The state issued a blockbuster scientific and technological ethics governance document: gene editing, artificial intelligence and other technology research and development will be regulated

Gene editing, artificial intelligence awakening, xenotransplantation, personal network information security... While science and technology continue to develop rapidly, they also bring new risks and uncertainties to society, and may also trigger some unprecedented ethical challenges.

The CPC Central Committee and the State Council recently issued the "Opinions on Strengthening the Ethical Governance of Science and Technology", which is the first guiding document on the governance of science and technology ethics at the national level in the mainland, and it is also another landmark event in the ethical governance of science and technology in the mainland following the establishment of the National Science and Technology Ethics Committee.

Purpose: To prevent uncertain risks and promote science and technology for good

The opinions issued by the two offices not only put forward the ethical governance requirements of science and technology of "ethics first, in accordance with laws and regulations, agile governance, based on national conditions, and open cooperation", but also clarified the ethical principles of science and technology of "improving human well-being, respecting the rights to life, adhering to fairness and justice, reasonably controlling risks, and maintaining openness and transparency".

Scientific and technological ethics is a value code that must be observed in scientific and technological activities. At present, the mainland's scientific and technological innovation is developing rapidly, and the challenges to scientific and technological ethics are increasing, but there are still problems such as imperfect institutional mechanisms, imperfect systems, and uneven development of fields in the governance of scientific and technological ethics, and it is difficult to meet the actual needs of scientific and technological innovation and development, and it has become a top priority to build a comprehensive, clearly oriented, standardized and orderly, and coordinated governance system for scientific and technological ethics.

Xiang Libin, vice minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology, introduced at the press conference on strengthening the ethical governance of science and technology held on the 23rd: "In the process of drafting the opinions, we focused on the following aspects, one is to establish the value concept and highlight the mainland's position and attitude towards strengthening the ethical governance of science and technology; the second is to highlight the problem orientation and focus on solving the problems of the mainland's unsound system and mechanism, imperfect system, and uneven field development; third, strengthen the deployment of the system and put forward major measures to strengthen the ethical governance of science and technology." ”

"The Opinions, for the first time, make systematic arrangements for the mainland's scientific and technological ethics governance work, which is of great guiding significance, and is conducive to promoting the unified thinking of the scientific and technological community and the whole society, consolidating consensus, further enhancing the understanding of the importance of scientific and technological ethical governance, effectively preventing the ethical risks of science and technology, and playing an important role in promoting science and technology for good, achieving a high level of scientific and technological self-reliance and self-improvement, and accelerating the construction of an innovative country and a scientific and technological power." Xiang Libin said.

Focus areas: life sciences, medicine, artificial intelligence, etc

In recent years, cutting-edge technologies such as gene editing technology, artificial intelligence technology, and assisted reproductive technology have developed rapidly, bringing happiness to human beings while constantly challenging human ethical bottom lines and value scales.

Scientific and technological innovation must be ethical first. The famous scientist Albert Einstein once said frankly: "Science is a powerful tool, how to use it, whether it brings happiness or disaster to people, all depends on people themselves, not on tools." ”

Strengthening the institutionalization of scientific and technological ethics and promoting the global governance of scientific and technological ethics have become the common voice of the whole society.

The opinions issued this time put forward: "Where the research content involves sensitive areas of scientific and technological ethics, a scientific and technological ethics (review) committee should be established", "focus on strengthening the research on scientific and technological ethics legislation in the fields of life sciences, medicine, artificial intelligence" and "seriously investigate and deal with violations of laws and regulations on scientific and technological ethics"...

Some experts in science and technology ethics said that as more and more Chinese scientific and technological workers bravely break into the "no man's land", we need to predict the ethical risks that may be brought about by scientific and technological innovation, systematically foresee, weigh and deal with ethical conflicts at the forefront of science and technology, and beware of people accidentally rushing into the ethical "forbidden area".

Improving the Review and Supervision Mechanism: Delineating the "Red Line" and the "Bottom Line"

"No unit, organization or individual carrying out scientific and technological activities shall endanger social security, public safety, biosecurity and ecological security, shall not infringe on human life safety, physical and mental health, and human dignity, shall not infringe on the right to know and choose of participants in scientific and technological activities, and shall not fund scientific and technological activities that violate the requirements of scientific and technological ethics."

The opinions issued this time delineate the "red line" and "bottom line" for strengthening the ethical governance of science and technology.

"Improving the well-being of mankind is the driving force behind the development of science and technology, and the goal of scientific and technological ethics is to defend the development of the scientific community along such a track and ensure the development direction of science and technology in the dimension of value judgment." Zhai Xiaomei, a member of the National Science and Technology Ethics Committee, said.

The improvement of the review and supervision mechanism is an important part of the establishment of a national science and technology ethics governance system. In this regard, the document makes specific provisions on scientific and technological ethics review, supervision, risk early warning, violation handling, etc., requiring that scientific and technological activities should be subject to scientific and technological ethical risk assessment or review, and especially for scientific and technological activities involving humans and laboratory animals; requiring the improvement of scientific and technological ethical risk monitoring and early warning mechanisms.

In view of the fact that some scientific and technological ethical issues tend to be solved internally and punitive measures are not perfect, the document is clear that it is necessary to seriously investigate and deal with violations of laws and regulations in scientific and technological ethics. Colleges and universities, scientific research institutions, medical and health institutions, enterprises, etc. are the first responsible subjects for the internal investigation and handling of scientific and technological ethics violations, and seriously pursue responsibility and accountability for serious scientific and technological ethical violations in accordance with laws and regulations.

Dai Guoqing, director of the Department of Science and Technology Supervision and Integrity Construction of the Ministry of Science and Technology, said that in the actual implementation process, the competent departments of relevant industries, funding institutions or the units where the responsible persons belong should distinguish between different situations, and order the responsible persons for scientific and technological ethical violations to make corrections in accordance with laws and regulations, stop relevant scientific and technological activities, recover funding funds, revoke awards and honors obtained, cancel relevant professional qualifications, and prohibit the undertaking or participation in scientific and technological activities supported by financial funds within a certain period of time.

"We must think holistically and carefully about the functions of emerging technologies at the forefront of modern times, such as when opinions point to a forward-looking, responsible and prudent approach to new technologies, especially when technologies that are likely to have a significant impact and are highly controversial are widely used." Zhai Xiaomei said. (Reporters Hu Zhe, Tian Xiaohang, Zhang Quan, Wen Jinghua)