Regulating Emerging Technologies

A range of emerging technologies, including biotechnology, nanotechnology, and synthetic biology, are expected to transform society. Handling the development and regulation of these promising technologies is a daunting task as the risks presented will not be understood until the technologies are further developed. This paper proposes a new governance model that seeks manage the dynamic of emerging technology promise versus risk by moving the point of first governance earlier in a technology's development, but enabling the governance structure to evolve after formation. The model aims to turn some of the greatest challenges of managing emerging technologies - scientific uncertainty and the disruption of extant regulatory systems - on their head to create incentives for widespread stakeholder cooperation to produce more proactive, flexible governance.