This fits in very neatly with my whole idea that many technological changes aren’t really avoidable at all. Of course you don’t have to do it, but if everyone else is….

Via Singularity Hub, comes a report of designer babies. From their report

The Fertility Institutes recently stunned the fertility community by being the first company to boldly offer couples the opportunity to screen their embryos not only for diseases and gender, but also for completely benign characteristics such as eye color, hair color, and complexion. The Fertility Institutes proudly claims this is just the tip of the iceberg, and plans to offer almost any conceivable customization as science makes them available. Even as couples from across the globe are flocking in droves to pay the company their life’s savings for a custom baby, opponents are vilifying the company for shattering moral and ethical boundaries. Like it or not, the era of designer babies is officially here and there is no going back.

Recently a couple screened cancer out of their baby’s genetic code (as much as it can be controlled). This was that sort of case where it blurs the lines and you think to yourself, ok, I can see that. Now you can select for all sorts of things! And so it begins. There will be an arms race (haha, that’s a great pun) to create the more perfect baby. We’ve recently discovered the genetic markers for tooth enamel. Who wants bad teeth? It can’t hurt to just screen them out right? Let’s go ahead and give the baby good teeth! And on and on it goes.

Eventually, we’ll start doing meatier things like increasing the potential for athleticism and cognitive abilities. As far as I understand it, these will always be potentials, you can’t just make some smarter via genetics. But wouldn’t you want to give your kid every chance you could? Or who cares about your kid? Why not start doing some of this on your own body? If you do make the changes to your own genetic code, does it get passed down to your offspring? How does this affect the gene pool of our species? And when will the religious/moral warfare start against those who have had this done? This is all incredibly fascinating stuff and it’s times like these when I feel so sad that I won’t live longer to see how everything turns out. Or will I?

I want my brain implant!

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