Genetic Perfection
01 November 2017 | h Club, London, UK
Virtual Futures presents a panel discussion on the genetic modification of humans to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the release of the cult film GATTACA (1997).
Recent scientific advances have sparked new debates on the ways in which genome editing might be used in the future. Scientists are already altering DNA to make crops more resistant to extreme weather conditions and to prevent disease in animals, but the ability to genetically modify humans provokes new concerns.
The 1997 film GATTACA depicts a not-too-distant biopunk future driven by eugenics, where children are genetically manipulated at birth to ensure they possess the best hereditary traits. The result is a society rife with genetic discrimination and where an individual’s socio-economic class is defined by their genetic make-up.
Today we are ever-closer to a reality whereby genome editing technology could be used to modify human embryos. Doing so could potentially eradicate certain hereditary diseases, such as cancers or debilitating Huntington’s disease. But even though the aim is to reduce human suffering, we still don’t know the long-term impacts of this form of modification. In addition, the possibility that new tools like CRISPR might be used not just to cure, but to enhance qualities like beauty, strength or intelligence draw us closer to the future portrayed in GATTACA and raise new ethical concerns.
Join the policymakers, stakeholders and bioethicists exploring what sorts of systems should govern these technologies as we aim to challenge the fundamental issue of how we are going to view humanity in the future.
Panelists
Dr. Sarah Chan, Chancellors Fellow at Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh (@sarahwchan)
Prof. Andy Miah, Chair in Science Communication & Future Media, Salford University (@andymiah)
Dr. Dave King, Founder of Human Genetics Alert (#DrDaveKing)
Güneş Taylor, Postdoctoral Training Fellow in the Lovell-Badge Lab, The Francis Crick Institute, London (@GunesTaylor)
Prof. Aylish Wood, Professor of Film Studies, University of Kent (@aylishwood)
Moderated by:
Luke Robert Mason, Director of Virtual Futures (@LukeRobertMason)