Suppose that the Portal decides that a proposed experiment is dangerous. Isn it dangerous to write and publish an opinion which describes the idea?
Many experiments of concern (“develop very high purity botox”) have goals that are already obvious to weapons-makers. In this case, there is little harm in describing what has been proposed or indeed, publishing an opinion which points out the dangers of doing such work. In other cases, however, the experiment of concern (“manipulate the mousepox virus”) could be subtle enough to pose concerns. We will specifically ask our expert panels whether their opinion poses any publication risk and, if so, whether this risk outweighs the normal benefits of openness and transparency. In most cases, their decision will be final.
Related Questions
- Suppose that the Portal decides that a proposed experiment is dangerous. Isn it dangerous to write and publish an opinion which describes the idea?
- Who decides which factors are to be studied and what the size of the experiment will be?
- What is the proposed Federal action that the final biological opinion analyzes?
