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And what happens once discarded gene-editing technology is available to 14-year olds? There are few technologies in history, including nuclear, that haven't ev

And what happens once discarded gene-editing technology is available to 14-year olds? There are few technologies in history, including nuclear, that haven't eventually been available to curious teenagers.

jf- 8y ago
> There are few technologies in history, including nuclear, that haven't eventually been available to curious teenagers. ...because the world has been ended by kids making their own nuclear weapons? What?
- aqme28 8y ago
  I think he's talking about this incident https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hahn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hahn Backyard nuclear devices don't end the world, but can still cause a lot of harm. Superdiseases made in a garage might one day have civilization-crippling consequences.
bastawhiz 8y ago
We should never avoid discovering something out of the fear that it could be misused. We have an imperative to learn all that is learnable and then use the findings to ensure safety and develop countermeasures. Otherwise, someone else will discover it and we will be unprepared. Top scientists would struggle to create a super disease today. Worrying that a kid will do it when the technology is commoditized is putting the cart well before the horse.
- marviel 8y ago
  Would you stand by your initial statement provided the discovery was something which was certain to eliminate all life?
  - Nasrudith 8y ago
    Well the thing is you never know for certain if it really will eliminate all life until it does. During the Manhattan project there were concerns that the unprecedented temperatures might be enough to start runaway fusion reactions and ignite the atmosphere.
  - bastawhiz 8y ago
    Yes I would.
TeMPOraL 8y ago
Sans of nuking civilization back to preindustrial age, this is going to happen. It's a question of when, not if. We should be preparing to mitigate the danger.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
AchieveLife 8y ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLKOBJR5vHs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLKOBJR5vHs

jf- 8y ago

> There are few technologies in history, including nuclear, that haven't eventually been available to curious teenagers. ...because the world has been ended by kids making their own nuclear weapons? What?

aqme28 8y ago
I think he's talking about this incident https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hahn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hahn Backyard nuclear devices don't end the world, but can still cause a lot of harm. Superdiseases made in a garage might one day have civilization-crippling consequences.

bastawhiz 8y ago

We should never avoid discovering something out of the fear that it could be misused. We have an imperative to learn all that is learnable and then use the findings to ensure safety and develop countermeasures. Otherwise, someone else will discover it and we will be unprepared. Top scientists would struggle to create a super disease today. Worrying that a kid will do it when the technology is commoditized is putting the cart well before the horse.

marviel 8y ago
Would you stand by your initial statement provided the discovery was something which was certain to eliminate all life?
- Nasrudith 8y ago
  Well the thing is you never know for certain if it really will eliminate all life until it does. During the Manhattan project there were concerns that the unprecedented temperatures might be enough to start runaway fusion reactions and ignite the atmosphere.
- bastawhiz 8y ago
  Yes I would.

TeMPOraL 8y ago

Sans of nuking civilization back to preindustrial age, this is going to happen. It's a question of when, not if. We should be preparing to mitigate the danger.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

AchieveLife 8y ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLKOBJR5vHs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLKOBJR5vHs