Some thoughts on the creation of artificial life
People always fear what they do not understand. Most of the commentary so far has been pretty silly and not of the sort that shows any depth of thought.
Arthur C. Clarke wrote that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
As far as the ignorant are concerned this is black magic.
The real concern from this is not where the technology is now. I do not fear that these particular microbes are constructed in such a way that they could survive outside of a carefully controlled laboratory environment. The serious question comes from how unscrupulous governments or corporations might develop the technology in the years to come.
The Russians, for example, bred a much more highly virulent and lethal strain of small pox. I do not want to see this technology applied to the creation of advanced bio-weapons. Pathogens could be built from the ground up to spread at ideal rates and be incredibly virulent. One could also imagine that if one could design the pathogen, one could design a cure as well. We could only hope that the designers were that foresighted. That would be the ultimate in first strike capability. Inoculate one’s own military and selected populace, then release the weapon. Such a thing could be used to remove one’s own “excess population” as well. In a future world with diminished food supplies, this is not so far fetched.
Of course, we know that it will be contemplated to be used as a weapon. Even if the U.S. or Europe does not pursue such technology to those ends, does anyone doubt the Russians or the Chinese or the Norks would have the same scruples? THis is not a technology that one need worry the local jihadi might whip up. It is however something that an established regime with high tech resources will eventually be able to pursue.
Even further down the road, there are ethical questions that we have not addressed. Eventually, it will be possible to create sentient life. Any thinking creature that was made in this manner would be made on mass scale for a purpose. There are really only two purposes that would make the investment worthwhile; soldiers and slaves. I don’t have the word for creating thinking beings for the purpose of servitude or slaughter. I do know the idea makes me ill.
The technology is nowhere near that point yet. However, it would be worth the time of wise heads to put things in place to prevent such uses for the future.