Biotechnology is transforming how we understand and shape living systems. As these technologies move beyond the lab into real-world applications, they raise pressing questions about risk, responsibility, and the limits of human intervention.
Biotechnology is rapidly reshaping fields ranging from medicine to agriculture, opening up new possibilities to engineer and modify living organisms. At the same time, these developments introduce significant uncertainties, particularly when interventions extend beyond controlled environments into complex ecosystems. Understanding these technologies therefore requires not only scientific insight, but also reflection on their broader societal and ethical implications.
Starting from concrete biological examples such as synthetic biology and the release of genetically modified organisms, this evening discussion will explore both the transformative potential of biotechnology and the risks it entails. Particular attention will be given to how we make decisions under uncertainty, how values are embedded in technological design, and whether there are limits to how far we should go in modifying living systems. It will finally expand to consider how these technologies interact with social, environmental, and political contexts, and how they challenge existing frameworks of governance and responsibility.
Location: TBD, University of Lausanne
Program:
- Prof. Yolanda Schaerli — Biological perspectives: synthetic biology and GMO release
- What possibilities does biotechnology, particularly synthetic biology, open up?
- The GMO example: What are the potential risks associated with releasing genetically modified organisms into the environment?
- How might GMOs affect human health and ecosystems in the long term?
- What challenges arise from the potential uncontrolled evolution or spread of engineered organisms?
- How do current regulatory frameworks attempt to balance innovative potential and risk?
- Prof. Raffaele Rodogno — Ethical perspectives on biotechnology
- How can we determine whether biotechnologies are neutral tools, or whether they embed and promote particular values?
- How should we understand the interaction between designers, technologies, and decision-making processes?
- How can cost–benefit analyses be carried out in situations of deep uncertainty?
- What level of risk is ethically acceptable, and who should decide?
- How should responsibility be understood when engineering systems that can evolve over time?
- Prof. Nolwenn Bühler — Social, environmental, and political perspectives
- How do biotechnologies reshape our relationship with nature and living systems?
- What social and environmental implications arise from modifying life?
- How are power, governance, and public trust affected by these technologies?
- Who benefits from biotechnological innovation, and who might be excluded?
- How should societies collectively navigate these transformations?
Speakers:
Yolanda Schaerli is a Professor of Synthetic Biology at UNIL, whose research focuses on the design and engineering of synthetic gene regulatory networks in bacteria. Her work explores how these networks can be constructed and controlled to develop novel tools, address fundamental scientific questions, and engineer advanced living materials.
Raffaele Rodogno: is a professor in ethics at Unil specializing in the ethics of technology and design. His research examines how values are embedded in artefacts, how technological systems shape human behavior and decision-making, and how to evaluate emerging technologies under conditions of uncertainty.
Nolwenn Bühler: is a professor in social sciences at Unil whose work focuses on the social, environmental, and political dimensions of science and technology. She studies how technological innovations interact with societal values, governance structures, and public debates, particularly in relation to life sciences.
Languages: English and French
Organisation : Laure Le Blanc, Reatch and Matteo Titus, Swiss Study Foundation
Administration: Michelle Hug
Timing: Tuesday May 5th 2026, 18:00 – 19:30, followed by pizza
Target audience: Open to all
Preparation: Synthetic biology – Wikipedia
Number of participants: 30 maximum
Sign-up deadline: Wednesday April 22nd 2026
