Lets just try it, without thinking too deeply, is not a good idea
A related mood is “find the answer first, worry about the specific questions later.” It might sound counter intuitive, but very productive when it comes to genomics research.
Replying to @ChenxinLi2Yes, it is called “cherry picking”. In new fields there is lots of low hanging fruit. Groups find things that are possible with current and near future methods. They grab them and see what works. Then they go and try to find if they can sell it. Widget builders. Just because it is organic, does not mean you get to cut corners with the rest of society – “we invented it, we want fame and fortune and to do whatever we want, with anyone or whatever we want.”
You are forgetting that humans can easily be fooled, they are often urged to do things that are not good for the human and related species, and they might try things and hurt others. It does not have to be rigid and paternalistic. But just as scientists should know how to reason and make good decisions in their work, they should also know the world, ALL its systems and patterns, and be wary not to start another “covid” more deadly and vicious.
I love projects that have an attitude of “let’s just do it”. But that has to be within a framework where there is constant effort to see ahead and play out what will hurt humans and other things. Groups in genomics work mostly in closed groups, do not share and truly collaborate (work together for the good of all) at global scale. If humans in genomics are smart enough to do new things, but not working out the impacts on society in detail, that is as bad as jiggering DNA to make things and not worrying at parts per trillion scale. You cannot check parts per million, even True AIs now can barely check ppb. So solving the pathways at molecular level is not possible yet. You make assumptions, but you cannot be certain, and you do not know the sensitivity to radiation, chance, and mistakes – that might create things worse then deliberate covids.
