ITA Dossiers

-> Worldwide, large online retailers, postal operators and numerous start-ups are developing and testing drone-operated parcel deliveries.
-> Despite technology not having been fully developed, feasibility has been demonstrated. However, in most countries, the law does not yet allow autonomous drones; specific air traffic rules would have to be developed.
-> Omnipresent drone flights would have a series of environmental, safety, ethical, and societal implications that stipulate a need for public debate before implementation and regulation.

-> Today, social and economic processes are highly dependent on different technologies and their interaction.
-> Critical infrastructures are therefore the "main artery" of the digitally networked society and their functionality is essential for the provision of services of general interest.
-> System failures due to external risk factors, errors inherent to the system or unknown weak points can seriously impair the stability of societal processes.
-> The creation of effective security measures requires above all a greater awareness of the previously underestimated problem of system dependencies.

-> Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) calls for continuous societal engagement.
-> Up until now, citizens and third sector actors are not routinely involved in the governance of research and innovation.
-> Citizens and third sector actors face specific barriers to engagement in research and innovation. 

-> Policies and practices in support of societal engagement should address questions of relevance, impact, trust, knowledge and skills, time and financial resources, and legitimacy.

-> Digital tools make it possible for citizens to participate more easily in policy- and decision-making processes.
-> Numerous local, national and European experiences with the use of digital tools can help improve decision-making processes.
-> One of the most important factors for successful e-participation is a close and clear link to a concrete formal political process.
-> The numerous international experiences with e-participation processes are also highly relevant for Austria.

-> Blockchain is a decentrally organised database that archives and manages an evergrowing list of transactions.
-> All information on transactions is permanently stored in a database that parallely exists at all nodes of a peer-to-peer network.
-> Blockchain provides autonomy for individuals away from ‘middlemen’ such as public authorities and banks.
-> However, this decentralisation rapidly reduces current forms of regulatory control.
-> Possible negative social and economic consequences become less predictable and manageable.

-> Online gaming is popular; the sector is growing continuously.
-> Almost every modern video game can be played online – on a PC, console or a mobile device.
-> The way gamers behave is a source of lots of information.
-> Up until now, the topic of data protection has been neglected.
-> Governance by game producers and regulation by governments is required, as is greater awareness on the side of the consumer.

-> E-cigarettes evaporate a nicotine-containing liquid and are therefore deemed less harmful to health than traditional cigarettes. They can also help with smoking cessation.
-> Opponents emphasize the risk of easier entry as well as the simple increase of the nicotine dose. In addition, increased risk of vascular disease, myocardial infarction or stroke is still associated with vaping.
-> Advocates and opponents hold never-ending debates on health implications, psychological and economic effects. Both sides refer to scientific results. Genuine long-term studies are still missing.

-> Science, technology and innovation (STI) should increasingly contribute to solving societal problems.
-> Orienting STI towards societal needs is necessary.
-> Research programmes can therefore benefit greatly from open, participatory agenda-setting in which citizens, experts, policy-makers and other stakeholders co-create objectives.

-> Robots are expanding beyond factory spaces for car assembly or product delivery into transportation, healthcare and housework.
-> Rapid progress in software algorithms allows the automation of tasks in middle-income jobs that originally required human training, practice and knowledge.
-> Online platforms are shifting firm and sectoral boundaries, and opening them up to more competition under much less regulation.
-> These changes hold opportunities for domestic industries; however, there are uncertainties in the degree to which this will affect overall employment.
-> What do governments need to do to ensure that these changes raise, rather than lower, economic and social well-being?

-> Long term food security has economic, environmental and social aspects and is essential for healthy nutrition and public health.
-> Scientific knowledge and actual dietary habits are very often not in line and nutrition related diseases are increasing in the population.
-> Sustainable food production is getting more attention, yet overall there are plenty of options for the Austrian food system to become more sustainable considering a long-term perspective and a global view.

