A feral science? Dangers and disruptions between DIYbio and the FBI

Abstract

Building on theory within anthropology and associated fields, I develop feralness as a lens for understanding the complexity of technological afterlives. Conceptual development proceeds through a case study of the relationship between Do-it-Yourself Biology (DIYbio), nonprofessional scientists experimenting with the established technology of recombinant DNA in new contexts such as garages and kitchens, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Absent the institutional controls of academia or industry, DIYbio has been perceived by the FBI as a potential threat to national security and is policed by the FBI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate. Though the FBI has tried to contain the spread and reach of DIYbio, it has, ironically, came to be one of the main instruments of DIYbio’s global spread. In closing, I argue that feral technologies, those technologies with unexpected and potentially dangerous afterlives, are emblematic of the 21st century.

Feral Experiments in CreaTures Co-Laboratory

“…Experimenting with data as a feral element acting outside its anthropocentric and often extractive nature can thus reveal what may have previously been less visible or in the margins. Feralness can be seen as marking a creative deviation from what is considered and practiced as the norm, thus providing a useful metaphor for thinking of technology and data becoming untamed, standing in opposition to a normative order that is assumed to be rational and orderly (Scroggins, 2023). (Davis, 2017;Barad, 2003).…”

Navigating biosafety concerns within COVID-19 do-it-yourself (DIY) science: an ethnographic and interview study

“…The ensuing years saw other endeavors related to biosafety in open science, many of which were supported by external funding. In 2012, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) held a joint meeting with members of the DIY biology community, in which it paid for individuals to attend and discuss issues related to biosafety (Scroggins 2013;Lempinen 2011). The Wilson Center funded a study on DIY biology through its Synthetic Biology Project (Grushkin et al 2013;Kuiken et al 2018), as well as the "Ask a Biosafety Expert" feature on DIYbio.…”