A scientist, an ethicist, and a journalist walk onto a panel, what’s the punchline? CRISPR. If you haven’t heard about CRISPR, you will. And once you hear about it, you start seeing it everywhere. To call CRISPR a tool for gene editing, is sort of like calling the internal combustion engine a tool for movement. Because CRISPR is also a revolution in how we as a species see our world, and ourselves. Suddenly the forces of evolution are ours to control. But where do we draw the line between hopeful medical advances and the dystopia of designer babies? And how do we make sure everyone can participate in a debate about what it means to be human? No one can, or at least should, tell you what to think of this new reality, but none of us can afford to be ignorant of its implications.

Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.