Dystopian Diagnosis: The Problem with Biologically Engineered Humans

You are a danger. You are a danger because you are human.

Every human on this earth walks around with the innate power to harm another human. Physically, yes, we can go ahead and gouge each other’s eyes out and shoot and scratch, but further than that, we have ability to harm each other socially and emotionally. On a micro level, we talk behind each other’s backs. On a macro level, those in power are able to adeptly insert subconscious prejudices into the minds of millions. For a species that has been around for so long, we’re fairly dangerous to ourselves.

Now, imagine that this danger you possess were a knife. Some will stab, even kill, but the damage is limited. Suddenly, someone replaces your knife with an AK-47. Now, not everyone would use their newly found automatic rifle to shoot up a school or commit hate crimes, but, without a doubt, someone will. The same people who were once dangerous to a small group are now dangerous to hundreds of people at a time.

Think of the AK as biological engineering in humans. Now, this may seem like an extreme comparison, but the point still stands that when people who are proven to be dangerous get a hold of new technology that is exponentially more harmful, exponentially more people will get hurt.

This is especially clear when we consider the idea that genetic engineering in humans begins to walk a delicate line when it approaches the topic of eugenics. While an ideal outcome of a society full of beautiful, talented humans seems to be the immediate response to the issue, with major political candidates proposing to ban Muslims and America’s past as the origin of the Nazi dream of an ideal Aryan race, a more realistic implementation of the technology would likely create a dystopian society more like Gattaca than anything else. Proponents of so called “liberal eugenics” solidify the dangers of putting selection of traits into the hands of the masses. Even seemingly well-reason intellectuals can have bigoted and threatening viewpoints. For example, James Watson, one half of the duo that discovered the structure of DNA, told The Times of London “If you are really stupid, I would call that a disease. The lower ten percent who really have difficulty, even in elementary school, what’s the cause of it? A lot of people would like to say, ‘Well, poverty, things like that.’ It probably isn’t. So I’d like to get rid of that, to help the lower ten percent.” This is the same man who has publically stated that African Americans are inherently less intelligent than other races and that women should be able to abort fetuses based on sexual orientation. Exposed to prejudiced viewpoints like Watson’s, otherwise helpful tools would be abused.

Even past the possibility of a revival of eugenics, more subtle effects of the possibility of biological engineering would be felt all around the world. Many argue that genetically transforming or implanting superhuman traits is no different than other kinds of gene selection or biological enhancement. Choosing ideal eggs and sperm from donors are the norm for those who wish to conceive from a bank. George Washington has his soldiers immunized from smallpox to prevent the British from using biological warfare and infecting them. However, creating traits that would not be naturally achievable goes one step too far, introducing a whole new set of ideals and standards. As already proven by pervasive Western beauty ideals penetrating all corners of the Earth, some humans will go to great lengths to convince other humans to spend incredible amounts of money to change their appearance. Women and men who are conditioned by a societal construct of the perfect body go to extreme measures to change themselves, unable to accept who they are, evidenced by the popularity of plastic surgeries like breast or calf implants. According to several studies conducted across the US, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Canada, women who receive surgical breast implants are twice as likely to commit suicide than the general population. By allowing humanity the power to introduce naturally impossible traits, we risk setting even more unachievable standards for young men and women looking to find their place on a planet that places a great deal of importance on appearance.

Calling to mind my previous mention of the micro effects of human behavior, applications of technology to biologically engineer humans would have a devastating effect on individuals. With the rising popularity of “tiger mom” parenting techniques, children are being held to higher and higher standards of achievement. Although it is appalling to think of, the great desire of a parent for their child to succeed may be twisted into something grotesque. Within the family, the mere possibility of giving their child a leg up may be appealing. It logically follows that parents may look to biologically alter their children to become the perfect athlete or musician, no healthy attitude towards an innocent kid. As explained by theologian William F. May said, “Transforming love, without accepting love, badgers and finally rejects.” Parents who decide to change their child without reconciling with their faults will forever have an altered relationship with their offspring, one that values shallow success over tolerance.

The human race has already shown to be a danger to itself. World wars, suicide attempts, hate groups, beauty standards are all human constructs. With the introduction of a technology as virile as biological engineering of our own race, the threats that we pose reach a new level of urgency never before seen in the history of humanity. The possibility of biologically engineered humans is a transition from the effects of man’s already destructive nature to these effects amplified to the nth degree. It is the transition from a knife to an automatic rifle. It is the transition from a danger to few to a danger to us all.