A day after a critical patent ruling on the gene-editing technology called CRISPR, researchers gathered at the 2017 AAAS Annual Meeting to discuss the technology’s future ethical and regulatory concerns surrounding its broader use.

“Synthetic biology”—the process of fundamentally altering life or creating new life forms—offers “mind-boggling” possible benefits to humanity, but they must be weighed against bioterrorism and others risks that remain largely unknown and difficult to define, bioethicist Thomas H. Murray said at AAAS.

“If I didn’t think the potential benefits… were massive, there would be no point in having this conversation,” said Murray, president and chief executive officer of the Hastings Center. “We should just not do it.”