CRISPR therapies, Boeing, and reconnecting with Alondra Nelson

February 02, 2024

TRANSCRIPT

In the first episode of 2024, Shobita and Jack reflect on the first CRISPR therapy approved by drug regulators around the world, for sickle cell disease. We also talk about the safety issues plaguing Boeing, and the Post Office scandal roiling the UK and why it matters for regulating AI. And, we reconnect with Alondra Nelson, one of The Received Wisdom's first guests! Alondra Nelson is the Harold F. Linder Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study and previously as deputy assistant to President Joe Biden and acting director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy(OSTP). 

Study Questions:

1. How might the recently-approved CRISPR therapy for sickle cell disease fall short of addressing socioeconomic inequalities, as originally proposed?

2. How do the recent mishaps with Boeing aircrafts illustrate the concept of human beings as the ‘moral crumple zones’ in sociotechnical systems?

3. How has deference to technological systems resulted in social injustices?

4. How might the framing of AI as an existential risk that is the government’s responsibility to mitigate be problematic?

5. What does it mean to ‘understand the technology’ in a way that is sociopolitically meaningful?

6. Aside from good ideas, what other factors play a role in effective policy making?

Related links:

• Elish, M. (2019, March 23). Moral Crumple Zones: Cautionary Tales in Human-Robot Interaction. Engaging Science, Technology, and Society. 

• Lazar, S and A. Nelson (2023, July 13). "AI safety on whose terms?" Science. 381 (6654): 138

• Zook, M, S. Barocas, d. boyd, K. Crawford, E. Keller, S. P. Gangadharan, A. Goodman, R. Hollander, B.A. Koenig, J. Metcalf, A. Narayanan, A. Nelson, and F. Pasquale (2017, March 30). "Ten simple rules for responsible big data research." PLOS Computational Biology. 

• Nelson, A. (2016). The Social Life of DNA: Race, Reparations, and Reconciliation After the Genome. Beacon Press.

• Nelson, A, C. Marcum, J. Isler (2022, Fall). "Public Access to Advance Equity." Issues in Science and Technology. 

• White House (2022, Oct 4). Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights.