In January 1947 Albert Einstein wrote an open
letter
("Dear friend, I write you ..") which ended with the following words:
"We scientists recognize our inescapable responsibility to carry to our fellow citizens an
understanding of the simple facts
of atomic energy and its implications for society. In this lies our only security and our only
hope -- we believe
that an informed citizenry will act for life and not death".
Of course, today serious implications for society also come from other technologies (e,g biological
science, computer science and
information technologies) and more generally from the tumultuous developments in various branches of
knowledge and their applications.
When he was President of the Accademia dei Lincei, Edoardo Amaldi founded the SICA Working Group
(Sicurezza Internazionale e Controllo
degli Armamenti - International Security and Arms Control) and started a series of
conferences on the impact of science and
technology on society (now called Amaldi
Conferences, that still today are
held every two years).
The Russell-Einstein Manifesto of 1955 ended with an invitation to the international scientific
community to come together and work
to make the world less dangerous and more just. Thus, in 1957 the Pugwash Conferences on Science and
Worlds Affairs (Nobel Peace Prize in 1995) were born, that are still held all over the world
today.
Why an Interdisciplinary Group on STS in Pisa
The numerous activities proposed and supported by the CNR Area della Ricerca di Pisas make
it possible and fruitful to set up
an Interdisciplinary Group (GI, hereinafter) at Area level. For some time, in the context of CNR
Institutes in Pisa and the CNR Area
della Ricerca di Pisa, numerous activities and initiatives for scientific dissemination and
discussion on the relationship between
science, technology and society have been carried out, which fall fully within the sphere of the
Third Mission in the social,
educational and cultural fields. These activities are implemented thanks to the willingness and
voluntary and spontaneous contribution of
various Colleagues, see, for example,Areaperta and
Aula 40.
Furthermore, in Pisa, for almost forty years, CNR Colleagues have been working in associations and
bodies such as the Scientific Council of
the Union of Scientists for Disarmament (Unione degli
Scienziati Per Il Disarmo, USPID), the
Council of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World
Affairs (1995 Nobel Peace Prize),
the Board of Directors of the International School On Disarmament
And Resarch on Confliicts (ISODARCO,
recipient in 2017 of the Medal of the President of the Republic and, in 2016, of a letter of praise
from President Obama),
the Interdisciplinary Center of Sciences for Peace of the
University of Pisa (Centro
Interdisciplinare di Scienze per la Pace, CISP), the Computer Professionals for Social
Responsibility, the
Working Group of the Accademia dei Lincei on International
Security and Arms Control
(Sicurezza Internazionale e Controllo degli Armamenti, SICA), the
CINI
Laboratory on Computer Technology
and Society (Laboratorio su Informatica e Società del Consorzio Interuniversitario
Nazionale per l’Informatica, CINI-LabIeS)
In particular, much of the USPID's activity has seen Pisa as the
center of gravity and the
National Secretariat of the Association for years has had, and still has, its headquarters in Pisa.