Biology By Design. Biology is the most advanced technology platform on the planet. We program cells to make everything from food to materials to therapeutics. - Ginkgo Bioworks
The CEO of Ginkgo Bioworks, Jason Kelly, has a very clever introduction to biotechnology. He presents a slide with a picture of an Apple computer, an iPhone, a camera, and a metal watch on a gray desk decorated with a potted plant back lit with a lamp. "What's the most complicated device on this table?" he asks. His answer is the plant. He is incorrect.
The Cynefin method of thinking describes simple, complicated and complex systems. The process of creating a slide presentation is simple. The iPhone is complicated. The plant is complex.
The technology products are complicated. The plant is not a complicated device. It is a complex living organism.
In this article from MIT Technology Review by Anthony Regelado, the author points out a an inconvenient truth. "Given Kelly’s spiel, it is surprising that 13 years after it was founded, Ginkgo can’t name a single significant product that is manufactured and sold using its organisms."
It is the Cargo Cult looking to the skies for that magical cargo. It has not yet arrived.
The ceremonial practices of the biotech cargo cults are studied here at the CCS. We must look at the science and then back at the ceremonies of the biotech executives. There are plenty of real science and technology concepts employed at Ginkgo. As is true with all bullshit, the truth is a valuable tool. The difference between real science and cargo cult science however is in how the truth is employed. Is the truth employed in generating new scientific avenues and technologies? Is the truth used to convince people of things that aren't so?
In my next post I will tackle just one claim from Ginkgo Bioworks. I will pick it randomly and discuss the issues from the perspective of the empowered laboratory workforce. I am not Bill Gates or Cathy Wood sitting in an office receiving a sales pitch. I am a guy who knows how to do the work.
