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I know this needs to be done. But it’s quite hard. Preventing bits from being exported is harder than preventing atoms. What compounds the export problem, is

I know this needs to be done. But it’s quite hard. Preventing bits from being exported is harder than preventing atoms. What compounds the export problem, is the classification problem. In the past, when military R&D was dominant, military technology was often aggressively classified despite the challenges of acquiring/replicating it. Nowadays so much is recombined commercial duel use tech that discussing it is often enough to point adversaries/competitors in the right direction.

Faaak 7y ago
Why this needs to be done ? It's incredibly selfish to restrict things like biotech (CRISPR for example) because these technologies can save lives, yet they may affect "National Security". A shame
- ben_w 7y ago
  If I actually thought that would work, I’d be in favour of restricting access. GM in general (not just CRISPR) is clearly powerful enough to be a useful military tech if it were developed in that way. I don’t think it’s possible to prevent such developments, though I am also aware it’s not as simple as a boolean yes/no.
- chriselles 7y ago
  In the 1980’s Toshiba shipped high precision 5 axis CNC machines to the USSR. Used to enhance the manufacture of their nuclear submarine propelled blades. Resulting in a dramatic reduction in detectable noise. Noise is the primary means by which modern submarines are detected. Those CNC machines could have been used for non military purposes as well, but were used to enhance Soviet military capability. With the vast majority of R&D being commercial, and much of it being of duel use nature, this is the reason why it must be done. I don’t believe export controls should be abused. And I don’t think export controls for bits are easy to control. But unrestricted technology exports is madness. Are you saying export of CRISPR tech to countries with poor human rights records, little or unknown regulation around responsible genetic modification, and a history of adversarial foreign policy towards the exporting country is selfish?

Faaak 7y ago

Why this needs to be done ? It's incredibly selfish to restrict things like biotech (CRISPR for example) because these technologies can save lives, yet they may affect "National Security". A shame

ben_w 7y ago
If I actually thought that would work, I’d be in favour of restricting access. GM in general (not just CRISPR) is clearly powerful enough to be a useful military tech if it were developed in that way. I don’t think it’s possible to prevent such developments, though I am also aware it’s not as simple as a boolean yes/no.
chriselles 7y ago
In the 1980’s Toshiba shipped high precision 5 axis CNC machines to the USSR. Used to enhance the manufacture of their nuclear submarine propelled blades. Resulting in a dramatic reduction in detectable noise. Noise is the primary means by which modern submarines are detected. Those CNC machines could have been used for non military purposes as well, but were used to enhance Soviet military capability. With the vast majority of R&D being commercial, and much of it being of duel use nature, this is the reason why it must be done. I don’t believe export controls should be abused. And I don’t think export controls for bits are easy to control. But unrestricted technology exports is madness. Are you saying export of CRISPR tech to countries with poor human rights records, little or unknown regulation around responsible genetic modification, and a history of adversarial foreign policy towards the exporting country is selfish?