Genetic Engineering and Ethics: Creating Superhumans and Impact on Free Will | ALI

Potential consequences of genetic selection and manipulation

• 🧬
  The use of genome editing technology like CRISPR has raised concerns about its potential use as a weapon of mass destruction, as it can be used to create pathogens suitable for mass destruction of people very quickly and imperceptibly.
• 🧬
  Genome editing may become inevitable for increasing intelligence, not just for hereditary diseases.
• 🧬
  Genetics plays a significant role in our abilities and evolution, with 4 billion years of evolution shaping our biology.
• 🐔
  The example of domesticated chickens shows that our biology can be easily controlled through simple selection, and we have the potential to both improve and worsen ourselves.
• 🐔
  By selectively breeding embryos with the most intelligent genes, we could potentially create a new type of super intelligent and prolific humans with an average IQ increase of 65 points.
• 🧬
  As genomic data sets expand, scientists will learn to use artificial intelligence tools to better understand how complex genetic patterns lead to certain consequences, potentially unlocking the secrets of the genome.
• 🐒
  The concept of "unnatural selection" challenges the idea that evolution only favors certain traits, suggesting that certain behaviors and preferences can also be passed down through genes.

Ethical implications of genetic modification

• 🧬
  The high abortion rates for fetuses with Down syndrome in many countries raise ethical questions about the potential consequences of embryo selection for certain traits, such as high IQ genes.
• 🤯
  Oxford professors are exploring the idea of crossbreeding human embryos with the best genes for high IQ predisposition, which sounds like a science fiction dystopia.
• 🧬
  Genetic modification can give us incredible abilities like biological immortality, strength, and enhanced vision, but the ethical implications of deciding for an unborn child are complex and impossible to fully determine.
• 🧬
  Genetic changes will become available and people will be tempted to use them to improve their offspring's characteristics, leading to a potential divide between those with better genetics and those without.
• 🧬
  The contrasting approaches of the EU and China towards genetic data collection and usage highlight the ethical and societal implications of data ownership and control.