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Decisions, decisions... (lemmy.today)
submitted 8 months ago by to c/memes@lemmy.world
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[–] 0 points 8 months ago (10 children)

I don’t mind designer babies, personally. Hot people with fewer genetic disorders? Sounds alright to me. Though I’m worried our eugenic future might lead to diminishing gains in science.

With all due respect to scientists everywhere, the fact that people look the way that they do certainly pushes some away from special interests like sports and interpersonal skills and instead toward producing nanosheets under specific constraints.

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  • [–] 17 points 8 months ago (3 children)

    It will be used to separate the wealthy from the poor even further. The wealthy people will afford it and make their families healthier and better looking.

    I support the idea of eliminating genetic disabilities via gene editing, but the second you add in the option of picking eye or hair color, height, or skin color, you're going down a path of eugenics that only works to put down those unable to pay for it.

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  • [–] [S] 5 points 8 months ago*

    Genetic engineering every little detail could become dirty cheap, but it will still be terrible for humanity because it will remove diversity, we'd be messing with forces we don't understand that could lead to diseases or greater population-wide susceptibilities and the government would also like to have its say on how your baby is made so that they will be a good little order follower

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago

    I mean, until costs fall, sure. Unless you project human society to fall within 40 years, it will eventually reach common use in modern countries. Workers with fewer sick days are a government’s wet dream. Though I’m also worried about us becoming the next walnut tree, if we accidentally open a vulnerability.

    I’m not going to weigh in on its use as a style decision. Hopefully a country with the ability to create a code of ethics takes the lead on the technology.

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  • [–] 5 points 8 months ago (3 children)

    I think the knock-on effect of making some innate, human characteristics undesirable is probably a net bad. That's very close to labeling persons with those characteristics as sub-human--specifically due fewer "human" rights.

    That said, if I were choosing between gametes or embryos and had genetic information on them available, I do not think it is a moral stance to ignore/discard that information when making the choice. We should be careful to understand our genetic knowledge is still quite limited and, even if our knowledge was perfect, (most) genotypes are not destiny.

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago* (2 children)

    I dunno, man. You can have only so much of a sense of humor about child mortality. Up to a certain point, gene editing is all gravy.

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    I agree that gene editing to reduce suffering is good. I'm not sure "designer babies" is a label that includes those gene edits. Or, if it does, it groups the with too many other gene edits so the good ones are no longer exemplary of the label.

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago

    I always imagine it to be fairly gattaca-esque in its intended conclusion. Human work horses of terrifying intellect, stamina, and resilience to breach the barriers our forebears failed to surpass. Though that’s speculation and likely beyond my lifetime.

    The name is mostly marketing. You don’t feel involved if it’s an “edited baby.” But designing it, that gets the people going. It’d be near impossible to sell “baby alpha .82 patch 1.” Fortunately for their sales department, an absence of ailments also tends to produce hotter people. Current trajectory, they intend to go after major genetic issues before considering looks. That’s the only effect I expect to see in my lifetime.

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