"Technological innovation must be carried out with society and for society. That is the core of "responsible innovation.""
David Winickoff, head of the Secretariat of the Bio, Nano and Converging Technology Working Party (BNCT) at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), said this on the 25th at the Korea Society for Biotechnology and Bioengineering–Asian Federation of Biotechnology Joint Symposium in Incheon. He leads policy and ethical discussions on emerging technologies such as synthetic biology and neurotechnology at the OECD.
Winickoff said, "Technology must go beyond being merely a means of generating profit to contribute to solving shared human challenges such as climate change," and added, "Ethical considerations are also necessary regarding how technology will affect people and what risks it may pose." He added, "Ethics is not a fixed norm; it must evolve flexibly to keep pace with rapid technological change."
In this context, a field that the OECD is paying particular attention to is synthetic biology. Synthetic biology designs and reconfigures the genes of living organisms to produce useful substances. At the same time, however, it comes with new challenges such as safety, biosecurity, and ethics, requiring international norms and cooperation. The OECD plans to prepare recommendations for responsible innovation in synthetic biology by next year.
To make these discussions concrete, a Korea-OECD synthetic biology workshop was held that day. About 800 participants from eight countries attended, including the OECD BNCT Secretariat; government and related agencies from the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Australia; and domestic experts from industry, academia, and research. Starting on the 26th, work on a draft of the recommendations will begin in earnest, and the OECD previously held two or three rounds of preliminary discussions with member countries.
The recommendations are expected to include biosecurity to prevent pathogen leaks; development of synthetic biology capabilities and talent exchange needed in the age of convergence with AI (artificial intelligence); improved international accessibility and equity for data and biofoundry infrastructure; biosafety in the research process; and responsible innovation that steers synthetic biology to contribute to solving social challenges such as climate change, food, and health. A biofoundry is a research facility that uses AI and automation technologies to accelerate and automate the research process in synthetic biology.
There is special significance in the workshop and drafting work being held in Korea. Winickoff said, "It is only natural that Korea, which in Apr. enacted the world's first act to foster synthetic biology and embodied responsible innovation in the field of biotechnology in actual law, has come to stand at the forefront of the discussion."
At this meeting, the OECD will prepare a draft of the recommendations and gather input from each country, then flesh it out at a meeting in Paris in Dec. The final recommendations will be released in spring 2026.