Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Genetically Engineered Children

Posted by Hemos on from the looking-into-the-future dept.

A reader sent us a ABCNews story about the future of genetically engineered children. It's a bit fluffy, but creates some interesting questions, particularly in regards to the ethical questions. The synopsis of some of the people quoted is that most parents will actually do it, because they will want superior children. What do you folks think?

2 of 482 comments (clear)

  1. GATTAGA by Signal+11 · · Score: 5

    GATTAGA

    If you've seen the movie, that's all I need to say to get my point across. For those that haven't, go see it right now - it was one of those pivotal sci fi movies you should have seen. :) The plot of the movie is basically fast forwarded n years to the future where we now control the genes of every person. Right from birth, your destiny is controlled by your genes - you can work some places, but not others.. and the world is basically divided up by "how good your genes are", and by extension - how useful you are. Think if it as the ultimate in racism. There is a very real possiblity of this happening - I don't believe this society (or any society in existance right now) is fully prepared to start meddling with genetics. It's an all-too-real possiblity that we'll create a world up with the "genetically superhuman", and the "normals" who are by definition, inferior.. and then it's only a short step to an all out war. This is something you'll read about over and over again - it's a well-used plot in science fiction. Heed their warnings.

    --

  2. Differnt strains of children? by brandonrhodes · · Score: 5
    Does this mean that there will develop different strains of humanity reflecting different parents' taste? Some parents get really intense about wanting their students to excell in sports; how could these parents resist increasing the size and weight of their future football player? Other students might be optimized for intelligence or the arts, or for those beauty contests that some parents are really obsessed about having their children participate in. Today there are already enough differences between smaller students and the largest; the differences in mass are easily greater than two to one! Will genetic manipulation bring even greater differences about? And will we be able to engineer children to like the activity for which they are designed, or will be have thousands of kids stuck in bodies that server their parents' interests rather than their own?

    One hundred years hence, race might have disappeared as the primary differentiation among persons. Instead, we may bear much more significant differences as the result of parental design.