Artificial Life- Science Gone Wild?

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10132762


So recently I came across this interesting article about how scientists managed to create synthetic DNA, basically creating life.

What are he implications of this though?

Should science be going into areas that some consider going beyond man's role since it involves creation?

When other forms of life start being created, what implications will it have for us humans? Should humans ever be created by other humans?

What implications does this have for human establishments such as religion? Does it undermine belief in God or does it encourage belief in the Creator?

I am curious to know your opinions...

Define this.



They already are.

By man's role I was describing the feeling that some people have that mankind should not be delving into such science since according to them only God is the creator.




And for the second quote I meant should humans be created artificially in a lab by other humans.

This is two years old.

huh?

Men create all the time.


If science created artificial life (they didn't yet), Yes, it would undermine belief in God.

Vexcalibur,

Don't read into the details too much. You know what i meant.

Ethical? I dunno. My worry is more pragmatic, as in the "law of unintended consequences." I.e. "We had no idea that that gene also coded for that toxin that started the zombie apocalypse. We thought it just made organisms glow green and thought that was cool."

By very natural means, at that.

ruveyn

I support the creation of synthetic organisms. There are many, many applications. One that I have considered frequently is terraforming. We're going to need them to work Mars' regolith and atmosphere for our eventual habitation

Vigilans, what is your interest?

That's a total pipe dream.

I'm 100% in favor of artificial life(particularly if it can be made as intelligent, if not more so, than human life).

the technical challenges for creating strong AI is much greater than those for terraforming mars,

only scale, time and will makes the mars prospect unlikely in the near to mid term,

the lack of a magnetic field is still the only true issue.

I hear that once in a while from random internet people who say it with so much certainty, yet no actual experts involved in the field seem to share your view. I think I'll listen to the scientists, thanks

I daresay that terraforming Mars will be prohibitively expensive and the costs will far outweigh any benefits. You also have to realize the time frame: It will take thousands of years of terraforming before Mars will be inhabitable to humans. You also need to keep in mind that Mars is geologically dead. And there is widespread belief among planetologists that a planet must be geologically active in order to support life.


The technological challenges of strong AI may be greater, but strong AI will be far more feasible once these challenges are overcome.

My interest? What do you mean?

What are you interested in? What is your passion? What subject/hobby do you enjoy?