Information and biological revolutions

"The technologies emerging from the information technology and biotechnology revolutions present unprecedented governance challenges to national and international political systems. It is clear that technological innovations are not always benign, and regulation can be an effective way to serve societal objectives. But regulating new technologies can be challenging and can have unintended consequences, which may be as troublesome to society as the problems the regulations were intended to prevent. Accommodating both perspectives raises difficult and complex issues for those who would offer governance approaches. To gain perspective on these issues, the authors coordinated a study group that met in late 1998 and early 1999 to examine aspects of these revolutions that might pose specific challenges for governance. This report summarizes the presentations made at group meetings, presents an overall assessment, and offers possible approaches to governance. Ultimately, because the technologies emerging from the information and biological revolutions are inherently global, success in governing them is likely to depend on involving all stakeholders--states, nongovernmental organizations, interest organizations, and citizens--to cooperate in developing governance norms or structures."--Rand Abstracts.