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| Illustration from Futurism |
When we consider what makes humans unique, it’s not a social security number or physical features; it’s our four base, two stranded DNA code that truly separates individuals. With the advent of the recent genome sequencing technology revolution, attaining our DNA sequence has never been more commercially viable. Already, new businesses such as 23AndMe and Ancestry have begun providing genome sequencing services based on the idea that sequencing one’s genome will provide insight into one’s heritage or into their risk of disease. However, issues such as the security of our genomic data make it ethically questionable for companies to leave vulnerable the very code that defines us.
After a customer’s DNA is sequenced, it resides in a piece of data stored by the company and shared to the customer per request. When genomic data is stored by a private entity, we assume the risk of a possible security breach and theft of our genomic data. While the theft of one’s genomic data may seem insignificant to us today, it’s important to consider that the value of DNA code only increases as we understand more about how DNA sequence can be implicated in our own qualities, such as mental and physical attributes, eating habits, etc.
When we give a company the rights to hold our genomic data, we give up ownership of our most personal form of identification. It is up to these companies to consider the ethics of the storage and sharing of customer data, especially as DNA sequencing grows in popularity. Jim Moor’s description of the three stages of development for new technology places DNA kits like Ancestry’s in the “power stage”, firmly established, readily available, and having a large impact on society. The latter characteristic mentioned is especially true of DNA testing technology, which leaves immutable data related to individuals who have never even used a testing service, but have relatives who did, vulnerable for theft and abuse. Researchers found that it was possible to use data stored to establish fake familial relationships, including one instance where a service stated that a fake profile was a user’s son. If such data were to get into the wrong hands, the consequences could destroy families. This presents an ethical challenge to 3rd party storage of customer's genetic data. Companies providing sequencing services must understand the great ramifications theft of customer data can have as their technology reaches the “power stage”.
Your argument is logically cohesive, and does well in explaining the argument that the ethics of genomic sequencing services need to be thought out more as they become more common. I would recommend focusing more on the stages of development for new technologies, including bringing it to attention earlier in the article, and going into more depth on these stages and how these stages could effect the ethics needed for genomic sequencing technology. Although the graphic used is great, i might also recommend adding one or two more to break the article up a bit more.
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog post as companies like "23AndMe" and "Ancestry" have always been interesting to me. The post is well written but I believe further explanation on Jim Moor's three stages of development for new technology would benefit it. You bring it up and discuss which stage DNA kits reside in, but don't explain the significance of this or why it is important to realize. I also think explaining the different stages that Jim Moor proposed would be beneficial in order to provide some more context.
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job at making sure that the reader was informed about the different terminology within genetics that you were using! Everything seems clear in that regard.
ReplyDeleteWith that being said, I feel like there is an overwhelming amount of information in this blog post. You could utilize whitespace to your advantage and break up important concepts into smaller chunks so that it is easier to digest. Also you could try to condense some of the information down into layman's terms so that it's shorter and easier to follow.
I felt that the connection to the reading was rushed through and not clearly explained. It left me with questions like 'what are the other stages of development?'. Try to flesh out the connection a bit more in a way that someone who hasn't read Moor could understand. Also maybe move up the mentioning of the reading to the top!
The privacy and ethics surrounding the acquisition of genetic data from customers is a fascinating topic, and I enjoyed learning about how the data can be misused and why it's privacy is vital. While you list this technology as being in the "power stage" given it's availability to the public, one might be able to argue that it may still be in the "permeation stage" given that technologies that build on the information gathered by DNA testing are still in development. Further expanding on why you believe that this technology is in the "power stage" would help strengthen your position.
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job catching my attention with your opening. It was unique and interesting and made me want to keep reading. The topic is also very interesting and is worth reading. You have a lot of examples and information stored in the last paragraph. I think the blog will flow better if you break up this information into multiple paragraphs so it is not as dense. I also think if you bring up the reading earlier in the blog post it will tie everything in nicely.
ReplyDeleteThis article states the implications that can come from giving up something as personal as your own DNA to companies. Even though there is a part of me that wishes to learn more about my heritage, I have always been weary of such companies and this article only solidified my speculations. There is a vast number of things that can go wrong when giving these companies the rights to do as they please with your DNA. I would be interested in knowing more about things that could possibly come from using these companies and the legalities.
ReplyDeleteThis was a fascinating topic to read and one that will definitely plague us in the future. I appreciate that you put a picture at the top, and how your argument was well thought out. I think that you should elaborate on the implications of being in the power stage, and how this could multiply the current threats from genome sequencing.
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