Monday, March 17, 2014

Are we approaching a Gattaca society?



Articles such as the one recently at Gizmodo show this isn't a question for science fiction books and movies anymore. The question matters. There is no banning this. The idea, the tools... they are out there. The world is too large a place. People, somewhere will do these things. Attempts to prevent it will be sticking a finger in a dike while the waters rise.

Gattaca is perhaps one of the better examples of wrestling with the issues the question presents, wrapped in a general drama and mystery of a man trying to rise above his station and prove the inescapable strength of the human condition.

But what risk lies before us?

Can we, will we, produce a society in which all  benefit or will only the financially and socially affluent be able to lock in their descendants' superior social position, by making themselves truly superior and a step above? Do we face a future in which a new caste structure will arise? (A caste of perfect men that will have robots and drones and bio-adapted cyborg soldiers to secure their will and position.)

And is that better or worse than everyone gaining access to what becomes possible? Everyone tailoring their children according to the fashion and style of day. Generations marked by their shared traits that were applied by their parents, just as we have waves of common names today.

What does the future hold for us?

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