Sunday, September 12, 2004
DNA Fingerprinting Raises Questions:
The inventor of DNA fingerprinting has expressed his concern over possible misuses of the technology. I don't find this particularly surprising given all the possible evils that could result from this one. As he states, it is already being misused in some countries where the police keep on file DNA collected from people found to be innocent. Eventually, if humans are still around, we will all be tested at birth or before and someone will have this on file, probably the government. The trouble comes when we try to prevent abuse. As with any great secret, sooner or later, the data in a DNA database will leak out or be stolen. We should definitely not trust that the big corporations or governments will " do the right thing" when it comes to how this information would be used. Probably the best thing to do would be to enact laws now that deal with these issues before the cat is out of the bag, so to speak. As the prospect for damage is so high, these laws should carry very significant penalties for those convicted of its violation. We better get control, through laws, of these big guys now before we get to the point where they become untouchable.
The inventor of DNA fingerprinting has expressed his concern over possible misuses of the technology. I don't find this particularly surprising given all the possible evils that could result from this one. As he states, it is already being misused in some countries where the police keep on file DNA collected from people found to be innocent. Eventually, if humans are still around, we will all be tested at birth or before and someone will have this on file, probably the government. The trouble comes when we try to prevent abuse. As with any great secret, sooner or later, the data in a DNA database will leak out or be stolen. We should definitely not trust that the big corporations or governments will " do the right thing" when it comes to how this information would be used. Probably the best thing to do would be to enact laws now that deal with these issues before the cat is out of the bag, so to speak. As the prospect for damage is so high, these laws should carry very significant penalties for those convicted of its violation. We better get control, through laws, of these big guys now before we get to the point where they become untouchable.
# posted by Wil Smith : 6:11 a.m.
