June 9, 2023 - With retinal implants or cochlear implants now considered standard enhancement features towards sensory enhancement for sight or hearing, we shift focus on current innovations like brain implants; enhancing cognitive function beyond limits yields fascinating possibilities worth careful societal consideration – what does being human mean beyond our biological constraints? Bio-digital convergence creates specific risks that center around creating divisions based on technology access.Alongside this risk is ethical dilemmas involved in pushing human limitation.

Ultimately, biodigital convergence is more than a mere combination of technologies, but rather a synergistic interaction of all these fields that is creating innovations with profound implications across a wide range of domains.2 Biodigital convergence eliminates the boundary between biological and digital disciplines by seamlessly integrating the biological and digital realms.

Biodigital convergence may profoundly impact our economy, our ecosystems, and our society.

"In this initial paper, we define and explore biodigital convergence – why it is important to explore now, its characteristics, what new capabilities could arise from it, and some initial policy implications"--Foreword, page 5.

The IEC describes biodigital convergence as "the convergence of engineering, nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, and cognitive science (6)(7). Here, convergence means the "creative union of sciences, technologies, engineering, and peoples, focused on mutual benefit." This definition was crafted to be comprehensive (P2) and to · emphasize the multidisciplinary nature of BDC, highlighting its potential for positive societal · impact through the integration of diverse fields (P3) (5).

"In this initial paper, we define and explore biodigital convergence - why it is important to explore now, its characteristics, what new capabilities could arise from it, and some initial policy implications"--Foreword, page 5.

Over the past 40 years the economy has transformed through digital evolutions in information technology, like the Internet, smart phone, applications, and big data analytics. The biodigital convergence could change the way we design and manufacture goods, revolutionize healthcare and agriculture, modify our environment, and even alter how humans evolve as a species.

February 3, 2023 - Professor Coallier remarked that by merging biology and digital technology, researchers were creating new tools, technologies and applications that could have a profound impact on many aspects of our lives, from healthcare to agriculture and environmental protection. The ability to create and manipulate biological systems using digital technology is one of the key drivers of bio-digital convergence.

“Publicly acceptable data policy may sometimes enable biodigital convergence, and sometimes create roadblocks. The ease with which many parties could extract or make use of personal data related to an individual’s genome, biome, health markers, and context could create new demands for regulation, beyond existing personal health information protection laws.” · The author highlights that as biodigital tools will run on our data, it will necessarily be handled by authorities, social services, healthcare providers, and other institutions.

Local production and supply chains may impact the following policy areas: ... The biodigital convergence may bring many opportunities to solve a range of challenges, such as those stemming from climate change, food security, supply chains, biodiversity loss, and disease.

The biodigital convergence describes the intersection, and in some cases merging, of biological and digital technologies. Biodigital technologies include mRNA vaccines used to treat COVID-19, digitally controlled surveillance insects, microorganisms genetically engineered to produce medicinal compounds, and more.

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September 14, 2023 - In discussing these technologies, the book engages with theoretical approaches to technology, mental health, and wellbeing informed by Science and Technology Studies, sociological studies of health and mental health, and sociomaterialism. The book knits together different theories of mental health, subjectivity, the body, care, and digitalisation with biodigital artefacts as case studies of transformations in digital mental health.

Braidotti (2019a: 37) argues from the point of view of the humanities for both ‘royal science’ formations and for multiple assemblages of ‘minor science’, and especially for the new critical posthumanities defined at the moment between ‘ceasing to be and what we are in the process of becoming’. She makes the strong argument that ‘with cognitive capitalism being tuned into bio-genetics and informational codes – there is nothing left for critical thinkers to do other than to pursue the posthuman’ (Braidotti 2019a: 53). We agree with this orientation but think that ‘critical reason’ in this context itself needs a biodigital interpretation and is not consumed by the posthumanities.

April 25, 2025 - Biodigital convergence is reshaping technology by integrating biological and digital systems, blurring the lines between living organisms and technology.

Cognitive impairments resulting from conditions such as stroke, dyslexia, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, and traumatic brain injury can significantly impact an individual's daily functioning and independence.

However, appropriate use is critical, as overuse or misuse may lead to increased patient dependency and negatively impact the rehabilitation process. More randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are needed to better define the role and efficacy of assistive devices in neurological rehabilitation. A recent position paper by Stasolla et al. [11] proposes that the integration of innovative technologies, such as virtual reality and remote systems, within AT frameworks represents a promising approach to support cognitive impairments in individuals with neurological disorders.

In addition to offering potential benefits, the biodigital convergence could also impose

January 11, 2021 - New technological ability is leading postdigital science, where biology as digital information, and digital information as biology, are now dialectically interconnected. In this article we firstly explore a philosophy of biodigitalism as a new paradigm closely linked to bioinformationalism. Both involve the mutual interaction and integration of information and biology, which leads us into discussion of biodigital convergence.