Biodigital convergence is the interactive combination, sometimes to the point of merging, of digital and biological technologies and systems. Policy Horizons is examining three ways in which this convergence is happening.
1 Full physical integration of biological and digital entities
Digital technology can be embedded in organisms, and biological components can exist as parts of digital technologies. The physical meshing, manipulating, and merging of the biological and digital are creating new hybrid forms of life and technology, each functioning in the tangible world, often with heightened capabilities.
Robots with biological brains01 and biological bodies with digital brains02 already exist, as do human-computer and brain-machine interfaces.03 The medical use of digital devices in humans04, as well as digitally manipulated insects such as drone dragonflies05 and surveillance locusts06, are examples of digital technology being combined with biological entities. By tapping into the nervous system and manipulating neurons, tech can be added to an organism to alter its function and purpose. New human bodies and new senses of identity07 could arise as the convergence continues.
https://horizons.gc.ca/en/2020/02/11/…
Transcript: https://horizons.gc.ca/en/2021/07/29/…
Biodigital convergence is the interactive combination, sometimes to the point of merging, of digital and biological technologies and systems. Policy Horizons is examining three ways in which this convergence is happening.
1 Full physical integration of biological and digital entities
Digital technology can be embedded in organisms, and biological components can exist as parts of digital technologies. The physical meshing, manipulating, and merging of the biological and digital are creating new hybrid forms of life and technology, each functioning in the tangible world, often with heightened capabilities.
Robots with biological brains01 and biological bodies with digital brains02 already exist, as do human-computer and brain-machine interfaces.03 The medical use of digital devices in humans04, as well as digitally manipulated insects such as drone dragonflies05 and surveillance locusts06, are examples of digital technology being combined with biological entities. By tapping into the nervous system and manipulating neurons, tech can be added to an organism to alter its function and purpose. New human bodies and new senses of identity07 could arise as the convergence continues.
2 Coevolution of biological and digital technologies
This type of biodigital convergence emerges when advances in one domain generate major advances in the other. The coevolution of biological and digital sciences and technologies enables progress in each domain that would be impossible otherwise. This could lead to biological and digital technologies that are developed as integrated or complementary systems.
Complex living systems – bacteria, fungi, plants, and animal life including humans – are increasingly subject to examination and understanding by digital tools and applications such as machine learning. This deeper understanding, enabled by digital technologies, means that biology is subject to influence and manipulation that was not possible a few years ago.
For example, gene sequencing combined with artificial intelligence (AI) leads to understanding genetic expression, which is then used to alter existing organisms to create organic compounds in new ways08 or even entirely synthetic organisms.09 The CRISPR/Cas9 approach and other new gene editing techniques would have been impossible without the evolution of digital technology and bioinformatics. Advances in digital technologies have helped the advancement of the biodigital.10
We also see a greater understanding of biology, which is fueling progress in the field of biological computing. Neural nets – computer systems that are designed based on biological brains – are an example of how biological understanding is shaping digital technology.
There is also a blurring between what is considered natural or organic and what is digital, engineered, or synthetic. For example, biosynthetic vanilla is created using ferulic acid, eugenol, and glucose as substrates, and bacteria, fungi, and yeasts as microbial production hosts. Although it does not come from a vanilla plant, under both U.S. and EU food legislation, its production from “microbial transformations of natural precursors” allows it to be labelled as a “natural flavoring”.11
3 Conceptual convergence of biological and digital systems
A third form of biodigital convergence involves a shift in perspective that could reshape our framing and approach to biological and digital realms, facilitating the blending of the two.
As we continue to better understand and control the mechanisms that underlie biology, we could see a shift away from vitalism – the idea that living and nonliving organisms are fundamentally different because they are thought to be governed by different principles.12 Instead, the idea of biology as having predictable and digitally manageable characteristics may become increasingly common as a result of living in a biodigital age. Any student of biology today will have grown up in a digital world and may consciously or subconsciously apply that frame of reference to bioinformatics and biology generally.
From a digital perspective, we see a potential shift in the opposite direction. Computing began as a means of producing predictable, replicable, and relatively simple outcomes. As digital technology became more complex and connected, the system began to mimic the characteristics of the biological world, leading to the notion of technological ecosystems. Biological models are also being used to develop digital tools, such as AI based on neural nets.
What is the biodigital convergence? – YouTube
What is the biodigital convergence? – YouTube
Ericson Report 