The ethical reflections of DNA computing researchers and Bernard Stiegler’s philosophy of technology

Abstract

DNA computing is an interdisciplinary field working at the intersection of computer science, molecular biology and material sciences to develop novel nanobiotechnologies. In this article, I draw on interview data to critically examine the ethical reflections of sixteen researchers in the field of DNA computing, paying particular attention to their assumptions about the relationship between humans and technology. I argue that most of their ethical reflections imply an instrumentalist understanding of technology that views technologies as neutral means for human-directed ends. Consequently, most research participants see ethical questions as distant to their work and frame their concerns around the misuse of DNA computing applications by bad actors. Expanding on notable exceptions to this instrumentalist tendency in my interview data, I propose an alternative perspective derived from the philosophy of Bernard Stiegler that treats technology as historically and dynamically intertwined with human biology and the social. I suggest that his concepts of general organology and pharmacology provide a non-instrumentalist foundation that could inform more nuanced ethical reflections on DNA computing and other biotechnologies.