Public attitudes towards novel technologies: the case of DNA data storage

by Lenka Pelechova

16:00 (40 min) in STREAM

Understanding public attitudes to developing technologies has a number of benefits. When concerns are know they can be addressed by scientist, or direct regulations could be introduced by funding bodies or governments. According to the Responsible Research and Innovation framework, the dialogue between the public and the science community should start early on, in order to promote transparency, accountability, and trust in science. The framework emphasizes anticipation, reflexivity and responsiveness within scientific research, as well as social desirability, and ethical acceptability in supporting the innovation process.

In this talk, I will describe my work on understanding the public attitudes to DNA data storage. I will present results of a small-scale "early engagement" online survey we conducted recently and describe how it will help us to assess attitudes, concerns, and opinions about this technology, given the scientific uncertainty around it, and a very low public awareness.