What Does Multiple Production of Artworks Teach Us About Authenticity and Germline Editing?

This article considers ethical questions about artwork reproduction and how they can be applied to germline editing. Walter Benjamin's 1935 essay, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" is a good starting point, as it discusses how the concept of authenticity is ethically and aesthetically relevant when considering works of art intended to be created as multiples or in editions of identical works: photographs and cast sculpture. When producing multiples of a work of art, authenticity tends to be perceived in proximity to an artist's original intention. In germline editing, this concept can help generate insights to guide future research.