OceanWetlands Working Group of CBCGDF Suggests to Guard Against the Ethical Risks of Science and Technology

In late July 2023, the Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission issued a notice on the public solicitation of opinions on the “Shenzhen City on Several Measures to Accelerate the Cultivation and Development of Future Industries (Draft for Comments)”, and the public solicitation of opinions from all walks of life. OceanWetlands Working Group of China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation actively responded to the call and put forward four suggestions for reference after careful research and discussion. The following is Recommendation 4.

Recommendation 4: It is suggested that “Ethics of Science and Technology” be included as a single chapter.

Looking at the full text, there is only one expression of “Ethics of science and technology”, and it is placed in a less prominent paragraph. Obviously, insufficient attention has been paid to the ethical challenges and new problems that may exist in the future development of the industry. To this end, we propose that "Ethics of Science and Technology" be included as a single chapter.

First, the “future industry” usually has a high risk of ethics of science and technology, and the previous”gene-edited baby” incident reflected the lack of attention to this matter. The incident became an important negative event in the history of global science and technology and shocked the world. The inconspicuous position of “ethics of science and technology” placed in the current draft for comments also reflects that the drafting team may need to strengthen the importance of forward-looking research on ethical issues in scientific and technological innovation and the expected understanding of possible risks.

Second, ethics of science and technology is the value concept and code of conduct to be followed in scientific research, technology development and other scientific and technological activities, and it is an important guarantee to promote the healthy development of science and technology.

Third, this document contains several references to “synthetic biology” as a focus area for future industry efforts. Synthetic biology is an interdisciplinary field that involves the design, modification, and construction of biological systems, which can tailor the design of organisms to create new biological functions and properties. However, because the development and application of synthetic biology involve profound intervention in the nature of life, it may cause a series of scientific and technological ethical problems.

BASE-CBCGDF participated in several sessions of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). In recent years, at each session of CBD COPs, the topic of synthetic biology and genetics is one of the core and controversial topics. Therefore, from the perspective of top-level design for the development of future industries, if we do not attach importance to the “ethics of science and technology” as a core content and actively carry out forward-looking research on ethical issues in scientific and technological innovation, it may lead to a passive situation on some issues in the future.


Original Chinese Article:
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/kY9pfavEvnQjEW8t1NFFQQ
Translator:YJ
Checked by Maggie
Contact: v10@cbcgdf.org; +8617319454776

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