What can be done about our modern-day Frankensteins?

About 20 years later, a young Mary Shelley answered a dare to write a ghost story, which she shared at a small gathering at Lake Geneva. Her story would go on to be published as a novel, "Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus," on Jan. 1, 1818. Both are stories about our powers to create things that take on a life of their own. Goethe's poem comes to a climax when the apprentice calls out in a panic: While the master fortunately returns just in time to cancel the treacherous spell, Shelley's tale doesn't end so nicely: Victor Frankenstein's monster goes on a murderous rampage, and his creator is unable to put a stop to the carnage. That's the question we face on the 200th anniversary of "Frankenstein," as we find ourselves grappling with the unintended consequences of our creations on Facebook, to artificial intelligence and human genetic engineering.