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Let's build dodos! How generative AI is upturning the world of synthetic biology and hopelessly overwhelming traditional governance instruments.
.ical
2024-12-29 –, Saal ZIGZAG
Language: English

Have you always wanted to build an egg-laying woolly milk sow or bring the legendary dodo
back to life? The dream of some biologists to not only understand organisms, but also to redesign, build or bring living beings back to life is accelerating towards reality with the convergence of synthetic biology and generative AI in ‘generative biology’. For example, large language models are now being used to write genes and proteins, while complex laboratory tests are being replaced by machine vision and automation.
The pace of these developments is so fast that they are barely noticed by the public, politicians or related experts such as environmental scientists. Questions about the reliability and safety of these new biodigital methods and applications are not yet being asked and research into risk assessment methods is not keeping pace. At the same time, this shift of generative AI systems from generating text and images to generating protein, bacteria, viruses and organisms could transform many areas of life, from medicine and the environment to bioweapons. So let's talk about it and discuss it.

This is what the talk will be about:
- What is the science behind synthetic biology? What is genome editing, CRISPR/cas, RNAi or off-target effects etc.?
- And how does generative AI and generative biology come into play? What is actually happening in laboratories and corporate R&D around the world, including in the USA and China? I will report on AI platforms that generate designs for novel viruses and proteins to experiments ranging from medical drug development and attempts to bring extinct species back to life. I will also present current scenarios in the field of bioweapons.
- How big tech is moving to get into bioeconomy – Titans such as Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, Alibaba, Meta, Amazon and Salesforce, with no specific experience in life sciences, are now the leaders in a new ‘generative biology’ run.
- I will then continue with our own research on risk and technology assessment of genetically modified organisms and synthetic biology. This includes experiments and method development on biosafety, but also poses more fundamental questions such as investigating if the AI/biodigital design of nature is in line with nature conservation concepts or asking if democratization of biotech research (garage biology) relates to “dual use” risks. We also work on instruments to better understand impacts on society and improved social participation.
- Finally, I would like to report on the very controversy negotiations on this topic at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in Colombia in November – among parties, with perspectives from developing countries, indigenous peoples and local communities, scientist and others and discuss ways forward for fair, multidisciplinary assessment and oversight that is urgently needed.

The speaker’s profile picture
Margret Engelhard

Dr. Margret Engelhard is mico-and molecular biologist, with a long expertise in interdisciplinary technology assessment research. She has researched at the Max Planck Institute for terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg and the University of Basel, where she did her phD. She has than worked for over ten years on technology assessment of synthetic biology. Since 9 years she is head of division of GMO-Regulation and Biosafety at the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN). The BfN is involved as federal authority in the risk assessment of genetically modified organisms on national and European level. She has published books and peer review papers in the area of risk assessment and interdisciplinary technology assessment of synthetic biology applications (see https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Margret-Engelhard). She is member of all Ad hoc technical Expert Groups on Synthetic Biology of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) of the United Nation and member of the German delegation at the last four Conferences of the Parties (COPs) of the CBD.

Selected publications relevant to synthetic biology:

  • Eckerstorfer, M.F.; Dolezel, M.; Miklau, M.; Greiter, A.; Heissenberger, A.; Engelhard, M. Scanning the Horizon for Environmental Applications of Genetically Modified Viruses Reveals Challenges for Their Environmental Risk Assessment. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25, 1507. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25031507

  • Lentzos F., Rybick E.P., Engelhard M., Paterson P., Sandholtz W.A., Reeves R.G. 2022. Eroding norms over release of self-spreading viruses. Science 7;375(6576):31-33.

  • Simon S, Otto M, Engelhard M. 2018. Scan the horizon for unprecedented risks. Science. 2018 Nov 30;362(6418):1007-1008.

  • Simon S, Otto M, Engelhard M. 2018 Synthetic gene drive: between continuity and novelty: Crucial differences between gene drive and genetically modified organisms require an adapted risk assessment for their use. EMBO Rep. May;19(5):e45760.

  • Hagen, K., Engelhard, M., Toepfer G (Eds.). 2016. Ambivalences of Creating life. Societal and philosophical dimensions of synthetic biology. Springer-Verlag, Berlin (No 45 of the book series „Ethics of Science and Technology Assessment“)

  • BfN conceptual paper about using non-contained genetically modified organisms (GMO), i.e., GMO in wild populations, for purposes of nature conservation (https://bit.ly/gen-engin-conserv; DOI 10.19217/pos222en).

  • Informative report on “Synthetic Biology: Scan the horizon for impacts on biodiversity” (https://attachments.cbd.int/567962e74dc1af45194e3f51e4acc1ae/SyntheticBiology.pdf)