Recorded at the Battle of Ideas festival 2025 on Sunday 19 October at Church House, Westminster.
ORIGINAL INTRODUCTION
The past 20 years have seen astonishing advances in science, technology and medicine. Building upon the completion of the Human Genome Project at the turn of the century, scientists have developed ever more powerful ways to sequence and study DNA, enabling us to better understand genetic diseases and develop pioneering treatments. Now, AI tools such as the AlphaFold program developed by Google DeepMind are also providing unprecedented understanding of the human proteome – the complete set of proteins made from instructions in our DNA.
As well as acquiring powerful ways to study DNA, we have also acquired powerful ways to change it. CRISPR genome editing, which enables us to make precise changes to the DNA of humans and other organisms, is now widely used in laboratories across the world and has been used in life-saving treatments for devastating diseases. Meanwhile, stem-cell research has advanced to the point where it is now possible to create structures resembling early human embryos entirely from stem cells, instead of having to begin by fertilising an egg cell with a sperm cell. There is even speculation about one day being able to bypass pregnancy altogether.
Some are thrilled about the new possibilities opened up by these developments, while others worry about human life being mechanised in ways that seem distasteful. Genetics, genomics, neuroscience and psychology can be (mis)used to seek to reduce human beings to brain circuits and physiological mechanisms, which can then be managed via modification, drugs or nudge-based policy. Who gets to decide what counts as progress, and who gets a say in how science is governed?
What happens when the (in)famous Silicon Valley dictum ‘Move fast and break things’ meets biology? What can be learned from incidents such as the He Jiankui scandal of 2018, in which a Chinese scientist who worked on human embryos in secret breached scientific and ethical standards, resulting in the birth of three children with edited genomes? How can oversight and rules be imposed, when the science is so complex and fast-moving, and when the world is made up of diverse (and in some cases warring) nation states?
Over the past two decades, Sandy Starr of the Progress Educational Trust and Dr Stuart Derbyshire of the National University of Singapore have been involved in numerous national and international deliberations on science, ethics, policy and law in these areas. At this breakfast banter, they will compare their experiences, exchange insights and invite questions.
DISCUSSANTS
Dr Stuart Derbyshire
associate professor, deputy head of psychology, National University of Singapore
Sandy Starr
deputy director, Progress Educational Trust; author, AI: Separating Man from Machine
