Risk

“An avalanche of advances will be forthcoming in the sphere of science and technology is not a matter of surmise. The new types of energy released by the atom and controlled by the electron have already proved highly effective. The features of vital technical growths can be discerned in numberless embryos in the womb of science: our amazing network of research laboratories. But these features will be matched by even more significant developments in the political, social, and moral spheres. Indeed, the pressures of technical changes will themselves intensify problems of adjustment, forcing us to seek solutions in line with our ideals of a good society.”

The Communications Institute programs have focused on major risk issues for approaching a decade. The Institute has collaborated with the Wharton Business School and its risk management center, the University of Pennsylvania, USC, and the RAND Corporation on risk based programs including two major conferences in the United States Capitol. The Institute has worked with leading scholars at these institutions plus others at Carnegie Mellon University.

This section of the TCI website provides more background the focus of Institute work on risk issues.

The institute has also created special publications and background material including a Primer on Risk and the entire risk section on AnalysisOnline, click here.

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The Issue


David Sarnoff, the founder of RCA and modern radio and television communications, wrote the aforementioned words 50 years ago. Sarnoff praised the positive impact of engineering and science. He also noted that unfounded “disparagement” of science and engineering was going to grow in this century. This challenge persists today.

The United States is the most technologically advanced society in history. Science and engineering is driving our modern global market economy faster than ever. New scientific discoveries enrich lives; provide people a more comprehensive perspective of their world and the universe. Modern science also allows man to delve more deeply into the environment in which we live to evaluate how these new discoveries can pose new risks to society. Advanced electron-microscopes and computer technology enable scientists to find substances in our food and environment that were invisible in previous decades that could be presumed to be a risk to human health and safety. All of these advances make us healthier, and one would hope, wiser.

The increased awareness and concerns about terrorism and natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina have significantly increased the time and financial resources being spent by the public and private sectors to reduce these risks.

David Sarnoff made the case of the need for society to thoughtfully approach the impact of science and engineering and society. A free society must deal with the benefits and problems of progress and change, and thoughtfully assess new challenges and threats. Decisions must be based upon fact, not emotion. In our democratic society, public understanding of risk issues will impact how elected officials deal with the challenges facing the country.