HTGAA : Intro, Principles & Practices

Principles & Practices Assignments

Ethics, safety and security are essential considerations throughout (and beyond!) this class. We have therefore designed an assignment this week to give you a strong foundation, and then will ask you to reflect each week and in the design of your final project.

Upload Week1 Assignment Here

Assignment: Design one “governance” action to ensure an “ethical” future for biotechnology Some example actions for ensuring non-maleficence (e.g. preventing harm) include: require ethics and safety training to get access to labs and materials, pre-registering potentially dangerous experiments, product safety standards and testing, licensing all synthetic biologists, create a whistleblowing mechanism for bad behavior, developing a safety innovation prize, etc.)

In 3 slides present (to the best of your knowledge, with a little digging. Feel free to use analogies to other areas of science and engineering, e.g. 3D printing, drones etc ):
  1. Goals & Rationale
    • How does it work now (to the best of your knowledge) and how would you like that to change?
    • Why is this change desirable? (Try to suggest ethical the principle(s) you might you be applying e.g. non-malificence, justice)?
  2. Design & Requirements
    • What action(s) do you propose? What are alternatives? (see examples above)
    • What is needed to make it “work”? (who must opt in, fund, approve, implement, etc)
  3. Assumptions & Risks of “Success”
    • What are potential unintended consequences of your proposed actions?
    • What could you have wrong (incorrect assumptions, uncertainties)?

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