Taming the Dual Use Concern: A Case Study of a Molecular Robotics Laboratory in Japan

• In Event: Concepts and Practices of ELSI: 1. ELSI as a Political Terrain

Abstract

The problem of dual use technology not only poses a real challenge for civil society in the effort to prevent harmful misuses of it, but is also a cause of serious concerns for scientists working to develop such technologies, especially new inventions at the research and development stages. While scientists are seriously worried about potential misuses of their research outcomes, at the same time they are possibly hampered by the rigid regulations that severely limit their research activities. In this presentation, I shed light on how scientists deal with dual-use concerns, based on an interview survey conducted on researchers working for a molecular robotics laboratory in Tokyo. Molecular robotics is an emerging discipline involving the design and creation of biological structures that serve various purposes by manipulating the order of nucleotides in DNA. In other words, it is the process of creating nanoscale robots utilizing the self-replicating capacity of DNA. Although the current accomplishments of the field remain experimental (including some non-functioning geometrical structures), the potential applicability of these structures is immense—as are the consequences of their misuse. Based on the analysis of the interview data, I show how the researchers in this molecular robotics laboratory organize their research projects while facing and coping with the dilemma posed by the potential risk of misuse and the concerns regarding excessive control. This presentation details a case study on how the researchers’ own considerations regarding the ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of technology shape their research practices.

Author

• Ken Kawamura, Seijo Univerisity