11 Dec 2018 12:30pm - 2:00pm SG2, Alison Richard Building

Description

Brett Edwards (Lecturer, Department of Politics, Languages, and International Studies; University of Bath)

 

This talk examines how emergent trends in innovation and its governance are raising new and old questions about how to control technology- especially on issues related to national security. It develops a new framework for understanding how emergent fields of science and technology emerge as security concerns; and the key challenges these fields pose from a global security perspective. The study focuses on the politics which have surrounded the emergent field of Synthetic Biology, a field which has become emblematic of both the potentials and limits of more preemptive approaches to governance. A key contribution of this work is the development of a new 'way in' to thinking about the challenges posed by emergent technology and the design of relevant policy from critical and disarmament perspectives.

 

Brett Edwards is a Lecturer in security and public policy working at the intersection of technology, security and global governance. His current research examines the security implications of cutting-edge biotechnology, the governance of biological and chemical weapons, and humanitarian intervention.

This lecture is hosted by the Virtual Institute for Responsible Innovation (VIRI), the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER), and CRASSH.
 

CENTRE FOR RESEARCH IN THE ARTS, SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

Tel: +44 1223 766886
Email enquiries@crassh.cam.ac.uk