Gregory Stock

The Human Genome Project is opening a new era in human history. Dr. Stock not only explores the profound economic and social implications of our deciphering of human biology, he uses concrete detail to drive home how it will alter our lives. Stock looks at how genetic testing using DNA-chips will affect the Insurance and Pharmaceutical industries.

He discusses how Genomics and the Internet will interact to bring a revolution in medicine. He explores the coming possibilities of genetic engineering, designer children, and human artificial chromosomes. Stock is a pragmatist when it comes to managing these emerging possibilities, arguing that a free market is the best way of reaping their benefits. His vision is refreshingly optimistic, yet backed by solid analysis. You will come away with a better understanding both of today’s world and of your own good fortune to be living in these extraordinary times.

Dr. Stock offers a convincing rebuttal to those who fear we are hurtling towards some deadly reckoning. Our steps into space, Artificial Intelligence, the Internet, and our unraveling of biology are all facets of the planetary beehive of concrete and fiber optics we are creating.

Humanity is not in peril; it is carrying life into an evolutionary transition as profound as that 700 million years ago when multicellular organisms first arose. Stock will bring you a textured look of coming changes that are so immense that they will force us to examine even what it means to be human. He shows how the Human Genome Project is a key step towards taking control of our own evolution and how progress in molecular genetics will lead to so much more than cures for diseases. Such technology may well enable us to transform our own selves. DNA chips, designer children, human artificial chromosomes, the potential for extended human lifespan, the gradual merging of human and machine: Stock weaves them all into an inspiring and compelling image of our future without ever losing sight of the real world and the immediate challenges we face. This blend of science, evolutionary thinking, cultural extrapolation, and vision will forever transform your view of the world and your place in it.

We stand at a defining moment not only in human history but in the history of life. It’s a big claim, but Dr. Stock not only will convince you of it, he will bring you a new perspective on the challenges now buffeting us. His presentation is a provocative blend of analysis of the world of today and extrapolation into the dizzying, yet not-too-distant future.

He looks at the immense implications of the human genome project, showing how it will transform medicine, human reproduction, and eventually humanity itself. He discusses the implications of machine intelligence and the rapidly spreading Internet. He shows why global culture and economic integration are a robust, positive development that is virtually inevitable. He provides an optimistic, hopeful look towards an amazing future. This talk will leave you with a new perspective on the problems we face, and a sense of wonder about where we are heading and how soon we may get there.

It is one thing to say that we are “reading the book of life,” quite another to seriously examine what our growing ability to manipulate human biology might mean for us and our children. Dr. Stock focuses upon the realistic possibilities for human genetic manipulation, and how these technologies will combine with increasingly sophisticated pharmaceutical interventions and ever more comprehensive and affordable genetic tests. If you want to understand the possibilities and the dangers of “designer children,” if you want to think through the medical, social, and ethical implications of these powerful technologies -- this is the talk for you.

Here, Dr. Stock covers some of the same terrain as in his Darwin to Destiny presentation, but he faces the most critical question about the human future: Will the underlying substrate of life – in at least its most complex manifestation -- remain biological or will biology be transcended by the rapid evolution of silicon and its related technologies?

Dr. Stock touches on many of the themes he deals with in his Pharmacogenetics to Genetic Design talk, but he delves more fully into the intertwinings of computer technology, biology, and medicine. He looks not only at the dependence of our progress in genomics on computational power, but at how communications technologies will alter the relationship between patient and physician, the delivery of preventive medicine, and the very nature of medical.

The attack on the World Trade Center not only brought shock and grief, it shifted our visions of ourselves and our futures. No longer do we feel so protected from chaos elsewhere in the world; no longer do bright promises of technology seem so certain.

An airliner blowing up in midair once seemed the apex of terrorism. Now we might feel relief that the tragedy was no worse. In the future, bio-terrorism could make even our recent catastrophe seem tame, killing not thousands, but hundreds of thousands. Sadly, we can no longer afford to dismiss such possibilities.

Today’s revolution in genetics and biotechnology offers enormous promise – improved medicines, easier diagnoses, better care. We might even learn to retard the underlying process of aging itself or to choose our children’s genes. Such developments are firmly on the side of life, but the unraveling of biology also has a dark side – the weaponization of smallpox, plague and other infectious diseases that once sickened and killed millions. Advances in medicine and public health had nearly vanquished many of these foes, but if zealots ally themselves with these natural enemies of human life – strengthening and spreading these deadly agents – the consequences could be catastrophic.

In this talk, Dr. Stock explores the dangers of biological terrorism, looks at how our research priorities and public policies must shift to blunt them, discusses the role that genomic technology will play in this effort, and suggests what individuals may do to help.