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Embedding ethics in synthetic life research: A case study on Ethical Foresight Analysis
Sander Joachim Boerema1, Daphne Desiree Brandenburg1
1Faculty of Philosophy, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands.
Accountability in Research
|August 12, 2025
Summary
Ethical Foresight Analysis (EFA) proactively identifies future ethical issues in emerging research. This study applied EFA to synthetic life research, yielding 12 key ethical concerns for early intervention.
Area of Science:
- Synthetic biology
- Bioethics
- Emerging technologies
Background:
- Innovative research presents unpredictable future ethical challenges.
- Early identification and mitigation of ethical issues are crucial.
- Integrating ethics tracks early in research is an underexplored methodology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To define methodologically sound ethical forecasting.
- To determine the best practices for incorporating ethical foresight into research.
- To apply Ethical Foresight Analysis (EFA) to the DarChemDN synthetic life research program.
Main Methods:
- Conducted an Ethical Foresight Analysis (EFA) across 10 biochemical studies.
- Utilized the Delphi methodology for expert knowledge extraction and aggregation.
Main Results:
- Identified and assessed 12 distinct ethical issues.
- These issues are specifically related to the creation of synthetic life from inorganic self-replicating molecules.
Conclusions:
- The study demonstrates the practical application of EFA in synthetic life research.
- Provides a critical assessment of EFA and Delphi methodology within an ethics track framework.
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