Presentation by David Wood at Terasem Island, Second Life, in the Terasem 10th annual colloquium on the law of futuristic persons, 10th Dec 2015. The presentation seeks to draw lessons from the current example of regulations governing genome editing, with particular mention of arguments raised at http://progress.org.uk/conference2015 in London on 9th Dec 2015.

1. Principal, Delta WisdomChair, London Futurists
David Wood
@dw2

2. Establishing Futuristic Rights
Principal, Delta WisdomChair, London Futurists
David Wood
@dw2
Lessons from the current example of
regulations governing genome editing

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Yesterday,
London,
First Life

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First Life Audience (yesterday)

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Exponential
Technologies
 Human enhancement
N B I C R G …

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Exponential
Technologies
 Human enhancement
Regulations
Incentives
Markets
Subsidies
Expectations
Politics
N B I C R G …
Development
& Deployment

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Technologies with adverse social reaction
http://www.kabntr.org/plasticsucks/april-showers-bring-may-gmo-laced-flora-fauna-and-food/
http://honestlyhealthyfood.com/2014/03/11/gmos-genetically-modified-organisms-alkaline/

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Technologies with adverse social reaction
http://worldink.org/2014/02/15/genetically-modified-everything/
http://www.kabntr.org/plasticsucks/april-showers-bring-may-gmo-laced-flora-fauna-and-food/
http://honestlyhealthyfood.com/2014/03/11/gmos-genetically-modified-organisms-alkaline/

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Technologies with adverse social reaction
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/nuclear-energy/

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Technologies with adverse social reaction

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http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/07/drone-near-miss-passenger-plane-heathrow
Drone ‘near miss’ with
passenger plane close to
Heathrow airport investigated
Incident risk rating of A – the highest
of five categories – defined as a
“serious risk of collision”

13. @dw2 Page 13http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/2013/ucm376296.htm
“Most of the intended uses for PGS listed on your website, a list
that has grown over time, are medical device uses under section
201(h) of the FD&C Act. Most of these uses have not been
classified and thus require premarket approval or de novo
classification, as FDA has explained to you on numerous occasions.”

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Changing mindsets
http://www.heaven-speaks.com/bayside_test_tube_babies.html
“It is an abomination in the eyes
of God for man in his arrogance
and pride to seek to create the
living being. What he is creating
is a soulless monster, a being of
destruction for all that it will
meet. I say 'it', for it is not truly a
human being but a 'thing'!”
– Our Lady, July 25, 1978

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Changing mindsets
http://www.heaven-speaks.com/bayside_test_tube_babies.html
“It is an abomination in the eyes
of God for man in his arrogance
and pride to seek to create the
living being. What he is creating
is a soulless monster, a being of
destruction for all that it will
meet. I say 'it', for it is not truly a
human being but a 'thing'!”
– Our Lady, July 25, 1978
Opposition from politicians too
And from fellow scientists
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19537-test-tube-baby-pioneer-wins-medicine-nobel.html
Request for funding was denied by the UK's Medical Research Council

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Changing mindsets
http://www.heaven-speaks.com/bayside_test_tube_babies.html
“It is an abomination in the eyes
of God for man in his arrogance
and pride to seek to create the
living being. What he is creating
is a soulless monster, a being of
destruction for all that it will
meet. I say 'it', for it is not truly a
human being but a 'thing'!”
– Our Lady, July 25, 1978
Opposition from politicians too
And from fellow scientists
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19537-test-tube-baby-pioneer-wins-medicine-nobel.html
Request for funding was denied by the UK's Medical Research Council

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Recommendations for a positive public discussion
• There is value in bureaucracy (e.g. UK HFEA)
• Prepare the ground: Air issues in advance
• Don’t confuse science questions & value questions
• Be political but not Political
• Engage bishops – you may find allies
• Rapid rebuttals to new lines of attack
• Vocabulary matters – search hard for good wording
• Talk about the benefits as well as the risks
• Remember to appeal to heart as well as the head
• Challenge the “precautionary principle”

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“Scientists Debate How Far To Go In
Editing Human Genes”
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/12/03/458212497/scientists-debate-how-
far-to-go-in-editing-human-genes
“Addressing a panel of scientists from
the audience, choking back tears,
Sarah Gray described how her son
suffered before dying of a genetic
disorder six days after he was born.
“‘If you have the skills and the
knowledge to fix these diseases,’ Gray
said, ‘then freaking do it.’”
Sarah Gray
American Association of Tissue Banks
http://aatb.org/index.asp?bid=144

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Diametric opposition, or a continuum?
Gut reaction:
“yes”
Gut reaction:
“yuk”
Repair
(cure)
Enhance
(futuristic)

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Repair
(cure)
Enhance
(futuristic)
Diametric opposition, or a continuum?
Proactive
avoidance
E.g. vaccination
Less likely
to err
Better memory,
steadier hands,
more self-control,
smarter thinking
Gut reaction:
“yes”
Gut reaction:
“yuk”

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Repair
(cure)
Enhance
(futuristic)
Diametric opposition, or a continuum?
Proactive
avoidance
E.g. vaccination
Less likely
to err
Better memory,
steadier hands,
more self-control,
smarter thinking
Recognise that
“natural” is
often flawed,
and that
Humanity+ can
be attractively
better
Gut reaction:
“yes”
Gut reaction:
“yuk”

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“Super-people”
“Futuristic people”
Traits needed, to overcome the “yuk”
• Attractive (not weird)
• Humanity+ (not anti-human)
• Welcoming (not antagonistic)
• Inclusive (not divisive)
• Extropian (not utopian)
• Reversible (not cliff-edge)
• Wonderful New World (not Brave NW)