Autorentext

Andrea Borghini is an associate professor at the "Piero Martinetti" Department of Philosophy at the University of Milan and director of Culinary Mind, a research center promoting philosophical thinking on food. A leading scholar in food and philosophy, he also researched consolidated topics in analytic metaphysics and philosophy of biology. He is the author of nine monographs and over eighty publications in journals, volumes, and encyclopedias.

Simone Severini is a Distinguished Engineer at Google and a Professor of Physics of Information at University College London (UCL). He helped found some of the world's first quantum computing startups, including Cambridge Quantum (later Quantinuum) and Phasecraft. He built the AWS quantum technologies division, including research partnerships with Caltech and Harvard. He's helped guide funding decisions for agencies in fifteen countries, and he's also been an advisor to major VCs.

Klappentext

Science LTD examines the evolving relationship between scientific knowledge, technology, and society in an era where deep tech companies are increasingly driven by discoveries rather than market demand. Written from the perspective of metascientific entrepreneurs, this timely work explores how scientific research struggles to balance profit with truth, individual objectives with collective values, and human creativity with machine capabilities. The book addresses the undisputed influence of science in contemporary society while questioning the sustainability of current research paradigms.

The book tackles critical operational questions about modern science: How is scientific knowledge produced and prioritized? How are research funds distributed? What constitutes effective dissemination and application of discoveries? Chapters examine the journey from laboratory innovation to commercial implementation while exploring two fundamental challenges facing the scientific community. First, the urgent need to reform scientific practices, particularly rethinking academic publishing and research funding models to create more open and sustainable science. Second, the complex prospect of human-machine collaboration in research, moving beyond traditional instruments to AI assistants with capabilities that exceed human limitations. Enriched with expert interviews and real-world anecdotes, the book provides both practical insights and speculative analysis of science's automated future.

This accessible work is designed for researchers, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and anyone curious about the intersection of science and technology. It serves academics seeking to understand contemporary research dynamics, industry professionals navigating the deep tech landscape, and general readers interested in how scientific discovery shapes society. The book offers valuable perspectives for those involved in research funding, science policy, and technology transfer, while remaining engaging for anyone concerned about the future of human-driven versus machine-assisted scientific innovation.

Inhalt

Prologue
Chapter 1: "Science"
(That is: notes on science as a dynamic activity to describe and predict)
1.1 The practical value of science
1.1.1 Explore and predict
1.1.2 Phenomena
1.1.3 Between practice and theory
1.2 Scientific languages
1.2.1 Preliminary considerations
1.2.2 The value of formalization
1.3 Language and epistemic value
1.3.1 Communicability and verifiability
1.3.2 Compactness
1.3.3 Applicability
1.4 Formal and applied truths
1.4.1 Formal language as a regulative ideal
1.4.2 The limits of formal language (through machines)
1.4.3 Psychological certainty rather than truth
1.5 Limitations
1.5.1 The language of mathematics is fallible
1.5.2 Intractable problems and undecidable problems
1.5.3 Scientific discovery and the dynamism of knowledge
Chapter 2: "Technology"
(That is: notes on technology as an activity that builds machines and procedures to operate them)
2.1 In the sea of technologies
2.1.1 First intuitions
2.1.2 Observation and practical reason
2.1.3 Formulation and discovery
2.1.4 Accidental discoveries
2.2 Utility, utopia, dystopia
2.2.1 Primary and secondary technologies
2.2.2 Five parameters
2.2.3 Storytelling and technology
2.3 Science & technology
2.3.1 A complex relationship
2.3.2 Impact on society
Chapter 3: Scientific production
(That is: notes on how to support research while trying to avoid prejudice and gossip)
3.1 Publish today
3.1.1 The primacy of the scientific article
3.1.2 The literary form of the scientific article
3.1.3 The refereeing process
3.1.4 The value of the publication
3.2 Looking for alternatives
3.2.1 Against refereeing
3.2.2 Open-ended scientific articles
3.2.3 Reputation, gossip and trust
3.2.4 Trust in science as a public value
3.3 Funding for scientific research
3.3.1 Research support, quality and quantity
3.3.2 Access criteria: degrees and types of breakthrough
3.3.3 The importance of context and the streetlight effect
3.3.4 How to rethink the system?
Chapter 4: Technologies for scientific production
(That is: notes on the scalability and sustainability of the scientific and technological enterprise)
4.1 Scalability of science
4.1.1 Technology in mathematics
4.1.2 Science in a graph?
4.1.3 Technology in a graph?
4.1.4 A science database
4.1.5 Androids muse for humans or humans muse for androids?
4.1.6 A hyperscale science
4.1.7 Android and human creativity
4.2 Sustainability of science
4.2.1 Phronesis
4.2.2 Innovation
4.2.3 Communicability
4.2.4 Risk
4.2.5 The last mile
4.2.6 Ordinariness
Chapter 5: Epilogue
(That is: notes on how to guide the construction of machines for future science)
5.1 Machines and people
5.1 Science for a House of Solomon
5.2 Outline for an Almanac of Solomon
5.3 A call to action