Resources: Make an ugly working version

Exercises: Make an ugly working version

Resources: Detecting and Containing Early Infections

Exercises: Detecting and Containing Early Infections

Resources: Clarify your goal and plan your project

Exercises: Clarify your goal and plan your project

Resources: Pandemic Risk Over the Coming Decades

Exercises: Pandemic Risk Over the Coming Decades

Resources: Make something awesome

Exercises: Make something awesome

Resources: Preventing Patient Zero

Exercises: Preventing Patient Zero

Resources: First sketch of your idea

Exercises: First sketch of your idea

Resources: Governmental Response to a Global Pandemic

Exercises: Governmental Response to a Global Pandemic

Resources: Contributing to Biosecurity

Exercises: Contributing to Biosecurity

Resources: Technologies to Strengthen Future Pandemic Response

Exercises: Technologies to Strengthen Future Pandemic Response

Resources: Building a Pandemic-Proof World

Exercises: Building a Pandemic-Proof World

Resources: Tabletop Exercise

Exercises: Tabletop Exercise

Throughout history, the deadliest pandemics came from natural origins. However, technological advances over the coming decades will transform the pandemic risk landscape. 
How worried should we be about lab leaks, bioterrorism and nation-state bioweapons? And how can we use new technologies to defend against novel threats?
This week, we’ll explore the rapid advances in biotech and AI, and what this means for biosecurity.

For those newer to biology, or who might need a refresher, we recommend watching the two short videos at the top of the optional resources before starting the core readings.

By the end of the unit, you should be able to:
\- Understand recent and potential near-future advancements in biotechnology and AI.
\- Define the term 'dual-use research of concern’ (DURC), and have an understanding of recent debates about publishing potentially dangerous research.
\- Assess the ways in which these technologies might lower the barrier to producing bioweapons.
\- Assess the ways in which these technologies might present opportunities for biosecurity and pandemic preparedness.


_We recommend you spend ~30 minutes on this exercise._

The [differential technology development paper](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4213670) introduced three categories of "risk-reducing technologies":

**Safety technologies** 
_Reduce the severity or likelihood of a particular risk by modifying risk-increasing technologies (e.g. seat belts and airbags make driving a car safer for the passengers)._

**Defensive technologies**
_Decrease the severity or likelihood of a particular risk from a risk-increasing technology or set of technologies without modifying these technologies (e.g. vaccine platform technologies could mitigate the damage pandemics, whether natural or caused by the accidental or deliberate misuse of synthetic biology)._

**Substitute technologies**
_Achieve similar benefits as a risk-increasing technology while contributing less to a specific risk (e.g. wind turbines or photovoltaics as a substitute for fossil fuels)._

**For each of these three categories, spend 10 minutes brainstorming ideas for technologies that could reduce the biosecurity risks associated with developments in AI and biotechnology.**

Some prompts to guide your thinking:
- Safety
    - What modifications could you make to the emerging technologies discussed in this week's readings (or other technologies you're aware of) that would make them safer?
- Defensive
    - Most technologies for preventing, detecting and responding to outbreaks probably fit under this category. You might want to build on your 'pandemic-proof world' exercise response from last week here. 
- Substitute
    - What are the emerging technologies discussed in this week's readings (or other technologies you're aware of) _ultimately_ trying to achieve? Are there alternative ways this could be achieved more safely?


Brainstorming "safety", "defensive" and "substitute" technologies for biosecurity

Pandemics

Exercises: Pandemic Risk Over the Coming Decades

Exercises