Technobot

If you want a good laugh have a read of this from the silly morning herald today:

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/commercial-returns-to-fore-in-proposed-university-research-overhaul-20141028-11d44d.html

It is a summary of (a) a pre-release of some white paper from the Chief Scientist, an academic who happens to be Australia’s Chief Scientist (sic), and (b) a media release by the Minister for Industry (they mean ‘service sector’).

They have clearly been colluding – this should be stopped for a start.

The basic gist of the article is that the shrinking amount of funds that go to university and CSIRO researchers will be even further constrained by the need to show ‘commercial relevance’.

All this will do is create more angst for our academics in their efforts to get funds. But not to worry these buggers now have a primary skill at gaming the grant systems, so they will adjust quick-smart.

Of course there will no useful outcomes since:

(1) Academic research follows global trends where high citation counts can be achieved (e.g. in nanotech and other dubious buzz topics) whereas, since deregulation in the 1980’s, Australia’s economy has gone all ‘services’ with a little mining and farming thrown in for exports. The areas of cross-interest between current areas of global scientific activity and Australia’s economy would fit in a smurf’s pocket. Basically Australia’s scientists will struggle to find any Australian commercial partners interested in their research skills.

(2) Australian ‘Industry’ hates innovation unless it’s in marketing or tax reform. Our large oligarchies are quite happy with their share of the protected local services sector (which represents over 70% of our GDP) and have no interest in wasting dollars on developing technology. If they ever need new technology they just buy it off the shelf from overseas. See my paper on the subject – http://issuu.com/ianmax/docs/how_australia_can_invent_a_thriving

Until our large corporation are dragged into the world of technology development nowt will emerge from these efforts.

The sad thing is that the major players, although well intentioned, do not seem to know this. This is because they have a monolithic work experience in either academia or government; they simply don’t know what they don’t know.