No, you can absolutely do gain of function research that is not dangerous. Gain of function merely means that you're adding some capability to a virus. It does

No, you can absolutely do gain of function research that is not dangerous. Gain of function merely means that you're adding some capability to a virus. It doesn't mean it has to be a virus capable of infecting humans. It doesn't mean it has to make the virus more virulent in vivo. It could be engineering bacteriophages to control resistant bacteria, for example.