Policy problems about technology

Of course, there are many policy problems about technology, in which there is no need to get inside the black box. Indeed, for many such problems, spending too much time considering those details is a distraction, or may even lead the analyst astray. However, there is a subset of policy problems in which the technical details really matter - where a failure to consider and address the substance of those details can lead to dumb or silly results. Table 19.1 provides an illustration of problems of both kinds. 

Table 19.1 Examples of two problems involving direct sateUite communication, one that is about technology (i.e., the technical details are not critical to a solution of the policy problem) and one in which it is essential to get inside the black box (i.e., a reasonable technical solution requires a deep familiarity with and consideration of the technical details)...

This chapter considers policy on a specific area of technology synthetic chemicals. Synthetic chemicals have been manufactured on a large scale for at least 50 years. Unlike genetic engineering and nanotechnology, they are not considered to be new , but despite the decades of production and use there is still a great deal that we do not know about their effects. Time and again novel synthetic chemicals have been found to cause problems that were not expected. 

The Office of Management Budget (0MB) has identified three major classes of Federal R D programs, each of which is augmented to some extent by technology transfer and commercialization activities (.7). The 0MB R D categories and typical technology transfer activities are presented below, with some comments about inherent policy research Issues and problems. 

In order to adequately address this problem, the analyst does not need to know much at all about how direct-broadcast satellites work. So long as he or she knows what the technology costs, who they need to run it, and similar details, a non-technical policy analyst can address this problem very well. Indeed, getting too bogged down in the technical details could easily distract the analyst from the most important issues. 

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