What If Science Communication Adopted Tech’s Disruptive Playbook?
Leveraging Tech’s Bold Risk-Taking to Revolutionize How We Get Science To People.
Right now, the CDC has no press team, no communications staff, and no ability to hold a press briefing. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has been gutted by massive cuts everywhere, but also specifically to communications teams and essential comms support staff, leaving critical gaps in their ability to communicate vital info to the public.
If a health crisis hits tomorrow - a new pediatric disease outbreak, a toxic chemical spill, or a wildfire sweeping through a densely populated area… Truly, we are screwed.
From my experience at YouTube, Google, and now as the leader of Science To People, I’ve been thinking about how we can rise to meet this moment. How we leverage tech’s infamous “launch then iterate” (or “move fast and break things”, depending on which company you work for…) model of development to disrupt the old models of science communication.
Having spent my career outside of academia, and now finding myself inside it, I’m realizing that I’m allergic to white papers, policy briefs, and conferences. I want agile sprints, pilot testing, action items, SLAs, and red-teaming. So, in the now echoing absence of institutional health communicators, I’m thinking a lot about how we can make a run at this problem with an entirely new approach.
At Science To People, our work started by acknowledging the fact that half of Americans turn to social media for health information. We know folks are online, bonding with influencers in ways we never could have predicted. We follow them for fitness hacks, skincare tips, and “insight” on ivermectin. Yet, we know most of the information is crap. It was when we launched Science To People in 2023, and it’s worse now. A JAMA study published just last month found that 87% of health-related posts fail to address potential harms, and only 6% cite scientific evidence. Up until, like, yesterday, the institutional communicators at America’s health meccas were doing what they could to stem the tide of bad info online (and in communities, and everywhere else it thrives). Now we are left with empty offices and no one leading from the front.
With the vacuum of institutional responsibility and leadership, we must embrace new, innovative approaches to rebuild trust in science.
We need resources, bravery, and disruption. We need a tech-approach to disruptive innovation in science.
As we’ve seen for decades in Silicon Valley, private funding fuels innovation. Billions of dollars pour into vibes-based tech investments at breakneck speed, while grant-making processes for science and health take months (if not over a year) to see funds hit bank accounts.
Sure, when it comes to the complexity of science, we need to be far more conscientious and thoughtful than we would for, say, a hookup app. And of course, private funding can help fuel innovation, but it cannot replace government action. Instead, it should act as a critical support to help us build, test, and scale innovative approaches. Money invested in novel concepts, concepts that aren’t yet proven but are worth being tested, is a critical part of a radical approach. Foundations, philanthropists, and social impact investors can provide the resources needed to build and launch disruptive innovations that can deliver accurate, evidence-based health information at unprecedented scale. Collaboration between tech developers, public health professionals, and community leaders is crucial to making this vision a reality.
The great news? We do not need to start from scratch. Disruptive technologies, Marvel-universe level collaborations, and action-focused initiatives are emerging rapidly. At Science To People, we are already working to make this future a reality. We have a plan to bring these solutions forward, test them rigorously, iterate, and scale them to create real-world impact. We’ve been asked to sit in on a handful of “let’s get sh*t done ourselves” initiatives in the past month alone. These groups are imagining a future where public health messages reach every community, falsehoods are swiftly countered by trusted, science-backed sources, and health officials work hand-in-hand with local leaders and influencers to share critical information in real time.
This is the moment to act. If we don’t, the consequences will be severe. We risk both the health of individuals and the trust that holds our scientific system together. But if we can rally, borrow some of the crazy from the tech industry, and put meaningful resources toward innovative approaches, then we can create a landscape where science is accessible at scale, trust is restored, and falsehoods are countered in real time.
Perhaps there’s a silver lining* in these HHS cuts. Rather than preserve the status quo, we must seize this moment to transform and revolutionize science communication for the digital age.
*At the 30,000-foot view, there may be a silver lining. At the individual level, however, I feel deeply for the thousands who have lost their jobs this week.
The public distrusts traditional medicine and influencers are not helping.
As you say we need to take back control.