Brett Edwards (2019) Insecurity and Emerging Biotechnology

An AI summary of the book
The above (and below ) is made by a robot. So don't trust it to be an entirely accurate on certain details covered in the book proper.
This excerpt comes from a book titled "Insecurity and Emerging Biotechnology" by Brett Edwards. The text explores the complex relationship between emerging technological fields and national and international security, using the field of synthetic biology as a case study. Edwards argues that while emerging technologies hold immense potential for societal advancement, they also pose significant risks due to their inherent dual-use nature. He identifies three key "paradoxes" that govern this relationship: the innovator's paradox (the moral dilemmas faced by scientists in shaping their creations), the innovation paradox (the difficulties in managing the positive and negative consequences of innovation), and the global insecurity paradox (the challenges in coordinating global governance of technology amidst national security concerns). The book examines how these paradoxes manifest within the development of synthetic biology, highlighting both the community-driven attempts to establish ethical practices and the broader institutional and political contexts that influence this emerging field. The overarching purpose of Edwards' work is to offer critical insights into the governance challenges associated with emerging technologies and to advocate for a more globally collaborative and precautionary approach to their development and management.