An Ominous Blog Post

Normally I have a very optimistic outlook. Especially when it comes to technological breakthroughs. But this morning I was given pause for thought. MAKE magazine carried a news article today about a highly accurate DNA replicator for $10. I am fully convinced that such breakthroughs can be used to tackle the issues of world poverty, but I’ve just finished reading Tomorrow’s War _by David Shukman. It was written over 10 years ago but was gloomy, even then about our chances of controlling the proliferation of _expertise in the production of WMD, and it was written before 9/11.

At this rate, the techniques and the resources for biological weapons development will be freely available, but the skills needed to combat them will not. I just think of the irresponsibility of computer hackers and virus writers - who often wreak havoc without any thought of the costs or consequences. If such power can be unleashed in the real world, then we are in way more danger than we ever were during the cold war.

That is a doomsday scenario, if you ask me.