Evolving Ourselves with Unnatural Selection: Examining through Art the Ethics of Communicating Scientific Futures

In 2020 I gathered two artists researchers together to form
an arts research collective, Non Random. The role of our
group would be to work at the intersection of arts and
science, where we would use creative technology, human
computer interaction and direct ethnographic and
sociological research methods, to explore the creation of
meaningful dialogues between the arts and physical sciences.
Our first project, presented at this conference, titled Evolving
Ourselves with Unnatural Selection, looked to make tangible,
with visible/audible outputs, the ethical implications of
emerging technologies in the biological sciences, in
particular the field of CRISPR gene editing technology. Gene
editing technology, particularly CRISPR-cas9 has the ability
to allow an incredible level of intervention into all aspects of
living organisms on our planet. For the first time, we have the
ability to alter, at the molecular level, genetic diseases and
impact future generations with germ-line interventions.
While these are fantastic advances in medical research, there
are significant biological implications, such as the impact on
delicate ecosystems both in the world at large and in our own
human bodies, including the symbiotic relationship with
bacteria upon which we depend.