Minister Ángel Víctor Torres has stated that political claims must be based on scientific criteria. A reasonable request, though striking if we recall how the covid-19 pandemic was managed in Spain, where scientific evidence sometimes seemed like an unwelcome guest at government meetings.
Science, algorithms, and decision-making 🤖
In the field of technological development, basing decisions on objective data is a fundamental principle. Artificial intelligence systems and predictive models are nourished by verifiable information to provide reliable results. However, when politics intervenes, algorithms can be biased by interests unrelated to evidence. Torres's proposal would be a step forward if it did not contradict recent experience, where epidemiological criteria were subjected to political and logistical considerations.
Torres's scientists are from a different branch 🧪
Surely the minister is referring to those scientists who were not at the covid press conferences. Those who did not see how infection data was manipulated or how ICU admission criteria were changed based on hospital pressure. Torres calls for science, but perhaps he should specify that he means the science that doesn't bother, the one that says what the politician wants to hear. Meanwhile, real virologists will keep waiting for someone to ask them.