We have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for Eurasia Group and its affiliates, including GZERO Media, to clarify the types of data we collect, how we collect it, how we use data and with whom we share data. By using our website you consent to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, including the transfer of your personal data to the United States from your country of residence, and our use of cookies described in our Cookie Policy.
{{ subpage.title }}
How medical technology will transform human life - Siddhartha Mukherjee
On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer and Siddhartha Mukherjee explore the many ways medical technology will transform our lives and help humans surpass physical and mental limitations. Mukherjee, a cancer physician and biologist, believes artificial intelligence will help create whole categories of new medicines. AI can spit out molecules with properties we didn’t even know existed, which has tantalizing implications for diseases currently thought to be incurable. Recently discovered treatments for things like spinal muscular dystrophy, which used to be almost certainly deadly but is now being treated with gene therapy, are just the beginning of what could be possible using tools like CRISPR gene editing or bionic prosthetics.
Mukherjee envisions a future where people who are paralyzed by disease or stroke can walk again, where people with speech impairments can talk to their loved ones, and where prosthetics become much more effective and integrated into our bodies. And beyond curing ailments, biotechnology can help improve the lives of healthy people, optimizing things like brain power and energy.
“We will become smarter, we will become hopefully more disease resistant, we will have larger memory banks,” Mukherjee explains, “And we will have the capacity to interact in the virtual sphere in a way we cannot just simply interact in the real sphere.”
Watch the full interview: From CRISPR to cloning: The science of new humans
Catch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week at gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld or on US public television. Check local listings.
- From CRISPR to cloning: The science of new humans ›
- Podcast: Tracking the rapid rise of human-enhancing biotech with Siddhartha Mukherjee ›
- AI agents are here, but is society ready for them? ›
- Steven Pinker shares his "relentless optimism" about human progress ›
- What is CRISPR? Gene editing pioneer Jennifer Doudna explains ›
- CRISPR gene editing and the human race ›
Siddhartha Mukherjee: CRISPR, AI, and cloning could transform the human race
Technologies like CRISPR gene editing, synthetic biology, bionics integrated with AI, and cloning will create "new humans," says Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee.
On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer sits down with the cancer physician and biologist to discuss some of the recent groundbreaking developments in medical technology that are helping to improve the human condition. Mukherjee points to four tools that have sped up our understanding of how the human body works: gene editing with CRISPR, AI-powered prosthetics, cloning, and synthetic biology. Gene editing with CRISPR allows humans to make precise alterations in the genome and synthetic biology means you can create a genome similar to writing a computer code.
“That technology is groundbreaking, and it really shook our worlds because I hadn’t expected it,” Mukherjee says.
Mukherjee also talks about bionic prosthetics that help us extend our hands, brains, and other body parts with artificial intelligence. AI learning algorithms mean that prosthetics like neural implants can work more efficiently, adapting to each body's specific environment and making them more effective. The last tool Mukherjee highlights is cloning, a technology that’s been around for decades but has recently become much faster and easier. Right now, these four technologies are sitting in different silos. In the near future, however, some combination of these tools will be applied to real individuals, which will profoundly impact the medical landscape of biological science and lead to what Mukherjee calls “the new human.”
Watch the full interview: From CRISPR to cloning: The science of new humans
Catch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week at gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld or on US public television. Check local listings.
Female doctor in hospital setting.
Slapping nutrition labels on AI for your health
At a congressional hearing last week, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) noted how AI can help detect deadly diseases early, improve medical imaging, and clear cumbersome paperwork from doctors’ desks. But she also expressed concern that it could exacerbate bias and discrimination in healthcare.
Patients need to know who, or what, is behind their healthcare determinations and treatment plans. This requires transparency, which is a key part of Biden's AI Bill of Rights, released last year.
The new rule, first proposed in April by the HHS’s health information technology office, would require developers to publish information about how AI healthcare apps were trained and how they should and shouldn’t be used. The rule, which could be finalized before January, aims to improve both transparency and accountability.
From CRISPR to cloning: The science of new humans
The benefits and risks of human enhancement using CRISPR, AI, and synthetic biology.
