Applications and ethics of computer-designed organisms

• Published in: Nature reviews. Molecular cell biology Vol. 21; no. 11; pp. 655 - 656
• Main Authors: Levin, M., Bongard, J., Lunshof, J. E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01-11-2020; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/136/334/2246; 631/553/552; 706/648/453; Analysis; Animals; Biochemistry; Bioengineering; Bioethics; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedical Engineering - ethics; Cancer Research; Cell Biology; Comment; Computer simulation; Computer-Assisted Instruction - ethics; Computer-generated environments; Computers - ethics; Developmental Biology; Developmental Biology - ethics; Ethical aspects; Ethics; Humans; Learning algorithms; Life Sciences; Machine learning; Machine Learning - ethics; Medical ethics; Methods; Organisms; Questions; Stem Cells; Synthetic biology; United States
• ISSN: 1471-0072; 1471-0080
• DOI: 10.1038/s41580-020-00284-z

Computer-designed organisms — biobots, such as xenobots — are at the intersection of synthetic developmental biology and machine learning. This technology, which enables the evolution of real, living forms to take place in a virtual world, is part of an emerging new research field with applications in biomedicine and engineering, and raises profound philosophical questions.
Michael Levin and colleagues discuss how computer-designed organisms ― biobots and xenobots ― are driving a new research field with applications in biomedicine and engineering, and associated ethical and philosophical questions.