The rapid development of genetic engineering technologies has created multiple opportunities for treating genetic diseases and improving human health. However, genetic engineering technology poses ethical, societal, and security challenges. This brief explores these risks, focusing on those related to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and the revival of ideologies that consider some races to be “more suitable” than others. The brief also discusses security concerns, including the potential for biological warfare and bioterrorism. It underlines the necessity for comprehensive global governance to ensure the responsible and ethical use of genetic engineering technologies to mitigate risks and maximise benefits.
Biotechnology is making contributions to science, society, and security by promoting healthcare advancements and food security. The dual-use nature of biotechnology, however, has led to issues such as the development of narcotics and biological weapons.
Similarly of dual use is genetic engineering, most commonly referring to Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) technology that evolved from Zinc Finger Nucleases (ZFN) and Transcription Activator-Like Effector Nucleases (TALENs). In the past few years, CRISPR has led to more precise genetic engineering, including through technologies such as base editing, single nucleotide substitutions, prime editing, and ‘drag-and-drop’ editing for large insertions in Programmable Addition via Site-specific Targeting Elements (PASTE).
As the technology is progressing, critics are calling attention to its potential social and ethical implications, including, for instance, the emergence of the notion of designer babies. The controversy surrounding CRISPR technology expanded in early 2015, both in anticipation of and in response to the first reported use of the technology to genetically modify non-viable human embryos. The debate intensified in November 2018 after Chinese researcher He Jiankui confirmed the birth of twin girls whose genomes had been edited at the early embryo stage to confer resistance to HIV infection. In December 2019, the Nanshan District People’s Court in Shenzhen, China, found He and two others guilty of violating Article 336 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China, which prohibits engaging in medical activities without a licence. While this is the only reported case so far of CRISPR being used to modify humans, it underscores the potential risks of genetic engineering and the urgent need for governance to ensure the responsible and ethical use of these technologies.
There are many ethical concerns in the field of biotechnology, particularly genetic engineering. For the purposes of this brief, these concerns are categorised into two areas: the social impact of biotechnology and genetic engineering, and their implications for security and warfare. Further, the brief discusses the impact of emerging technologies, existing governing tools, and ways to address gaps.
This paper can be accessed here.
This paper is authored by Shravishtha Ajaykumar, ORF.