Preliminary Conference Agenda

Information and knowledge have always had a key role in scientific research. After all, the main objective of science is generating knowledge, and information is a key ingredient in this process. However, in the last decades, several developments have changed the way in which scientific research is done. And many of those developments have to do, in one way or the other, with the concepts of information and knowledge. In this talk, we will take a look at this.

 

Firstly, the way in which science is organized is changing. Nowadays, in many scientific fields, it is not possible to do research without the establishment of extensive collaborations, often interdisciplinary, that take care of large experiments. The organization of this so-called 'big science' requires resorting to different kinds of knowledge assets. Some of those assets are of scientific nature, but some others consist of managerial or organizational knowledge. Also, a continuous exchange of information and data among the different parts involved in performing experiments and analyzing results is needed. We will look at some instances of this within one of the most important epicenters of big science: CERN, the high-energy physics lab in Geneva.

 

Second, data are revolutionizing scientific research. The big data movement has boosted the amount of information scientists can get from varied sources and has provided them with the tools to analyze it. Moreover, the use of artificial intelligence techniques may be threatening to alter the traditional scientific method in fundamental ways.

 

And third, information itself has become one of the hottest topics in scientific research. Quantum information theory advances are hinting not only at the development of powerful quantum computers or the establishment of a more secure Quantum Internet. They can also lead to new and disruptive ways of understanding our world.