Technology Governance In A Time Of Crisis

INTRODUCTION

NEVER BEFORE HAS A PANDEMIC SPREAD ACROSS A WORLD SO ABUNDANT IN TECHNOLOGIES AND DATA. WHILE NOT ENABLING ALL COUNTRIES TO SUFFICIENTLY ANTICIPATE THE IMPACT OF COVID 19 FROM ITS ONSET, THE POWER OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY HAS BEEN LEVERAGED UNIVERSALLY TO ACCELERATE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, LIMIT THE SPREAD OF THE EPIDEMIC AND NOW FACILITATE THE REOPENING OF BUSINESSES.

However, use of this significant power can also present its own risks and raise concerns that may even slow the adoption of proposed solutions. Often caught up in a tangle of constraints or contra dictory orders, public and private decision-makers are faced with choosing between the lesser of two evils. In particular, the effectiveness of health measures, safeguards for individual liberties, digital sovereignty, social inclusion and widespread adoption of the proposed measures are the issues at stake.