Incorrect assumptions of public views wrongly driving tech?

Trust thought for today - Could an incorrect perception of public views of technology be driving innovation & technology policy - STILL?

I am writing a paper exploring Trust and the new UK Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill. The starting point for the government, and all stakeholders is one of extreme distrust. But also I still detect that many policy folks appear to have a simplistic understanding of public attitudes to tech which drives their approach inappropriately. Starting with distrust breeds further distrust.

This short paper was prepared a few years ago while I was working on the lessons from GMOs and Nanotechnology for other new technologies. I explore how:

* Attitudes to GM are not ‘hysterical’
* Public dialogues show interest and support with reasonable caveats
* But fear of public backlash steers policy and business behaviour
* Explore what could be the effect of this erroneous perception
* What next for new technologies?

I'm editing to add this great quote from Involve the public dialogue specialists - one of their 5 Myths of Public Engagement. This is perhaps why!

"There is a deep running fear of citizens in parts of government. Citizens are often seen as a baying mob or unruly mass. Often the metaphor that springs to mind for civil servants is that of a tidal wave of criticism and scorn, which will inevitably come crashing down if the ‘floodgates’ of active citizens are ever opened".

They go on to show of course why this is not true. Worth a look: found here