Are we ready for designer babies?

[Masark]

Nothing to worry about, these meta humans will be made inferior by mecha humans not long after.

What about meta-mecha-humans?

[Shadowferal]

Well, since the wealthy will control the process, I'm sure every single baby will have one overall important trait; obedience to authority.

[xChurch]

I think we vastly underestimate the breadth of something like designer babies. It won't just be about looking better or being smarter, it'll be about what other animal traits you have added. Once we start to get into taking gene's from other animals and making them work in us, there will probably be an explosion of work done in this field. I would much rather have improved regeneration, or be able to see a wider variety of light and colour than simply being smarter.

[Zython]

*Sees a resurgence of fascism and eugenics in the West*

Yeah, gonna go out on a limb and say "no".

[Shadowferal]

*Sees a resurgence of fascism and eugenics in the West* Yeah, gonna go out on a limb and say "no".

No one cares to hear that sort of thing apparently. People seem to believe that they're the recipients when it's about their unborn babies. And the wealthy will decide what they get anyway.

[Mister Cheese]

You should not be able to design your own baby, no. Should you be able to keep your baby from having any genetic defects? Absolutely. Yes.

[Protean]

Are we ready for a silent revolution that could happen in a future where parents are capable of essentially designing their baby via gene editing? A future where for a few thousand dollars, a couple could choose the eye, hair and skin color of a baby as well as go further by potentially creating children with genetic predispositions towards certain fields.

Maybe it wouldn't be a situation comparable to Gattaca where baseline humans are an underclass with modified humans taking up higher positions of power, but there would definitely be some quandaries that would arise in a situation where gene editing and designer babies becomes prolific in developed nations and by extension the rest of the world.

@Connal
@Theodarzna
@Yvaelle
@Skroe

It probably won't happen since it's considered completely unethical and is illegal in (as far as I know) the entire world. I can't remember the specifics, but our fertility doctor explained it like this: If you design a baby, you make a decision that affects not only the baby, but every single generation that follows that baby from now and into eternity. There's no way of knowing if that gene you should pick now ends up creating a severe deficiency that completely wipes out your bloodline or a weakness against a certain disease.

It probably won't have a huge impact if one person(couple) does it. But shortly after one person does it, it will snowball and a lot of people will create mutants with genes completely unchecked by evolution. That's why it's illegal and unethical as hell. It's like making hybrid humans, completely off limits.

[Devilyaki]

For getting rid of sickness and such I don't see a problem with this, even the little things like eye colour and alike I don't care that much about, but the part about making them want to be particular thing is a bit worrisome.

[Powerogue]

I don't think we're ever going to be prepared for it. It'll hit, then we'll have to adapt, like we always have.

[Mormolyce]

Well I wouldn't trust most of the human race with a pair of blunt scissors, so no I don't trust them with the power of genetic selection.

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I don't think we're ever going to be prepared for it. It'll hit, then we'll have to adapt, like we always have.

This is the end of adaptation.

[ranzino]

Then the standard for pretty will be insanely high. Tom cruz will be considered ugly as fuck.

someone will like it too.

[Rotted]

Are we ready for it as a society? Probably not. In the long run though, I support it 100%.

It's one thing to tinker with physical attributes for looks, its quite another to make them predisposed to a specific field. Worse case scenario you'd end up with it being globally accepted and everyone has a designated role in life because that's what the parents (or worse the system) deemed their genes best for.

Therefore, I wouldn't support it at all. The use of genetic alteration should be primarily kept to disease prevention, not for anything else. And the answer to the next question is no, if I had the option to have a future baby undergo a procedure for anything outside medical I wouldn't

[Deleted]

A lot of people wouldn't be ready for it, but it matters not. Rich people will want it, politicians will allow it, and the poorer will strive for it.

[Stormdash]

It amazes me how I can look at things people discuss today, and remember it having been the subject of dystopian fiction of 20-30 years ago. I mean, who are the sociopaths that watched Gattaca and thought "man, I hope Ethan Hawke gets caught, he's in breach of their perfect social design!" Because presumably those are the advocates of genetic designer children today.

[Artaxerxes]

Go for it. Make them smarter, stronger, better. Never be afraid of technological advances/improvements. People that are stuck in the old ways are holding humanity back.

Make them believe they are smarter, stronger, better you mean. Look at that guy in Gattaca played by Jude Law, genetically engineered to get a gold medal, ends up getting silver and tries to commit suicide.

In the end, nature shapes all living things to conquer. As the emperor Marcus Aurelius said: "Nothing happens to those who are not befitted by nature to bear". Which is another way of saying in soft regions are born soft men.

Murderers, and their resulting lack of empathy, are not created but shaped through society. As CSI proved, if your father was a mass murderer, that doesn't mean the child will be one too (hereditarily, at least).

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Look on the bright side though, at least the disease called left-wingness can be bred out of them.

[Acidbaron]

It amazes me how I can look at things people discuss today, and remember it having been the subject of dystopian fiction of 20-30 years ago. I mean, who are the sociopaths that watched Gattaca and thought "man, I hope Ethan Hawke gets caught, he's in breach of their perfect social design!" Because presumably those are the advocates of genetic designer children today.

You can also look at it less cynical and realize that the outcome can be different, sci-fi novels take an idea and turn it into something extreme, because it has to be a good story for this to evolve into what you believe it will, it has to overcome a lot of hurdles and society needs to change a whole lot.

Also to say those in favor of it are sociopaths makes me question that you know what a sociopath is and it is a rather weak comment to label people who don't agree with your view.

[Techno-Druid]

No one cares to hear that sort of thing apparently. People seem to believe that they're the recipients when it's about their unborn babies. And the wealthy will decide what they get anyway.

I definitely care to hear about it, that's why I created a thread, because I wanted to start a discussion on gene editing and it's long term effects.

I think most people who have posted support it because it offers us a chance to eradicate genetic diseases as opposed to using it for vanity reasons like selecting traits.

[msdos]

Someone mentioned it already, but like every innovation, it leaves the gate costing a small fortune, so inevitably the most wealthy intercept and coerce how it operates.

This ethics conversation is almost impossible to have without seeming racist to someone, everyone has to be objective and not get offended or argue from emotion.
I'm sorry to say this, but if you could design your child, all I see is people popping out perfect looking, light skinned models of perfection. I'm not saying everyone would be white, but everyone wouldn't be brown, it's a guarantee.
So then if you have anyone else who is less than super perfect, they become the object of ridicule or their parents are looked at as cruel because they wanted a "normal" human instead of a super child.

If you want even more inequality in this world, designer babies is the way to go.

[Shadowferal]

A lot of people wouldn't be ready for it, but it matters not. Rich people will want it, politicians will allow it, and the poorer will strive for it.

Rich people will control it, since research = money to begin with.

[khazlol]

soon mankind will be ruled by super humans.