"Future Biotech, Future Law" was a breakout session at DARPA's "Wait, What?" forum that provided a glimpse into the future of global security, rogue technologies, and the law. The session was hosted by DARPA's Biological Technologies Office, and moderated by Alta Charo, the Warren P. Knowles Professor of Law and Bioethics at the law and medical schools of the University of Wisconsin. Panel participants included DARPA's Geoff Ling, Doug Weber and Justin Sanchez.
Revolutionary advances in the biological sciences promise a host of new capabilities, from programmable microbes to brain-machine interfaces that interpret and correct disruptive neural wave forms or allow direct control of devices through thought alone. But advances like these are poised to raise difficult ethical and legal quandaries. The discussion used episodes from Star Trek and other popular culture references to help participants think through some of the privacy, personal autonomy, environmental stewardship and other societal issues raised by work being pursued or considered by DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office.
