Lesson 6: Right. Wrong.

Through centuries of selective reproduction. Humanity had engineered the perfect banana.

“Ay now that we got that rocket shit out of the way we can finally move on to genetically engineered cat girls.” Elon Musk, Twitter, February, 2018.

For a while I dreamt of Elon’s reality, a world free of genetic diseases and full of cat girls, of course. However, that reality came sooner than expected. In 2018, the first two genetically modified babies were born in China, with their genes edited to be more HIV resistant as apart of an experiment by He Jiankui.

Though the study was approved by a “local” ethics committee, multiple areas of ethical consent and transparency were breeched. According to an article by Benjamin Hurlbut and Jason Scott Robert from Arizona State University, the ethics board was primarily concerned with the parent’s interest’s, which resulted in the oversight of the children. The ethical review overlooked the possibility of children, as they did not exist to be participants of initial the experiment.

At some levels, I respect He Jiankui’s research, but the implications overshadow scientific benefits. Linking this communication, the wellbeing of humanity should be as important as the advancement of it. Public relations or advertising is not a fraud, or a tool for deception, as with science, human interests are placed upfront.

In a 2018 research article published by Christopher Gyngell and Julian Savulescu, University of Melbourne, titled The Simple, Ethical Case for Gene Editing, the author's suggests that gene editing legislation must be reconsidered globally following the rapid development of CRISPA and GGE editing technology.

As of 2016, the United Nations has urged world leaders to call an international ban on gene-editing human embryos, stating it is,

"A line that should not be crossed."

However, Gyngell and Savulescu argue that gene-editing research techniques are justified on moral grounds as early "human embryos [do not] have the same moral status as [people]."

Blurring the lines between life and death, the moral balance on this subject is rather "grey". On one hand, the research could help humanity eliminate many biological diseases. On the other hand, is the "research method" worth pursuing for the sake of societal/individual interests?

Drawing on the practices of public relations and advertising. "Persuasion and manipulation" are often interchangeable within these fields. As communicators of the future, we must consistently question ourselves, whether we are exploiting the vulnerabilities of others.

Much like gene editing, the ethics are not black and white but rather grey.

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Moving away from the scientific field, Netflix encountered ethical issues with their infamous “Walrus” scene from the series; Our Planet. Met with furious outrage from their target audience, including animal activists and climate activists, Netflix was criticised of “tragedy porn.”

The media company used the footage to advocate for climate action, suggesting that the Walrus’s deaths was the result of the melting icecaps.

Upon further investigation, it was concluded that the pursuing polar bear caused the gruesome deaths.

From a communications perspective, the manipulation of information to align an agenda is considered unethical. Muck like the premise of fake news, the audience should not be deceived in a factual documentary – hindering its educational creditability.

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J. Benjamin Hurlbut and J. Robert. Discover Magazine. 2018. CRISPR Babies Raise an Uncomfortable Reality — Ethical Guidelines Don't Guarantee Ethical Research | Discover Magazine. Accessed 3 December 2019, <https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/crispr-babies-raise-an-uncomfortable-reality-ethical-guidelines-dont-guarantee-ethical-research>

C. Gyngell and J. Savulescu, 2018. THE SIMPLE, ETHICAL CASE FOR GENE EDITING, Pursuit, University of Melbourne, 17 January, viewed 3 December 2019, <https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/the-simple-ethical-case-for-gene-editing>

Financial Post. 2019. Netflix is lying about those falling walruses. It’s another ‘tragedy porn’ climate hoax | Financial Post, Accessed 3 December 2019, <https://business.financialpost.com/opinion/netflix-is-lying-about-those-falling-walruses-its-another-tragedy-porn-climate-hoax>