ABSTRACT

Few studies of frameworks of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) have addressed the meanings and framings of responsibility in relation to scientific practice. Researchers in the emerging field of xenobiology aim to explore the non-natural biological world through the development of alternative genetic systems, promising the safety of these systems with built–in–safety features (biocontainment). This article argues that approaches to responsibility partly shape the research agenda of a xenobiology laboratory. Conceptions of responsibility are co-produced with an imagination of the public as expectant of safety, and whether users may modify technological artefacts. I suggest the term ‘technologies of compliance’ to reflect that safety and the acceptance of new technology is a priority in synthetic biology research and design. This study provides an account based on ethnographic and interview data of the association of responsibility with design principles, relevant for RRI frameworks that are aligned with scientific practice.

摘要

很少有关于负责任的研究和创新 (RRI) 框架的研究涉及与科学实践相关的责任的含义和框架。新兴外源生物学领域的研究人员旨在通过开发替代遗传系统来探索非自然生物世界，承诺这些系统具有内置安全功能（生物遏制）的安全性。本文认为，责任方法在一定程度上影响了异种生物学实验室的研究议程。责任的概念与公众对安全的期望以及用户是否可以修改技术人工制品的想象共同产生。我建议使用“合规技术”一词来反映安全性和新技术的接受性是合成生物学研究和设计的优先事项。