Life Finds a Way: Navigating the Fusion of Biological and Technological Systems

Until very recently, innovation in computer systems and biological systems took place independently, partly because they are so characteristically different. For example, computer systems have historically been deterministic and predictable, complicated but not complex, and the artefacts of human design. By contrast, biological systems have been stochastic and often unpredictable, both complicated and complex, and the product of path-dependent evolutionary selection. Nonetheless, the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and synthetic biology now blurs these distinctions. For example, self-authoring AI exhibits characteristics, such as learning andsurprise, previously associated exclusively with biological systems. Similarly, synthetic biology (SynBio) exhibits characteristics, such as engineered organisms, previously associated computer systems. The rapid convergence of AI and SynBio is accelerating the pace of innovation in both fields in ways that challenge existing governance systems. To date, spirited debates have failed to clarify guidance for policymakers with regard to regulatory standards. In this paper, we assert that conflicts in AI-SynBio convergence will continue to be unproductive until contrasting worldviews – what Costanza called the “pre-analytic vision” -- are explicitly acknowledged by a critical mass of stakeholders. Using the familiar shared experience of science fiction to stimulate the moral imagination, this paper describes oversimplified archetypes that caricature exaggerated views for the purpose of illustrating them. Then, it suggests an alternative approach to arguments that may resolve some controversies and orient technological development pathways towards outcomes that minimize regrets.