On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer sits down with physician and biologist Siddhartha Mukherjee to explore the recent advances, benefits, and risks of human enhancement with technology. Mukherjee’s latest book, “The Song of the Cell,” explores the history and medical science behind “the new humans,” a term he uses to describe people who have been altered in some way, initially for medical purposes and, potentially in the future, for enhancement. Bremmer and Mukherjee discuss the transformative impact of new tools like CRISPR gene-editing, AI-powered prosthetics, and brain implants that can help treat everything from movement disorders to depression.
“The idea of the human is changing,” Mukherjee says, "CRISPR, synthetic biology, prosthetic biology with AI, and cloning of individuals—that’s what I mean by the new human.”
These new medical technologies could radically improve our understanding of health and the human body, leading to a future of new medicines, cures for fatal diseases, expanded cognitive capabilities, and even communication with deceased loved ones. But there are also ethical implications to tinkering with human nature, including eugenics as a result of gene editing, the potential for AI to create toxic molecules, and the danger of real-time experimentation on the ecosystem with CRISPR. How do we balance the life-changing potential of biotech tools without changing the very nature of what it means to be human?
Watch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week on US public television (check local listings) and at gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld.
- You can clone your pet ›
- Is life better than ever for the human race? ›
- Steven Pinker shares his "relentless optimism" about human progress ›
- What is CRISPR? Gene editing pioneer Jennifer Doudna explains ›
- CRISPR gene editing and the human race ›
- CRISPR gene-editing tech should have limits, says Nobel laureate ... ›
Ian Explains: Will biotech breakthroughs lead to super humans?
Medical technology could lead to a new breed of super humans.
On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer looks at the evolution of human enhancement, tracing its roots from ancient history to recent ground-breaking tools like CRISPR gene editing, AI-powered prosthetics, and brain implants. These advances hint at a future of disease eradication, independence from physical disability, and recovery from traumatic brain injury. In a few short years, they’ve radically expanded the possibilities of how technology can improve the human experience and extend our lives.
But while biotechnology has incredible, transformative potential, it also brings lots of risks. Gene editing raises the specter of designer babies, eugenics, and even the potential for militaries to create superhuman soldiers. There’s also the question of privacy and data collection, as private companies like Elon Musk’s Neuralink gain further access to our medical histories. Ultimately, we need to strike a balance between embracing biotechnology’s life-changing potential while safeguarding our values, ethics and the very idea of what it means to be human.
Watch the upcoming episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer on US public television this weekend (check local listings) and at gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld.
- Steven Pinker shares his "relentless optimism" about human progress ›
- CRISPR and the gene-editing revolution ›
- What is CRISPR? Gene editing pioneer Jennifer Doudna explains ›
- Scientist Jennifer Doudna on making CRISPR technology viable — and affordable — for everyone ›
- CRISPR gene editing and the human race ›
- CRISPR gene-editing tech should have limits, says Nobel laureate ... ›
- Podcast: Tracking the rapid rise of human-enhancing biotech with Siddhartha Mukherjee - GZERO Media ›
Attacked by ransomware: The hospital network brought to a standstill by cybercriminals
In October 2022, the second-largest nonprofit healthcare system in the US, CommonSpirit Health, was hit with a crippling ransomware attack. Kelsay Irby works as an ER nurse at a CommonSpirit hospital in Washington. She arrived at work after the malware had spread through the hospital network to chaos: systems were down, computers were running slowly or not at all, labs weren’t returning results, and nurses were charting vitals on pen and paper. Even basic things like knowing what medications patients were on or why they came into the emergency room were a challenge, putting lives at risk. The hospital’s nurses and doctors scrambled to manage this crisis for over two weeks until CommonSpirit Health was able to restore access to the IT network
“It was just kind of this perfect storm of very sick patients, not enough help, everybody was super frustrated,” Irby says, “My biggest fear during the whole cyberattack was that a patient was going to suffer because we couldn’t access the technology.”
GZERO spoke with Irby about her experience during the ransomware attack, as well as cybersecurity expert Mora Durante Astrada from Zurich Insurance Group for the final episode of “Caught in the Digital Crosshairs: The Human Impact of Cyberattacks,” a new video series on cybersecurity produced by GZERO in partnership with Microsoft and the CyberPeace Institute. Astrada volunteers for the Institute and its CyberPeace Builders Program, which provides free cybersecurity assistance, threat detection, and analysis to NGOs and other critical sectors while advocating for safety and security in cyberspace.
