Thought Leadership

Why Integrate Biotechnology and Information Technology Ethically for Optimal Outcomes

Unless we ensure the controllable balance of the benefits and damages in integrating biotechnology with IT, the progress could be plodding, & the outcome might cause agony.

Who doesn’t want to be proactively informed of lethal diseases progressing in the body? And who wants their biological data to be sold on the dark side of the spider web?

These two questions can create a dilemma in integrating biotechnology and information technology on the cusp of the artificial intelligence revolution for human development and evolution.

Information technology (IT) is the broad umbrella, including artificial intelligence, traditional computing, big data analytics, IoT, mobile devices, telecommunications, Cloud computing, quantum computing, and several other emerging fields to capture, process, store, retrieve, and disseminate information.

Biotechnology is capturing and processing biological information from living beings like humans, animals, and plants. The term “process” is a big part of biotechnology, encompassing especially the genetic manipulation of microorganisms to produce results.

In short, biotechnology uses biological systems to create new products and services. It brings remarkable opportunities in the field of healthcare to humanity.

Technology is a double-edged sword. When two powerful technologies try to run the show, the blade can be sharper, and both be more useful and more dangerous at the same time. So, we can see a cat both dead and alive simultaneously, in Schrödinger’s terms.

Both biotechnology and information technology are rapidly growing, with mainstream acceptance funded by corporate, academic, and government organizations. Therefore, a combination of these two powerful technology disciplines can determine the future of humanity. Moreover, interestingly the matter can cause more complications when nanotechnology and quantum metrology join this combination.

Our intellectual capabilities to grow these two disciplines is not the main problem. Millions of shrewd brains contribute to the growth daily. As a result, the body of knowledge is proliferating. The number of patents is skyrocketing. There is no single day without an announcement of a fresh invention or innovative product in the media.

However, each new invention, innovation, and digital transformation construct bring a new set of concerns to humanity. As technology is a double-edged sword, it is inevitable to see good without evil. Even in nature, roses come with thorns. But we all love smelling roses and don’t stop gardening them throughout history.

Using the rose analogy, we figured out how to smell the rose without being hurt by the sharp thorns. Our intellect helps us protect from dangers. But, of course, reckless people get hurt if they can’t handle a neutral plant. It is not the problem of the plant but our way of handling it.

The thorns are noticeable in a rose, so we can easily protect the harm by not touching them. It is in our control. However, seeing the proverbial thorns in the technology case is not as easy as the rose analogy.

Technology is more complex, and the dangers can be hidden in the intricate design of products and services. For example, imagine you cannot see the thorns, and when you touch a piece of rose each time, your hands start bleeding. Would you continue to smell the roses even though you adore the smell?

This analogy represents the ethical concerns of integrated biotechnology and information technology products perceived by society. Admirably, Europeans are more aware and sensitive to privacy issues. Therefore, they created privacy acts much faster than people in other parts of the world.

Our privacy is a critical human right. Who wants their private information to get public and used for commercial purposes that might harm them in the long run? Unfortunately, we experienced privacy breaches globally, as I briefly touched on in this article titled Mitigating Security Risks of APIs for Business Organizations: Our personally identifiable information matters and cybersecurity is not a joke.

So, what can we do to mitigate risks?

First, we need to recognize the importance of human-generated biological and cognitive data privacy as critical and not negotiable. This brings responsibility to both individuals and governing bodies in every country. Acting with awareness, digital intelligence, design thinking, and diligence are critical in technological progress.

Then, we need regulations clearly defining personally identifiable information created by the human body and the brain. However, rules and regulations can be only useful with commitment, perseverance, and consistent enforcement by authorities. Unfortunately, some opportunists will always find loopholes and ways to exploit them. Thus, patching the loopholes, like patching our computer systems, is essential.

Humanity has many debilitating problems. We are vulnerable and living in desperation due to the challenges of the aging body and environmental factors. Our health and the impact of technology on it must be on the top of governmental and political agendas.

We still have a long way to go and address growing problems such as awful diseases, including cancer, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, dementia, depression, neurological disorders, leaky guts, brain fog, chronic stress, anxiety, viral diseases, disabilities, and many more. We all desire longevity with excellent physical and mental health.

Fortuitously, we have emerging technologies that can monitor the biomarkers of these diseases and alert them to medical professionals. However, these tools are still limited and inconclusive at this stage. Nonetheless, in my opinion, developing these tools is not the central issue.

The issue is using these tools properly without causing damage. We know that biological information collection, pervasive algorithms, and ubiquitous data can make humans hackable and put them in vulnerable positions. Our personal traits and preferences can be exploited by devious and heartless product and service owners.

Some governments tried to collect information throughout history, but they couldn’t access the essential data and formidable algorithms to create the desired outcomes as we currently can. As a result, the risks remained manageable, not posing a massive concern for society.

Biotechnology and information technology were not as developed as it is in this area. However, with the growing power of these technology tools and massive data generated by the human body and the brain, this goal is achievable now. This capability is not a trivial matter, especially when nanotechnology and quantum metrology enter the equation.

More specifically, if unregulated, a company can collect data from individuals using various methods, such as giving them free gifts. Then, they can process the data with powerful algorithms easily and quickly, integrate them into their products and services with automation, and benefit from the human-generated data without considering the implications and impact on the individuals.

This might sound like a simple scenario and looks innocent from the outset. However, the real issue can emerge if this becomes a norm, and artificial super-intelligence can create new patterns and run the show, similar to the emergence and dominance of arbitrary and immature social media networks.

Imagine that systems can easily access personally identifiable data, process them, manipulate them, and re-engineer them against human nature. If this is done on a massive scale, we cannot control the harm. Therefore, on the cusp of the artificial intelligence revolution, the super AI systems frighten me if they remain hysterical and uncontrolled before it gets too late.

Thank you for reading my perspectives.

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