Last week, a report was released on the potential risks of mirror biology - that is, biological systems with reversed chirality. I had previously looked into the topic, and was skeptical of the viability of this as a global catastrophic or existential risk. This report was tremendously helpful in filling in details of a scenario where, if mirror bacteria are developed, they could cause a global catastrophe. I will assume that readers here have or will read at least a summary, if not the original Science article or perhaps the summaries in the (300 page) report itself. And before I get into details, I will say that I’m not a biologist; I have a significant familiarity with relevant topics, but there is some chance I get technical details incorrect. I have asked a few people to look at this, but if any such mistakes exist and are substantive, they [...]

---

Outline:

(00:59) Defining the Scenario

(04:04) Priors and General Skepticism

(07:08) Can we just solve the problem?

(08:48) Environmental Risks

(10:39) What do we do now?

(15:14) Conclusion

The original text contained 7 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.

---

First published:

Source:

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.