PDF version. berkeleygenomics.org.

This is a linkpost for "Genomic emancipation contra eugenics"; a few of the initial sections are reproduced here. Section links may not work.

Introduction

Reprogenetics refers to biotechnological tools used to affect the genes of a future child. How can society develop and use reprogenetic technologies in a way that ends up going well?

This essay investigates the history and nature of historical eugenic ideologies. I'll extract some lessons about how society can think about reprogenetics differently from the eugenicists, so that we don't trend towards the sort of abuses that were historically justified by eugenics.

(This essay is written largely as I thought and investigated, except that I wrote the synopsis last. So the ideas are presented approximately in order of development, rather than logically. If you'd like a short thing to read, read the synopsis.)

Synopsis

Some technologies are being developed that will make it possible to affect what genes a future child receives. These technologies include polygenic embryo selection, embryo editing, and other more advanced technologies [1] . Regarding these technologies, we ask:

Can we decide to not abuse these tools?

And:

How [...]

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Outline:

(00:25) Introduction

(01:12) Synopsis

The original text contained 3 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.

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First published:
February 18th, 2026

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/yH9FtLgPJxbimamKg/genomic-emancipation-contra-eugenics

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

“Genomic emancipation contra eugenics” by TsviBT

LessWrong (30+ Karma)