The Impact of Emerging and Converging Technologies on Biosecurity and its Education: a scoping workshop

Event summary

The workshop examined the technological and conceptual implications of converging technologies for biosecurity education, both now and in the future. The workshop aimed to explore the impact of emerging and converging technologies—including synthetic biology, artificial intelligence, neurobiology, mirror biology, and related scientific innovations—to identify how these technologies reshape the risk landscape and affect the future of biosecurity education.

Highlights

Speakers at the workshop highlighted the need to develop realistic and measured assessments of risk and reflected on the need for a more behavioural-based approach to mitigate risks by building a robust culture of responsibility.

The workshop underscored that effective governance of emerging technologies depends on integrating technical vigilance with human-centred responsibility. While technological progress will continue to reshape the risk landscape, the participants emphasised that cultivating ethical awareness, adaptive education, and behavioural understanding will be critical for maintaining biosecurity and the norm against the use of CBW. Biosecurity education should evolve in tandem

with scientific and technological change, ensuring that researchers, educators, and policymakers remain attuned to new forms of risk and responsibility.

Outcomes/outputs

The workshop was very successful and achieved its planned objectives. A technical report is to be written and a paper based on the workshop and the report is planned for publication. A plan to develop a book is under the way, and 2nd workshop is in preparation. A subsequent workshop will focus specifically on teaching methodologies, curriculum design, and evaluation frameworks, culminating in the development of a comprehensive textbook on biosecurity education.