The future(s) of open science

Area of Science:

• Science and Technology Studies
• Sociology of Science

Background:

• The 'open science' movement is widely perceived as a progressive force for scientific advancement.
• However, a critical examination of its proposed remedies for modern science's flaws is warranted.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically evaluate the potential of the open science agenda to address existing issues in scientific practice.
• To analyze whether the open science movement genuinely benefits the scientific community or serves other interests.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative analysis of the open science movement's core tenets and proposed reforms.
• Critical assessment of the purported benefits across four key areas of scientific endeavor.

Main Results:

• The prospect for significant improvement in at least four critical areas of science is deemed unimpressive.
• The open science agenda's capacity to enact meaningful reform appears limited.

Conclusions:

• The open science movement may not effectively remedy the identified flaws in modern science.
• The agenda risks re-engineering science under a platform capitalism model, misrepresenting its aims as democratization.