Hi all! My name is Sebastian and I am a first-year graduate student in the Sculpting Evolution group at the Media Lab. My background is in biochemistry and our group works to engineer self-replicating systems using biology. Perhaps the most relevant of these for this class is the gene drive, which can allow an engineered trait or characteristic to spread hereditarily across an entire population — locally or globally.

As you might imagine, ‘self-replicating technology’ seems like a technofix just waiting for its blockbuster dystopian debut. The same innovation that could drastically reduce the incidence of vector-borne diseases like dengue, Zika, chikungunya, Lyme, and malaria may, in the wrong hands, also lead to super-virulent bioweapons…..

So, as we develop these technologies, we try to acknowledge just how thin the tightrope we walk above the pit of unintended consequences truly is. For me, this class seemed like a valuable opportunity to learn how to engage in this work responsibly.