Bioinformation, cyberbiosecurity, and technological surprise: synthetic biology and great power rivalry

<p dir="ltr">This thesis explores the development of bioinformation and how changes in the use of bioinformation by synthetic biology can change international relations. During the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, bioinformation was shared across international borders and formed a critical area of international cooperation. This included sequencing data for the SARS-Cov-2 and its variants, clinical trial data for vaccines, and medical countermeasures information associated with the pandemic. Biological information, or ‘bioinformation’, is the central object of study in many disciplines within the life sciences. The collection and use of bioinformation drives innovation in synthetic biology, systems biology, and molecular science. The international implications of cross-border bioinformation sharing practices are wider than the response of the international community to emerging infectious disease outbreaks. Organisations like the International Gene Synthesis Consortium (IGSC) and the Global Biofoundries Alliance (GBA) exemplify non-state mechanisms for bioinformation transfer that can have consequences for international relations and international security. This is due to the potential for IGSC and GBA members to share and use bioinformation relating to pandemic-causing genetic functions, and therefore the need for these organisations to manage this risk.</p><p dir="ltr">Existing work in international relations and security studies, including health security, biosecurity and the emerging field of cyberbiosecurity, each engage with the practice of sharing materials and information (or their clandestine acquisition) across international borders. Research in these fields has historically focused on four trends changing the practices governing global biosecurity: (i) advances in science and technology; (ii) the emergence of new diseases; (iii) globalization; (iv) and the changing nature of conflict. In 2018, cyberbiosecurity emerged as a field of practice that seeks to secure bioinformation from cyber exploitation. There is now a need to reconsider these trends informed by a new understanding of how synthetic biology (and the life sciences more broadly) conceptualises, collects, uses, shares and reuses bioinformation.</p><p dir="ltr">This thesis by publication presents seven publications and one paper prepared for publication that together comprise a multidisciplinary examination of bioinformation. Five of the publications are in peer-reviewed scientific journals and are co-authored with synthetic biologists. These publications examine the conceptualisation of bioinformation within synthetic biology, while also contributing to the ongoing construction and theorising of bioinformational engineering as a practice. The multidisciplinary nature of this thesis reflects the fast-evolving uses of bioinformation and the value of collaboration with scientists to ensure technical currency informs implications-focused social scientific analysis. The remaining two publications are sole-authored papers in international relations journals. These two publications translate the findings of the four scientific articles to the discipline of international relations. A final paper is prepared for publication and has been submitted for peer review.</p><p dir="ltr">This thesis identifies three developments in international relations linked to advances in the use of bioinformation and the practice of bioinformational engineering (the use of bioinformation to engineer rational intra- and inter-organism communication via the digital-first methods of synthetic biology). These three developments are: (i) an acceleration in the development of novel uses of biology that may support new methods of grey zone warfare; (ii) increasing efforts by state and non-state actors to secure or acquire valuable bioinformation and the corresponding increase in international actors undertaking covert or deceptive grey zone behaviours; and finally, (iii) structural changes to international escalation and surprise dynamics that are driven by novel uses of bioinformation and a corresponding impact on the offense-defense balance between great powers. The thesis identifies that advances in synthetic biology may increase the likelihood of conflict initiation between the great powers.</p><p dir="ltr">Bioinformation quickly became one of the world’s most valuable resources during the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. This thesis explores synthetic biology’s bioinformational practices and their implications for international relations.</p>