Design@Large Series: UnF

About UnF#cking the Future: The Convergence of AI and Synthetic Biology
We're realizing that the old ways of doing things aren't working. "UnF#cking the Future" offers a glimpse into a world where Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Synthetic Biology, two rapidly evolving fields, synergize to produce a more powerful technology with the potential to reshape our future. It's not all personalized medicines and solutions for climate change; there are some huge existential risks here, too, including push-button biowarfare. This talk will navigate these complexities, exploring strategies to mitigate risk and unlock innovation for the greater good of humanity and our planet.
About the Speaker
Andrew Hessel is a scientist, communicator, and investor exploring the future of biology and biotechnology. He is the co-founder and chairman of the Center of Excellence for Engineering Biology and the Genome Project-write, the international scientific effort to design and build large genomes, including the human genome. He co-founded Humane Genomics, a developer of precision artificial viruses that target cancer. Andrew is a former distinguished research scientist at Autodesk Life Sciences. His book, The Genesis Machine: Our Quest to Rewrite Life in the Age of Synthetic Biology, co-authored with Amy Webb, was released in February 2022.
The near future is clarifying itself. Over the coming decades, life will change as we know it on planet Earth. From climate instability to culture change, plagues of misinformation to global pandemics, human society faces more threats than at any other time in our history. At the same time, humanity is newly equipped to adapt, with emerging tools like artificial intelligence, synthetic biology and social innovation that have the power to reverse the narrative of impending global disruption. The time is now for us to integrate these powerful new methods - to intentionally design a more Just and Resilient future together.
The Resilience In A Changing World series will invite speakers to speculate on how we get from here to there, from our current inflection point to habitable futures where both our people and planet thrive amidst increasing uncertainty and change.