Craig Venter, the man who mapped the
human genome and created synthetic organisms, wants to infest the planet with
insects that will cure the world of its ills. By manipulating their DNA, he will
programme them with ‘natural’ instincts that will solve problems such as pollution,
food scarcity and disease. They will produce fuel and food, ingest polluted air
then fart out clean air, clean up toxic waste, detect diseases and make
medicines. Insects are one of the most resilient and common living organisms on
the planet, so they seem the perfect candidate.
What I find most astounding about
this idea is that humans are now able to take a part of nature and redesign it
so it ‘naturally’ facilitates our existence: the naturalisation of artificial processes.
This example reminds me of the development of fake meat too, which is also fascinating
– and highly controversial. Once these ideas become reality – if they become
reality – they will drastically change the lives of every organism on the
planet, not just those of humans. Life without these naturalised, artificial
processes will seem unimaginable. We can already see how dependent we are on
digital technology today, for example: just as we have created and influenced
technology, so has technology influenced us. We are already the product of
technical innovation. The objects we create have developed social lives of
their own: this is meaningful since the objects around us are an integral part
of our lives and identities and so it raises the question of what caused
us to be the way we are today. Ourselves? Or the objects we have created? What
came first? The chicken or the egg? Hello social determinism.
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