Human germline gene editing is bioart

Abstract

Dr. He Jiankui led a research project to use clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat technology to add human enhancement gene CCR5-Δ32 into the genome of the zygotes of 露露 and 娜娜 (Lulu and Nana). This letter is meant to help the twins understand their cultural importance and explore lines of quandary they may not be privy to otherwise. This letter is to Lulu and Nana from the Bioarts Ethical Advisory Komission (BEAK). It pertains to the cultural aesthetics of germline human gene editing. Exploring the role of aesthetic breadth in the manufacturing of transgenic humans, this letter utilizes art history and cultural criticism to review the legal, ethical, societal and libidinal implications (LESLI) of human genetic engineering as bioart. It calls for restrictions against the knocking-in of human gene edits that have been convincingly demonstrated to cause, or to strongly predispose, kindred to the diseases of cultural banality, naïve human enhancement style, or adverse normalization. Beyond offering an artistic regulatory framework for human mutant creativity in vivo, this letter offers clarification, redefinition and contestational advice directly to Lulu and Nana.