Conversations with Tom | Genetic Expert Reveals Genetic Engineering Has Gone Farther Than You Think

<p>Futurist Jamie Metzl, author of “Hacking Darwin”, thinks a lot about gene editing, geopolitics and the future of science. On this episode of Conversations with Tom, Jamie Hetzl talks about the future of genetic engineering, the moral questions surrounding it, and the kinds of values he hopes we uphold while charting the course of our own evolution. He and Tom also discuss culture wars, science fiction and the potential problems with immortality.</p> <p>This episode is brought to you by:</p> <p>Skillshare: Explore your creativity at <a href= "https://skillshare.com/impacttheory">skillshare.com/impacttheory</a> for 2 free months of Premium Membership.</p> <p>KiwiCo: Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on select crates at <a href= "https://kiwico.com/IMPACT">kiwico.com/IMPACT</a></p> <p><strong>SHOW NOTES:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Jamie discusses his book Hacking Darwin and how we can now influence evolution [0:26]</p> <p>Jamie forecasts what we will evolve into a thousand years from now [2:20]</p> <p>Jamie tells the story of natural evolution [5:29]</p> <p>Jamie talks about how we will be able to eliminate genetic diseases [9:05]</p> <p>Real science that’s happening now feels like science fiction [14:01]</p> <p>At first genetic modifications will seem shocking, but then they’ll become normal [16:58]</p> <p>Do we really want natural people, or do we want steroids and genetic modifications? [19:56]</p> <p>Jamie tries to figure out where we should draw the line on genetic modification [23:53]</p> <p>Jamie discusses the moral difficulties with genetic modification [27:03]</p> <p>Jamie talks about to what extent we should protect people from themselves [31:30]</p> <p>Jamie advocates being conservative at first about genetic modification [35:19]</p> <p>Jamie and Tom discuss potential problems with gene editing [39:28]</p> <p>Jamie and Tom discuss the reality that we will have to embrace gene editing [44:00]</p> <p>Jamie discusses why we have to think collectively on a global level [51:20]</p> <p>Jamie talks about science fictio