It’s been years since the last time it’s been featured here and i can’t remember how I stumbled across PCAST’s ([US] President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology) latest meeting but thank you.

The PCASt meeting was held from July 27 – 28, 2023 and you will find the agenda and more on the PCAST 2023 Meetings webpage here This description of the July 27, 2023 meeting caught my eye, from the 2023 Meetings webpage,

Day 1: discussion and consideration for approval:
A letter on advancing public engagement with the sciences & A Report on the seventh assessment of the national nanotechnology initiative [emphases mine]

…

The video of the July 27, 2023 meeting is here on the PCAST YouTube channel, as well as, here on the PCAST 2023 Meetings webpage. It runs approximately 1 hr. and 22 mins.

Surprisingly (to me), science engagement took up more than 1/2 of the time (45 – 50 mins.). One of the recommendations was to get more community participation (they didn’t mention citizen science; the committee mentioned discussing values) and there was talk about listening more to the community (they acknowledged that experts tend not to do that enough).

Then, it was time for the 7th assessment of National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). Less time and more drama: the recommendation was to sunset or revise the 21st Century Nanotechnology R & D Act (2003). After 20 years, nanotechnology is considered ‘mature’ and the approach needs to change as applications become the focus of the work.

The documents for both science engagement (a letter to the US president) and 7th assessment of the NNI (a report) will be uploaded to the PCAST Documents & Reports webpage by mid- to late August 2023.

Should you be interested in the US PCAST discussions on artificial intelligence, scroll down to the May 18-19, 2023 meeting on the PCAST 2023 Meetings webpage.