On the road to Paris: Navigating synthetic biology’s future at the iGEM Responsibility Conference
by Piers Millett, Tessa Alexanian, and Kevin Keyaert
The future of synthetic biology has been debated among diplomats and academics, in government boardrooms and conference center hallways and, over the past few years, in countless zoom webinars. This year, iGEM is offering a new place for these discussions: the Responsibility Conference on the margins of the 2022 Grand Jamboree.
This event will take place October 26 and 27, with 4 different working sessions:
Synthetic biology beyond containment
Negotiating competing ideas of doing good
Applied biosafety & biosecurity
Lessons for governance of emerging technologies
iGEM’s purpose is to make sure that the field of synthetic biology, and all of the power that this technology holds, gets developed everywhere by everyone. Using this great power well requires us to reflect on our responsibilities: as synthetic biology develops, what kind of future do we want to create? And, perhaps more importantly: do other people want this future as well?
We believe the Grand Jamboree is a uniquely good place to host these discussions. Participants will be able to go from debating the best methods for biocontainment to wandering the jamboree’s expo session to see which methods were chosen for hundreds of iGEM projects. They will be able to move from discussions of how ideas of doing good differ across cultures to connecting with delegations from iGEM’s global community, including from the Latin American Design League, India League, and Synbio Africa. We often say that each year’s jamboree provides a mini horizon scan of the future of emerging biotechnology; after listening to lessons about governing emerging technology, participants will choose among dozens of project presentations from 2022 iGEM teams and conduct their own personal scan of the horizon of synthetic biology.
We encourage all iGEM 2022 participants to take part in the Responsibility Conference alongside invited experts from academia, government, and international organizations. Up to 40 iGEM jamboree attendees will be selected to participate in person and will receive all pre-conference communications; register your interest here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2022respconf.
Register for the Responsibility Conference!
Only 40 seats available
In addition, remote participants will be invited to contribute to virtual interactive activities; reach out to responsibility [AT] igem [dot] org if you would like to facilitate a virtual activity at a meetup.
Here is a glimpse of the questions we will be discussing in each of the 4 working sessions:
Synthetic biology beyond containment
If we want synthetic biology to solve global problems, then sooner or later projects will have to get out of the lab and into the world. What risks are associated with this, and how do they weigh against benefits? What prerequisites might we need for safe, secure, and responsible use beyond containment? Which values and decision-making processes could help us explore these questions? How can we ensure this exploration happens in an inclusive, and equitable way, in different places and among different groups?
Negotiating competing ideas of doing good
We all want to do good, but how do we deal with the fact that not everyone agrees about what is good? What happens when different people in different places, all trying to do the right thing, end up supporting diametrically opposed actions? How can we foster conversations across cultural and societal divides? How can we explore these spaces of disagreement, and even competition, in a respectful and responsible way?
Applied biosafety & biosecurity
Making synthetic biology solutions safe enough to deploy everywhere in the world is, in part, an engineering challenge, and iGEM aims to encourage our community to develop robust technical approaches to biosafety and biosecurity. Help us chart the course! What has already been done on safety standards, biocontainment tools, lab strains, and other applied safety problems? What are the technological gaps, and how can iGEM contribute?
Lessons for governance of emerging technologies
Emerging technologies require thoughtful governance, going beyond regulation into norms, values, and deliberative processes. How can we ensure rapidly-changing technologies are developed in transparent, participatory, and equitable ways? How can we build a culture of responsibility where engineers consider how their work affects the world? What can synthetic biology learn from efforts to foster responsible innovation for other technologies?
As an international community for synthetic biology, these discussions will help us pave a way toward innovation that is future-proof and responsible. In addition to these working sessions, the conference will offer many opportunities for the diverse communities involved in this work to connect to each other and to iGEM, including:
Informal, small-group discussions with speakers during office hours
Opt-in matchmaking to meet new people during meals
iGEM jamboree scavenger hunt
We’re holding 40 spots open for members of the iGEM 2022 teams to attend the Responsibility Conference at the iGEM Grand Jamboree. Register your interest by filling out this short survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2022respconf.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Cover image by Rodrigo Kugnharski on Unsplash
