If and when it makes sense to halt or ban R&D, the ban should be either narrow or temporary.
I think the counterexample of nuclear engineering is instructive. It was not halted, but remains heavily regulated internationally, and for that reason, progress in nuclear power has been greatly slowed—but so has proliferation.
I think the counterexample of nuclear engineering is instructive. It was not halted, but remains heavily regulated internationally, and for that reason, progress in nuclear power has been greatly slowed—but so has proliferation.