My personal worry is not so much that this won’t happen, but that the emphasis will be narrow and misguided. In practice, parents who are able to afford it will power ahead, for few prospective parents truly don’t care about the (probabilistic) well-being of their future offspring. preimplantation genetic diagnosis for psychological traits. Predictably, there will be a significant fraction of society that will question the ethics of e.g. Nature’s recent article: Prospective parents should be prepared for a surge in genetic data). Genetic counseling, as an industry, is indeed about to explode (cf. Likewise, in the more forward-looking transhumanist side of the equation, triple S genetic counseling would allow parents to load the genetic dice in their kid’s favor in order to make them as happy, long-lived, and smart as possible. In particular, one could argue that a key driver for the realization of a triple S civilization would be what I’d like to call “ triple S genetic counseling.” In brief, this is counseling for prospective parents in order to minimize the risks of harming one’s children by being oblivious to the possible genetic risk for having a reduced longevity, intelligence, or happiness. Likewise, one could apply the “triple S” concept to medical care, lifestyle choices, career development, governance, education, etc. Since there are trade-offs between these dimensions, one could specify how much one values each of them in advance, and the smart home would be tasked with maximizing a utility function based on a weighted average between the three S’s. Such smart homes would have features to increase your longevity (HEPA filters, humidity control, mold detectors, etc.), increase your intelligence (adaptive noise-canceling, optimal lighting, smart foods), and happiness (mood-congruent lighting, music, aromas, etc.). For example, one can imagine future smart homes designed with it in mind. The concept of a “triple S” civilization is very widely applicable. If we get things right, the future of life in the universe can be wonderful beyond the bounds of human imagination: a “triple S” civilisation of superlongevity, superintelligence and superhappiness. David Pearce pins down the core sentiment behind the term like this: It is a social movement, a philosophy, a set of technologies, and a conceptual rallying flag. The term “Transhumanism” has many senses.
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