Yves Meinard, Université Paris Dauphine

Abstract

The question whether a given economic mechanism or computer science algorithm can help achieve the UN sustainable development goals might, at first sight, seem to be very complex, but clear. If progress is made towards achieving one or several of these goals, it is bound to be difficult to impute a causal role to a given economic mechanism or computer science algorithm in such achievements. But at least the question seems to be clear enough. This seeming transparency is deceptive, for two main reasons. A first reason stems from the fact that, while some UNSD goals are articulated as envisioned end-states, such as the end of poverty, others are articulated as endeavors, such as “promote peaceful and inclusive societies”. A second reason is that, because answering the above imputation question is so complex, spending too much time and energy to answer it might be counterproductive. Therefore, philosophical reflections are needed to clarify the kind of contributions to these goals that can be expected from products of scientific research. I will argue that, if one wants to claim that a given economic mechanism or algorithm contributes to achieving this or that development goal, one should be prepared and willing to justify this claim publicly, that is, to argue in favor of that claim publicly, using a very unusual kind of rhetoric, based on actively searching for counterarguments aimed at undermining the claim at issue.