Managing Emerging Disruptive Threats of Synthetic Biology
Biology is the most powerful designing and manufacturing technology on the planet. A new stream of science called Synthetic Biology is further revolutionising it by redesigning organisms using the power of computing. Emerging trends in bio-design and generative design are set to alter the health, agriculture and energy space based on innovative ideas with unintended consequences and enhanced asymmetric threats. The 21st century will not be about programming computers but biology. The uncertainties surrounding the development of this dual-use technology have the potential to put humanity at risk. This fact is acknowledged by the Annual Threat Assessment Report 2024 published by the US Department of Defense (DoD) in February 2024. The era of Moore’s Law is ending, but biology’s exponentials are just beginning.
