Modern society is one of fragmented logics. Business, finance, government, academia, all apply different logics in their operations. All of them make sense within their limited bubbles, all together create the conditions for self-extinction.  

Science is perceived by many as the activity allowing us to make sense of the rest, by unveiling the mysteries of how nature works and enabling human inventions changing, supposedly for good, our relationship to other humans, to nature, and to time. But science itself is a bubble operating with a partial logic. I am talking here of what makes scientists do what they do, investigate certain topics (and not others), and take decisions for their professional careers. Hyper-specialisation has become a useful tool to keep the dynamic of publication-grant-publication running, and that is what defines a good scientific career. Are we sure this logic is enough to serve societal purposes in the 21st century?  

Science has been able to sense and learn about the self-inflicted existential threats that we face (climate change, biodiversity loss, social fractures, pandemics, you name them). But science itself faces a paradox. The anticipatory knowledge it is delivering is either not accepted (f.i. by climate deniers), or its priority is contested, or the proposals to deal with the challenges are not implemented, or not fast enough. And the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), intended to tackle the existential threats and create a better future, are not on a successful path. 

So, the role of science is actually in jeopardy. After decades of growing inequality and social chasms, science is often perceived as part of the privileged elites. Scientific advice is interpreted as subservient to power, now frustrating the long-standing aspiration of many to a prosperous life. For large segments of populations, who believe that he future of their children will be worse than their own, science is not seen as part of the solution. At best it is the messenger of bad news. 

Whether we like it or not, science is perceived by many as contributing to the massive process of dispossession by which power and wealth are given means to keep and even increase their supremacy. This is obvious when considering how much research and innovation are dedicated to creating more powerful weapons to destroy or control people, whether in the name of security or to make them buy more of something. So-called AI is being deployed as an instrument for different kinds of wars, including the one claiming that humans are expendable and should be replaced by robots, for higher productivity. The most inhuman obscenity is all around, and it is often associated with the latest scientific and technological advancements. 

Not the least, for Most of the World science is often perceived as a sign of persistence of colonial oppression. It is supposed to profit humanity as a whole and promote the common good, but its processes and benefits are distributed in a radically unequal way, with the so-called “developed” countries enjoying the lion´s share. 

So, what to do? The opportunity exists for science to achieve its highest mission, but this requires dramatic changes. We often hear that science is just a tool, and its good or bad uses depend on human decisions on which science has no responsibility. Eighty years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the leaders of the most powerful countries vindicate war as a legitimate mean to achieve ends, as if we had learned nothing from the 20^th century. In this context, blaming others for the misuse of science is not enough.  

As the International Science Council (ISC) says, it is time to flip the science model. To put it upside down by mobilising massive capacities at the service of people and the planet. Science has shown that a balance between human wellbeing and planetary health is achievable, and that equity is the cornerstone of that balance. But that is only the beginning. Moving a substantial part of the global investments in research and innovation (around 2,5 trillion USD annually) from sustaining wars to sustainable development would help a lot. 

Even more critical is to show that science can reinvent itself in how it works. By respecting the sovereignty of people in the ecosystems in which they live, by co-creating with them responses to the challenges they face, and by weaving together knowledge and capacities from multiple disciplines and sectors. The Earth-Humanity Coalition exists to create the momentum for this kind of science to become mainstream, building on the resonance and pollination across thousands of already existing initiatives and networks, which are presently overlooked and underserved.  

This is our way to serve the highest ambitions of the UN Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development 2024-2033, for the sake of a new and elevated role of science in and for society. If we want humanity to have a second chance on Earth, it is time for all of us to reconnect with the web of life and become human again.  

First published in Making sense of science in the 21st century by the Frontiers Policy Lab.