Regulatory Science: Between Technology and Society

Abstract

The rapidly growing importance and impact of technology have made it necessary to regulate technological development in order to maximize its advantages while controlling its possible negative effects on human health and the natural environment. Scientific research has become a fundamental tool for the governance of technology. It provides knowledge about (a) the positive and negative impacts of technology and (b) the best means (public policy, regulation, etc.) for maximizing the desired effects of technology while minimizing the undesired consequences, as well as (c) monitoring regulated technologies (in order to establish the effects of regulation itself and evaluate its efficacy). Since the inception of technology regulation, its development and application have been accompanied by debate and even controversy about the importance and role of scientific knowledge in regulatory decision making. Two of the most relevant questions are: (1) what function, if any, does scientific knowledge have in regulatory data generation and decisions, and (2) whether and under what circumstances could regulatory science be considered a new type of science, distinct from (traditional) academic science. In this chapter, we will analyze these questions via two case studies, one on risk assessment (toxic substances) and the other on benefit assessment (functional foods). As our analysis shows, it is justified (while at the same time, inevitable) to take into account the ultimate goal of regulatory science, namely that of facilitating regulatory decision making, as well as the social and environmental consequences of uncertainty and inductive errors, in the resolution of methodological controversies in this sphere.