- Podcast: Cyber Mercenaries and the digital “wild west" ›
- The threat of CEO fraud and one NGO's resilient response ›
- Hacked by Pegasus spyware: The human rights lawyer trying to free a princess ›
- Podcast: How cyber diplomacy is protecting the world from online threats - GZERO Media ›
- Podcast: Foreign Influence, Cyberspace, and Geopolitics - GZERO Media ›
- Podcast: Cyber mercenaries and the global surveillance-for-hire market - GZERO Media ›
- The devastating impact of cyberattacks and how to protect against them - GZERO Media ›
- How cyberattacks hurt people in war zones - GZERO Media ›
- How rogue states use cyberattacks to undermine stability - GZERO Media ›
- Why privacy is priceless - GZERO Media ›
- Would the proposed UN Cybercrime Treaty hurt more than it helps? - GZERO Media ›
- Why snooping in your private life is big business - GZERO Media ›
Collage of Singh, Trudeau, and prescription pills
Showdown looms on prescription drug care in Canada
The fight soon heads to Parliament
For years, the New Democratic Party has been pushing for a better pharmacare plan. The party is now in a supply and confidence agreement with the governing Liberal Party, which is relying on the NDP, in a minority parliament, for support and stability. The deal guarantees the NDP will support the government on essential bills which, if defeated, would bring the Liberals down and trigger an election. In exchange, the government has promised to legislate on key NDP priorities, including prescription drug care.
As part of their support deal with the Liberals, the NDP extracted a promise for a pharmacare bill, with a deadline set for the end of this year. But the party isn’t happy with the government’s efforts.
The NDP is demanding a universal public program that includes all Canadians. For years, the Liberals have proceeded with means-tested, non-universal programs. For instance, their recent dental care plan applies to households making less than CA$90,000 a year, with full, no co-pay coverage for those earning less than $7o,000 annually.
The party is meeting this weekend for its annual convention in Hamilton, Ontario, and the grassroots is demanding that it stand firm. We don’t yet know what’s in the government bill – we should know by next week or so – but we may be in for a showdown. If the government fails to deliver on pharmacare, party stalwarts want the NDP to withdraw its formal support of Trudeau – even if that risks toppling the government and sending the country to an early election.
So far, the Liberals have been hesitant to pursue a fully public prescription insurance plan, leaning more toward a stop-gap plan that would cover fewer Canadians than a universal plan. Rumors suggest Liberal negotiations with the NDP have been tense. Now, with the clock ticking, the bill is expected to reach Parliament in the next week or two. The Liberal-NDP deal stipulates that an initial bill must be through Parliament by the end of the year.
Are Canadian drugs cheaper than in the US?
Prescription drugs are, as a rule, less expensive in Canada than in the United States. According to Steve Morgan, a professor of healthcare policy at the University of British Columbia, that’s because the provinces, for years, have refused to negotiate confidential prices with drug makers – instead offering them “take it or leave it deals” to get on the provincial formulary, which outlines a list of approved drugs that are covered by insurance and at what cost.
“Provinces insisted on fairly transparent price reductions – list prices had to be reasonable for provincial coverage,” says Morgan. That provincial approach ended in 2010, but provinces have maintained lower pricing expectations than in the US.
In America, negotiations between drug companies and third-party insurance plan managers, known as pharmacy benefit management firms or PBMs, are done in secret and create a layer of bureaucracy and cost. So Canadian drugs are cheaper than American drugs largely because the latter are extraordinarily expensive. According to the Rand Corporation, US drug prices are more than 2.5 times higher than in 32 OECD comparison countries.
Struggles to afford medicine
While prescription drug costs are cheaper in Canada than the US, millions of Canadians still struggle to cover the cost of medicine. According to Morgan, while all Canadians receive core healthcare coverage in Canada, “we have a fragmented patchwork for people when it comes to prescription drugs.”
