[Stevemiller07]

Wild times. The ethics and long-term risks here seem huge. Are we really ready for designer genetics at scale?

[JohnFen]

If there are two things SV tends not to care about, they are ethics and long-term risks.

[red-iron-pine]

"Yes, the planet got destroyed. But for a beautiful moment in time we created a lot of value for shareholders."

[gavinray]

  > The ethics and long-term risks here seem huge.

Do they?

If we have the ability to screen embryos to determine which ones are likely to have the least health problems, and to live as fulfilling and successful a life of possible, do we not then have a moral imperative to do this?

Supposing it were free: to choose NOT to do it, would be to say, "I don't care if I bring avoidable pain and suffering into the world."

[culopatin]

Every time I talk to my gf about this we get to the “where do we draw the line” question. You can keep expanding the list of filters until you have people with money taking off not only in opportunity but now also genetically.

[bithive123]

Even absent ethical or practical risks, it seems presumptuous to assume that we know what direction our evolution should take. The inferior beings that need improvement are the same beings that will do the improving? That would imply an implausible level of knowledge about the future and what characteristics will be desirable.

[ben_w]

> That would imply an implausible level of knowledge about the future and what characteristics will be desirable.

Why?

The default is evolution doing the same thing by randomly mutating each of us a little bit and seeing what sticks. It also doesn't have a plan, or insight into the future conditions we might encounter or create.

[mc32]

The soviets had been thinking about this at least since their socialist revolution with the idea of the new soviet man[1]

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Soviet_man

[rvz]

> The ethics and long-term risks here seem huge.

They [0] will do it anyway. Ethics, risks and morals be damned.

Dystopia capitalism is highly profitable.

[0] https://mynucleus.com/