Beware the Unknown: Views on Genetic Technology in Conservation

Artificial Gene Drive (GD) may offer a number of transformative impacts on society. Despite potential usage in the area of conservation, GD remains largely unfamiliar to the public and little is known about their views. In our study, participants from New Zealand were placed in groups based upon one of four worldviews. They had a brief free word association session before considering a concise, technical definition of GD and were asked to discuss their views. Overall, discussions made use of narrative devices that expressed caution and concern around large-scale technological intervention with the natural world. However, specific worldviews presented unique themes. While fears of human overstep causing uncontrollable feedback across wild species and environments were universally present, this differed according to the group's worldview. We conclude that conversations on such technologies, especially those relating to gene modification, provide insight into deep-rooted social, cultural and even metaphysical concerns that transcend the technology's stated purpose.