“If we didn’t have genetic mutations, we wouldn’t have us. You need error to open the door to the adjacent possible.”
Steven Johnson
The idea of genetic modification has been debated over the years by many. Some say that the very idea of genetic modification is not saving the world but instead controlling the world. Others argue that the ability to change the human DNA can modify humans to perfection. Whether people may agree with this practice or not, human genetic modification is becoming increasingly common in modern society.
Why is human genetic modification important?
It could prevent various types of diseases that newborns are born with. It could eliminate many forms of depression and anxiety. It could help increase intelligence. It could improve the quality and span of our lives. There are endless possibilities that could be achieved with genetic modification.
On a bigger picture, genetic modification could drastically improve our society. Human evolution would be changed. When most people think about human evolution, they think biologically and about the process of natural selection. But there are many other forms of evolution that are possible with genetic engineering. Gene therapy can used to replace the defective human genes with effective ones. By doing this, there is the creation of artificial intelligence and even synthetic life. This creates a process of evolution that is much faster than natural selection. Instead of waiting years for positive mutations to show up(natural selection), beneficial changes in humans can be seen much more frequently. This helps to create the illusion of the perfect human being that many aspire to be.
This sounds pretty amazing and beneficial to many people, but it is not predicted to be achieved in the near future.
In the meantime, there are still many problems relating genetic engineering.
The question of “Is it right?” is still debated on today. Many religions frown upon the idea of genetic engineering and strictly forbid it. Besides religious arguments, there are still numerous amounts of ethic objections. Diseases and many problems that us humans have exist for a reason and have lasted throughout all of history for the same reason. Although many of these diseases are fatal and harmful, if we completely eliminate these diseases, then humans would be able to live much longer than they already can which can create many problems for society. Creating artificially longer lifespans can cause overpopulation on Earth which can create social problems in society and even more problems in the future that we cannot predict. Technologically speaking, there could also be genetic defects to this method. Because genetic engineering is not perfected yet by medical professionals, scientists are yet to know if this method works properly without leaving any side effects. Human bodies are incredibly complicated and even the most intelligent scientists do not know everything about how the human body works. If they were to eliminate one type of disease, a brand new disease could be introduced and could be even more dangerous. There is just still so much that scientists don’t know yet that they cannot account for all the possibilities of things to go wrong. And finally, the last controversial question, “Could it go too far?”. There are thousands of genetic scientists that have pure intentions of eliminating fatal diseases that are taking away the lives of millions in society. However, what if researchers take this invention a step too far? People start to create the idea of a perfect human or a “designer baby”. What happens when people start toying with the idea of artificially changing the eye color or hair color of there baby? What happens if people want to genetically engineer the sex of their baby or the intelligence of their baby? Is this right or wrong? This is idea of genetic engineering has gone too far especially in our society where the technology behind this idea is progressing further everyday.
Genetically modifying humans is an idea that raises lots of controversy. The ability to alter the human gene could be very useful in right hands or it could go too far in the wrong hands. It may be a wonderful creation but no ones know if it will be entirely safe to alter human nature.
A Better Future 