DeSci.Berlin was a two-day conference hosted by Molecule aimed at advancing and proliferating the intersection between web3 technology and science – with a particular focus on biotech.
On the second day of the conference, Alex and Sarah were invited to speak about Opportunities and Risks for DeSci. This was followed by a workshop hosted by the pair focused on values and principles for DeSci.
You can watch the talk here.
Key risks for DeSci highlighted in the talk included:
- The commercialisation of science and communities
- Erosion of scientific quality and the rise of pseudoscience
- Collective cognition – preventing echo chambers and encouraging cognitive flexibility
- Lack of diversity
Values and principles for DeSci highlighted in the talk included:
- Put science first
- Science as a public good
- Improving scientific quality
During the talk, the pair also highlighted lessons that can be learnt from elsewhere, including both the Open Science and the Open Source Software movements.
The workshop consisted of two activities. First, a Crazy-8s task, where attendees were asked to ideate on how to crowdsource values and principles for DeSci from the wider community. Secondly, a role-play task, where attendees were asked to advocate for the values and principles of different stakeholders (including a scientist, patient, member of the public, and investor).
The workshop was well attended and sparked some great conversations and ideas. Attendees were invited to share their ideas and continue the conversation on Twitter after the workshop.
We’d like to thank the organisers for hosting such a fantastic event for the DeSci community, and to all those who attended our talk and workshop!
Our present focus is on creating ethical guidelines for human data in web3 – please reach out to join our working group if you are interested in contributing.