Seminar: Curating clinical science: the future of academic publishing

The topics that are currently in focus for the future of publishing include rapid set-up and production, facilitation of the wide circulation of knowledge and ideas, and effective verification processes. They have been explored since the invention of the printing press, when printing became an agent of fundamental change in society, and are again very current, owing to recent developments in and uses of information and communication technologies. Are peer reviewers, selected by an editor, really necessary? Or are we better off with open dialogue that can blend into collaboration? Are control and management of quality necessary? Do we need editors, or would we prefer extemporaneous, post-publication curation of content by users? Can we be satisfied with reorganization and synthesis performed by automated search algorithms? Is knowledge generated by scientific rigour more, or less, important than discussion entertained within broader, socio-cultural considerations? What is the role of artificial intelligence? In the future, the format of both articles and journals is likely to change completely – and they may seem to disappear. Research itself will, hopefully, become much more collaborative, making the most of networking platforms, and its impact on society may become both more direct and more profound. 

SPEAKER

Bernard Dan, FRCP, is a paediatric neurologist at Inkendaal Rehabilitation Hospital near Brussels,  professor of neuroscience at the Université libre de Bruxelles, and Editor-in-Chief of Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology. His clinical and research interest includes cerebral palsy, neurogenetic conditions and neurophysiology. He served as scientific curator for several art exhibitions relating to disability and authored novels and short stories.