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I think that once it’s viable it would be ok to release a virus which genetically modifies all humans to be more empathetic and to think more critically.
It would be a violation of bodily autonomy, which I generally do believe in, but I think it’s necessary for the productive and positive future of humanity on the single planet which we currently inhabit.
(Yes definitions of intelligence vary, and epigenetics and nurture play a role, but we’re talking statistics and a statistical improvement is still an improvement)
"You're not MAGA? You must not be thinking critically. Here are some genetic modifications to make you love trump forever."
If you haven't already, check out Upgrade, by Blake Crouch. Good book, similar premise.
considering that viruses mutate, this would be the most horrible thing to ever befall humanity….
if it has no downsides, is it even against bodily autonomy?
This is like arguing you shouldn't sell farmed food in grocery stores, because it violates the bodily autonomy to starve and die in famine.
I mean releasing said virus into the public; let’s say it’s airborne. That would violate bodily autonomy as we are modifying people without their consent. But yeah I agree it doesn’t really have too many downsides beyond potential for unintended consequences.
yeah but like, by that argument, burning wood is a violation of the bodily autonomy of other people.
Farting in a public space would be an equally problematic activity.
The biggest argument here is that it's "artificial" and "alters human comprehension" but i'm not really sure it would even matter, because ethically, you would have a hard time arguing against it.
Murder being illegal, is technically a violation of bodily autonomy, but we collectively agree as a society, that this should be the case, because the net effect of murder being illegal, is beneficial to society.
the worst possible case, is that it has a mortality rate, of like 0.001% or something, which would kill a lot of people, but would that even negatively impact the world? It's hard to say.