Provinces may have coverage for extreme drug costs for some, but plenty of prescriptions aren’t covered. One in 10 Canadians have no drug benefit coverage, Morgan points out, while another one in 10 are underinsured, which means they don’t get help from the government until they reach a 3 or 4% threshold of income spent on prescriptions.
“It’s not as bad as the United States,” Morgan notes, “but there are a million Canadians that do make financial sacrifices every year in order to pay for prescriptions.” Those sacrifices, he says, include cuts to their transportation, housing, and food budget, as well as borrowing from friends and family to pay for prescriptions.
Going north for prescription drugs
For the uninsured and underinsured in the US, things are also tough. In fact, some Americans regularly cross the border to Windsor, Ontario, to get their prescriptions filled. In 2019, while running for president, Sen. Bernie Sanders bussed a caravan of Americans to Canada to buy insulin at a tenth of the price it would cost them in the US.
That same year, the Department of Health and Human Services changed rules to allow the wholesale import of certain drugs from Canada, but states have to apply, and approvals have been slow. At the time, the change prompted concern from Canadian pharmacists, who worried about their capacity to meet domestic demand.
The whole import plan is different from individuals crossing the border or using online pharmacies – often illegally, since the Food and Drug Administration typically bans the import of drugs for personal use. But the number of Americans buying prescription drugs in Canada has declined from its peak two decades ago. In recent years, particularly because of the introduction of the Affordable Care Act and Medicare Part D, the number has dropped significantly.
Morgan says a universal, single-payer program in Canada would bring down the cost of drugs by 25% on average – that’s the influence of having a single drug purchaser. But that might not matter for Americans. It will depend on how the plan is structured. The US tends to have better generic prices on drugs already, he notes, so changes probably won’t matter on that front.
If list prices for brand name drugs don’t change under a new pharmacare plan, institutional purchasers in Canada will negotiate rebates after buying the drugs at list price – which wouldn’t apply to American buyers. If they do, then prices could decline for Americans.
Is Trudeau’s government on the line?
If the Liberals fail to deliver a universal, single-payer pharmacare bill, the NDP will be stuck choosing between backing down and alienating their supporters, or pulling their support of the government. If the latter comes to pass, that will put an unpopular Trudeau government on thin ice.
Canadians are due to head to the polls in the fall of 2025, but if the NDP pulls its support of the government, that could increase the probability they hit the ballot box earlier. The Liberals certainly don’t want that, though the Conservatives might not mind an early election, especially if someone else gets blamed for it.
Most Canadians – a whopping 90% of them – do want a universal pharmacare plan. You would think that would leave the Liberals with an easy choice, but their past insistence of half-measure programs and current pharmacare intransigence suggests otherwise.
Men and paramedic staff help transport a man who was injured in a blast in Mastung to a hospital in Quetta, Pakistan.
Hard Numbers: Pakistan blast, mRNA Nobel win, Kaiser Permanente strike, escaping Nagorno-Karabakh, flights to Libya, cashing in rupees
59: Fifty-nine people were killed Saturday in a bomb blast at a mosque in Mastung, Pakistan, where people were gathering to mark the birthday of the Prophet Mohammad. Pakistan’s interior ministry accused India’s intelligence service of masterminding the attack, a charge Delhi denies.
2: Two scientists, Professors Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday for having developed the technology that led to the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. The same technology is now being tested to help fight other diseases.
75,000: In what would be the largest healthcare strike in US history, 75,000 workers at care provider Kaiser Permanente are threatening a three-day walkout as of Wednesday. While the company said hospitals and ERs would remain open, patients might see longer wait times and delays in lab work.
100,000:Over 100,000 ethnic Armenian refugees have fled to Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan retook control of the territory. The UN has called for international assistance, and Armenia has asked the European Union for shelter assistance and medical supplies.
10: Flights resumed from Libya to Italy after a 10-year hiatus due to a ban imposed by the European Union. Medsky Airways is now offering twice-weekly service from Tunis to Rome, though it is unclear how it is getting around the EU ban that is still in force.
96: India is extending the deadline to Oct. 7 to cash in its 2,000 rupee notes, 96% of which have been returned to the national treasury. The bills, worth an estimated $24, were introduced in 2016 during a campaign to demonetize the economy in which higher-value notes were discontinued.