What Our Democracy Needs to Know: A Future Tense Event.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. Forget about Silicon Valley, Big Pharma, and our nation's fabled industrial conglomerates--the most formidable science and tech incubator in the history of the world is the U.S. government. But maintaining, nurturing, and continuing to develop our public "knowledge infrastructure" in and around government has become increasingly challenging. In a time of crippling political divisiveness, when the very notion of expertise has come under siege, how can we ensure that our lawmakers and citizens can continue to rely on the robust research, knowledge, and expertise-enhancing infrastructure built over the past two centuries? Join Future Tense and TechCongress on Thursday, Feb. 8, in Washington, D.C. to consider whether our democracy will have the capacity in the future to address such complex issues as genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, and climate change adaptation--and whether our quest for technological and scientific advancement continues to be subjected to sound democratic governance.