Jamie Metzl on His New Book “Superconvergence” and the Future of Genetic Technology

Air Dates: March 10-16, 2025 

Humanity’s ability to create artificial intelligence, to decode the human genome, and to engineer organisms are, individually, signature achievements.  But Jamie Metzl says where these three technologies intersect lies great hope and challenge for all of humanity.  

Metzl is one of the world’s leading authorities on the implications of the intersecting artificial intelligence, genetics, and biotechnology revolutions and how governments, corporations, organizations and individuals can ride the wave of these unprecedented transformations to build their best possible futures. He is a best-selling author of “Hacking Darwin: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Humanity,” the sci-fi thrillers “Genesis Code,” “Eternal Sonata,” among others.  

Metzl is Founder and Chair of the global social movement, OneShared.World, a Senior Fellow of the Atlantic Council, a faculty member of NextMed Health and a Singularity University expert. He previously served in the U.S. National Security Council, State Department, Senate Foreign Relations Committee and as a Human Rights Officer for the United Nations in Cambodia. In 2019, he was appointed to the World Health Organization expert advisory committee on human genome editing. Metzl is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a former White House Fellow and Aspen Institute Crown Fellow.  

On this week’s episode of “Story in the Public Square,” Metzl discusses his latest work, “Superconvergence: How the Genetics, Biotech, and AI Revolutions Will Transform Our Lives, Work, and World,” and how it reflects the trends within the world of science. “Our one species suddenly has the increasing ability to engineer novel intelligence and re-engineer life,” he said. “The big question for all of us and for our future and the future of our planet is whether we can learn to use this superpower responsibly.”