Taking responsibility, making irresponsibility: Controversies in human gene editing

In an analysis based largely on the proceedings of the first two International Summits on Human Genome Editing, Morgan Meyer theorizes the process of “irresponsibilization.” Much of this theorization revolves around He Jiankui’s experiments and how they spurred responses and calls for further action at the Second International Summit. In conversation with recent work in responsible research and innovation (RRI) and valuation studies, Meyer argues that there is a need to study the processes of disqualification and devaluation that characterize science as “irresponsible.” He describes how the response to He Jiankui’s experiments turned “irresponsible science” into an active category that sought to publicly purify the scientific community by effectively excommunicating He. Meyer notes the paradox that irresponsible research catalyzes more discussion about responsibility. His own analysis adds consideration of processes of irresponsibilization to the social scientific toolkit for thinking about responsibility in broader terms.