Prof. Hubert Lakner (Mr), former Speaker of the Fraunhofer Microelectronics Association and Director of Fraunhofer IPMS.

The handling of actual and future overlapping and interfering crises like climate change, plagues, energy, drinking water and food availability, and global imbalances needs access to relevant and reliable data. The authors’ precise analysis of data economy is like a lighthouse in the ocean of data and their responsible and democratic use.  

 

Prof. Yuko Harayama (Mrs), former Executive Member of the Council for Science (Cabinet Office of Japan), former deputy director of OCDE, Science, Technology and Industry.

Nowadays, nobody doubts the transformational power of “data capital”, since all of us, we are already strong user and producer of data in our daily life. So why talking about “The Age of Data” with Georges Kotrotsios’s new book?

 

What makes this book unique is that it is a personal journey of an experimented engineer, exploring unfamiliar domain for him, that is social sciences and humanities, with a conviction that it is the way to pursue for today’s engineer. It is not a praise of interdisciplinarity, neither advocacy of the discipline “Science & Society”, but an invitation by Georges Kotrotsios to share his personal experience, the way he has been engaged in this cross-border exercise guided by his concern about the interplay between engineering and society.

 

At a time where we are experiencing and benefiting from the digital transformation, while observing the emergence of new type of social divides, Georges Kotrotsios’ approach is more than needed. Simply, this book brings fresh eye to this key societal challenge. It may seem to be too naïve for the experts in social sciences and humanities, but this book is a powerful eye opener, and leaves us with many insights for further thoughts on how better shape the relationship between “Technology and Society”.

 

Prof. Dr. Ing. Benoit Dubuis (Mr), President of SATW (Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences,) Directeur Campus Biotech, Genève, Switzerland

This book constitutes a unique basis for reflection that allows us to question both the technologies and our actions. It should encourage us to accompany technological development in an effective, responsible and proactive way in order to respond to society's expectations and questions.

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