With our second Ocean Seminar this semester we are going to the limit…the limits of Models in Creating Digital Twins of the Earth that is!
Professor Saltelli will speak on digital twins of the Earth and how they subscribe to a reductionist view of nature as a machine. Since mathematical modelling is at the core of this digital enterprise, he will explore the limits of models in creating twins of the Earth by recalling some of the existing visions about the nature and function of mathematical models, mentioning also some historical precedents from the limits to growth debate. He discusses how models intervene in the democratic process and orient power toward those who wield the models, and what these artifacts represent in the context of governance of science itself. Suggestions for a different use of intellectual energy are offered.
About the Speaker:
Andrea Saltelli is presently visiting researcher at different European research institutions. His main disciplinary focus is on sensitivity analysis of model output, a discipline where statistical tools are used to interpret the output from mathematical or computational models, and on sensitivity auditing, an extension of sensitivity analysis to the entire evidence-generating process in a policy context. Andrea’s most recent papers have tackled sensitivity analysis and auditing, composite indicators, the future of statistics, the rational of evidence-based policy, the crisis of science, the post-truth discussion, regulatory capture, impact assessment, lessons learned from the pandemics, and the bioeconomy. He gives courses in sensitivity analysis, sensitivity auditing, science integrity, and ethics of quantification. In summer 2023 a book entitled “The Politics of Modelling, Numbers between Science and Policy”, was published by Oxford University Press, where he contributed as editor and author.
When? May 13, 2026 | 5:00-7:00 PM (CET)
Join Us!
📌 Register here: https://mailchi.mp/ed2568d2b8dd/ocean-seminar-lecture-series
📌 More information: https://twinpolitics.eu/
Most of the sessions will be recorded. The recordings will be made available to the public after receiving consent from the speakers.
Project Leader: Prof. Dr. Alice Vadrot – TwinPolitics Principal investigator, University of Vienna – alice.vadrot@univie.ac.at
Seminar Organiser – The TwinPolitics Team, Universtiy of Vienna – twinpolitics.erc.powi@univie.ac.at
This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 101124903 – TwinPolitics – ERC-2024-STG). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
