus on complexity research, a trademark of the TEC, is of particular relevance due to the increased need for simulation and the translation of complex scenarios into scientific recommendations for political action. The surge in digitalisation triggered by the pandemic and the advance of Artificial Intelligence affects the foundations of our social and economic system. The fact that new "team solutions" of man and machine were discussed at the Technology Symposium in a "tandem" that does not blindly rely on AI solutions is an encouraging approach of technological maturity.

How to not only use technology but also master it is one of the fundamental questions linking science and society. They require presentation and translation by the media. For many years, Ö1 has been a partner of the Technology Symposium and offers a media platform for debating these current questions regarding the future in the fields of science, technology, and society.

REVIEW # Photos: ORF/Ramstorfer, ORF/Hans Leitner Efatec 2020

Hannes Androsch, President of the AIT supervisory board

MORE INVESTMENTS IN R&D AND EDUCATION

Under the general topic of "Fundamentals", the Alpbach Technology Symposium 2020 addressed the exceptional situation of the Covid-19 crisis in many discussions this year. Crises in particular remind us of what is fundamental for our society and where there are still problems that must be solved urgently in order to create a better future. There is an urgent need for much stronger cooperation and a joint research strategy at the European level, for example. The topic of RTI is crucial for the competitiveness and development of a society. Hence, Europe has yet to make up a lot of ground in the current technology battle with the US and China. This applies in particular to areas such as digital platforms, microelectronics, or Artificial Intelligence, which will significantly determine our future.

Austria, too, must considerably step up its investments in its R&D and education systems if it is to join the ranks of innovation leaders. This year, the Yearbook of the Technology Symposium "Discussing Technology: Complexity" focuses in particular on the complex relationships in areas such as biology, health, climate, or economics. Fittingly, the plenary session "Complexity Science – Corona and the Consequences" impressively illustrated how quickly this still young science has been able to provide decision makers with concrete help with its models and forecasts.

Wolfgang Knoll, AIT Managing Director

AN EXCEPTIONAL YEAR IN EVERY RESPECT

The year 2020 has been an exceptional year in every respect for the Alpbach Technology Symposium, which has been organized by the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology and ORF Radio Österreich 1 in cooperation with the European Forum Alpbach since 1983. Due to the corona pandemic, the conversations had to be converted into a digital hybrid format within a short period of time. The effort has been worthwhile. The Technology Symposium alone recorded between 2,700 and 3,000 visits per day, and as many as three Ministers took part. One focus of the discussions was Corona. Handling this pandemic was intensively reflected upon in the plenary session "Complexity Science – Corona and the Consequences". Of course we have also turned our attention to the climate crisis. The panel discussion with our scientific partner, the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers, was at the same time a journey to global research programmes in the Arctic and the Atlantic while also providing a view from above with the satellite monitoring initiative Copernicus. Data that are accessible to all are collected here for an evidence-based climate policy. The session "Living with AI" provided a slightly different perspective from the world of art. The insight: A much stronger multidisciplinary and multicultural approach is needed to solve our future problems. This also urgently requires a paradigm shift in the education and training systems. This year, the Alpbach Technology Symposium, in its hybrid form, has brought together more people than ever before. A big thank you! to all helpers, partners and sponsors! We are proud of the fact that with 4 highly professional live streaming studios in Alpbach and the APA press center studio in Vienna we recorded by far the strongest performance and concentrated technology. The theme for next year is "The great transformation". There should be a real, human encounter in Alpbach again, without having to forego the achievements of digitalization.