Boosting the performance of the brain is an old dream still unfulfilled.
-> Approaches to enhance its capabilities range from drugs to brain stimulation or brain-computer interfaces.
-> Besides therapeutic success with long-known drugs in ill people, almost no effects have been proven.
-> Options for action include establishing a governance framework, adapting medical regulation and following fundamental rights.
Author: Helge Torgersen

-> The vision of the autonomous vehicle promises more safety, less environmental pollution and comfortable mobility.
-> Digitisation has found its way into the car with all its advantages and disadvantages.
-> Cars are turning into data collecting, processing and transmitting machines.
-> The consequences can be felt in other domains in everyday life, not just mobility.
Authors: Jaro Krieger-Lamina, Walter Peissl

-> Big Data steht für die Auswertung großer Datenmengen mittels digitaler Technologien und verspricht neue Einsichten und verbesserte Entscheidungsfindung in vielen Bereichen.
-> Potenzielle Anwendungen reichen von Trend- Prognosen bis zu medizinischer Forschung. Um das Potenzial auszuschöpfen braucht es ein tieferes Verständnis über Funktionen und Risiken.
-> Big Data kann Komplexität deutlich erhöhen und gepaart mit Automatisierung unerwartete gesellschaftliche Folgen mit sich bringen. Zentrale Anforderungen zur Risikobegrenzung sind Transparenz und Überprüfbarkeit von Big-Data-Analysen.
Autor: Stefan Strauß

-> Thanks to a new technology, genetic alterations of organisms are now simpler, more precise and quicker than before.
-> Taboos such as human germ line intervention are up for discussion again as are the foundations of how genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are regulated.
-> In the future, genetic engineering might become more ubiquitous, which could bear potential for conflict whilst the need to reach political decisions is becoming more urgent.

-> Industry 4.0 stands for the vision of comprehensive digital production – chain networking – from the supplier to end consumers.
-> Its implementation has a variety of effects on business operations, business sectors and society as a whole.
-> Opportunities for improved competitiveness and the securing of social prosperity require a collaboration between enterprises, the state, interest groups and educational institutions, above all in the fields of qualification and security.

-> Energy-efficient design principles have recently become more popular in office buildings.
-> So far, there is little research on how the various measures for extremely low energy consumption affect the well-being of building users.
-> Preliminary results of an ITA study show that people working in the surveyed office buildings are very satisfied with the indoor climate and other workplace conditions even at ultra-low en- ergy consumption.

-> An increasing number of products contain nanomaterials which end up in the waste sooner or later. To this day, their effects are still unknown.
-> There is hardly any information on substances and quantities of nanomaterials used in mass products.
-> This poses challenges for both Austrian waste management and legislation.
-> Proposed solutions include the introduction of a standardised register for quantities of nanomaterials in products, consumer-friendly labelling and control of work safety in the waste sector.

-> New surveillance technologies allow ever deeper observation of the lives of each individual.
-> Security measures are increasingly reliant upon surveillance technologies, based on the claim that more security requires infringements of fundamentalrights.
-> Citizens have more nuanced views: although the use of surveillance technologies is not rejected as such, it remains a contested issue. Therefore their utilisation should be limited categorically and strictly regulated and controlled.
-> The protection of personal data needs to be improved and ensured, also the case of security technologies. In addition, security should remain a public sector responsibility and social root causes of insecurity need to be addressed and solved.
Authors: Johann Čas, Walter Peissl, Jaro Krieger-Lamina, Stefan Strauß

-> More than 1000 citizens in eleven European countries discussed consumption policy within a standardised setting.
-> Citizens demand environmentally friendly, socially responsible and economically affordable products and services.
-> Their main opinion: policy-makers should take ambitious steps to foster sustainable and environmentally friendly consumption in Europe.

-> Global IT companies collect data to provide personalised advertising.
-> These business practices are contradicting European values and legislations.
-> The European data protection reform aims at forcing companies such as Google to respect European fundamental rights.
-> The implementation of this vision in form of political practices is characterised by friction and conflict.
-> In addition to the regulation of global search engines, Europe should focus on law enforcement and privacy-friendly technologies.
Author: Astrid Mager