A Whole Different Kind of "Coding"

Craig Venter is about to do something no one in the history of humanity has ever done.  He has written code that is RTM and may have already gone into production this weekend.  What makes this code so special is the end result: artificial life.  Read that carefully.  I didn't say Artificial Intelligence (AI), I said Artificial LIFE. 

The coding Mr. Ventner is doing is DNA coding.  He and a team of scientists have painstakingly written a chromosome that is 381 genes long and contains 580,000 base pairs of genetic code.  All that is left to do is insert this chromosome into a living bacteria cell and it is expected that the genetic material will take over and become a new life form. 

I am creating artificial life, declares US gene pioneer | Science | The Guardian

Granted, this new life form is certainly nothing as complex as Keanu Reeves.  it's a pared down version of the bacteria Mycoplasm genitalium that the team has named Mycoplasm labratorium.  The team basically looked at the M.G. chromosome and wrote their own using only the parts that were needed for bare-bones life support (......well...so ALMOST as complex as Keanu). 

So, when Mr. Ventner and his team create this new life form (if they haven't already at the time of this posting), what next?  The creation of this tiny cell will have enormous effects on the world at large.  Some will say we are "playing God," bringing to mind many 1950s era horror movies were scientists get their comeuppance for fiddling with things best left alone by humanity.  Others will embrace this discovery and point out that there are many positive applications, such as new life saving drugs.  Still others will see the potential for new bio-weapons. 

I have a guarded but positive view.  First of all, I have never understood how human beings, animals that evolved on this planet just like every other animal, are somehow considered separate from "nature".  People seem to believe that when a bird gathers twigs and builds a nest, that's natural, but when human beings build a home in a subdivision, that's artificial.  To me, the only difference is who has the better evolved home building skills.  So, if we have come to the point that we have gathered the necessary knowledge, skills and technology to do what Mr. Ventner is doing, why do we have to listen to people decry that we are subverting nature or "playing God." 

Secondly, given that we have attained this knowledge, how can we possibly NOT use it? Can you imagine turning your back on the potential that this discovery holds?  The argument that this activity is somehow qualitatively different from other research endeavors and thus we "should not" be doing it does not hold with me.  Technology does not have a moral content.  I've yet to run across an evil technology, and I don't think I'm seeing one now.  Often, a single technology holds he potential for both good (the happiness of sentient creatures) and evil (the suffering of sentient creatures) and Mr. Venter's discovery certainly falls into this category.  Will we use it to make a cure for cancer or to make a new agent more lethal than Ebola?  The answer to that question lies in the hearts and minds of the people who will be doing the "coding", not in the technology itself.