Standard rule over us. We’re affected every day by decisions someone has made about standards. They determine the shape of our electrical plugs, the quality of our water, the signals used by our phones, and so much more. Standards don’t just happen. They’re decided. Sometimes one company does that. Sometimes it’s done by international deliberation, argument, and eventual compromise.

Talking about standards is classic work in STS. Standards create the scaffolding on which science and technology builds. They constrain and they enable. It matters who gets to decide these things. Standards setting can affect our lives for generations, and they can cost us (or profit us) to the tune of many trillions of pounds.

Luckily, here in STS we have an expert on standards. Dr Saheli Datta Burton is Lecturer in Science Policy. She’s recently co-authored some research trying to build a risk assessment for the way standards are being set these days across a huge range to subjects. She’s looking for patterns, trends, and general themes. The conclusions she reaches are, I’d say, profoundly worrying from the British perspective. Simply put: we do not have our act together in this area, and this is going to come back to bite.

Saheli’s article is co-authored work:

• Nicholas Zúñiga, Saheli Datta Burton, Filippo Blancato, Madeline Carr, The geopolitics of technology standards: historical context for US, EU and Chinese approaches, International Affairs, Volume 100, Issue 4, July 2024, Pages 1635–1652, https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiae124

To summarise the piece, it explores how the US, China, and the EU are shaping global technology standards with different approaches. The US traditionally favoured a hands-off strategy, leaving standard setting largely to the private sector. China, historically top-down, is now blending private and government involvement to set tech standards globally. The EU seeks a balance between competition and cooperation to protect wider socio-cultural values. All three regions are increasing government involvement in standard-setting due to technology’s growing geopolitical importance. The article emphasizes how control over standards can lead to economic benefits and power. The EU’s newest strategy focuses on gaining a competitive edge while ensuring cooperation and preserving values like interoperability.

Featuring

Interviewee

Dr Saheli Datta Burton is a Lecturer (teaching) in Science Policy (Responsible Research and Innovation) at UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS). https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/77672-saheli-datta-burton

Host

Professor Joe Cain https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain

Music credits

Music credits

“Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod https://filmmusic.io/song/5000-rollin-at-5

“Spy Glass” by Kevin MacLeod https://filmmusic.io/song/4410-spy-glass

Podcast information

WeAreSTS is a production of the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at University College London (UCL). To find out more, or to leave feedback about the show:

https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast