What are the advantages and disadvantages of customized humans versus wild-type humans, and how will they affect the future of humanity?

The movie ⌜Gattaca⌟ explores the advantages and disadvantages of customized humans and wild-type humans, discusses the importance of genetic diversity along with the health, ability, and mental benefits of genetic manipulation of customized humans, and examines the impact that a harmonious use of both approaches will have on human progress.

 

In the movie ⌜Gattaca,⌟ only the best genetic traits are extracted when fertilizing babies to create customized humans. The babies are born with inferior genetic traits, such as physical defects and genetic diseases, that their parents carry. The customized babies have superior physical characteristics, such as tall height, good eyesight, and high IQ. On the other hand, Vincent, the main character, is not born as a customized human, but a human who was born naturally. Therefore, Vincent is genetically inferior to other customized humans. Vincent tries to join the space station Gattaca to become an astronaut, but he is rejected each time due to his inferior genes. So Vincent borrows blood, urine, and skin fragments from a superior gene carrier named Jerome Eugene to join Gattaca and eventually fulfill his dream of becoming an astronaut.
The movie shows a man with inferior genes fulfilling his dreams in a world that judges people by their superiority factor. In a world where only superior genes are taken, the movie shows how the owner of an inferior gene overcomes competition from humans with superior genes through hard work. This shows that a world that judges only by superior genes is irrational. If we have to choose between being a customized human and a natural human, let’s take a look at the advantages of being a customized human.
There are two main advantages that customizable humans have over natural humans. The first is to reduce the risk of congenital diseases and physical defects. In the movie Gattaca, congenital diseases are prevented by eliminating the genetic traits of the parents before the baby is born. This reduces the incidence of current diseases and increases the life expectancy of people. It also allows people to do activities that they would otherwise not be able to do due to physical defects. For example, to become an airplane pilot, you need to have good eyesight. There are some people who have to give up their dreams of becoming an airplane pilot due to a birth defect of poor eyesight. A customized human would eliminate this problem by eliminating this birth defect.
On the other hand, advocates of natural-type humans may be concerned about homogenizing genes for resistance. If everyone has a gene for resistance to every disease in existence, genetic diversity in disease resistance is lost. This homogenization of genes could leave us vulnerable to mutant viruses. Having a diverse set of genes increases the likelihood that some people will be immune to a mutant virus when it arises. However, when genes are homogenized, if a mutant virus arises and one person is susceptible to it, there is a very high probability that everyone will be susceptible to it. Therefore, while it may increase human life expectancy in the short term, there is a risk in the long term because there is a risk of human extinction.
The above problem may arise if humanity strives to become immune to all diseases. However, it is not possible to be born immune to all diseases from the start. First, it is very difficult to manipulate genes to account for all diseases. The number of diseases today is too large to consider for every single person born, and it’s also impossible to prevent all of them through genetic prevention. While most diseases have a genetic component, they also have an acquired environmental component. While genetic manipulation can eliminate genetic influences, it is not possible to control all the environmental factors in our lives. Therefore, when creating a customized human, we shouldn’t try to make them resistant to all diseases. Instead, we should only manipulate essential genetic diseases, such as cancer, and leave other areas of diversity. Add to this the ability to strengthen the heart muscle, for example, to increase circulation so that they can recover quickly when they get sick, and you’ve got a customizable human that’s good for both short- and long-term health.
The second advantage is that people’s basic abilities will be enhanced. Because they are born with the right genes, they have better abilities than naturally born humans. This will increase the average ability of people. There are certain things that you’re better at than others, so you’ll be able to find the traits that you’re good at and feel fulfilled.
However, when everyone becomes a personalized human being, you might think that everyone will be genetically engineered to be good at everything, making everyone the same. The first question to ask is whether it’s possible to be good at everything. It’s not possible to be good at everything. This is because some abilities are negatively correlated. For example, consider the 100-meter dash and the marathon: 100-meter runners need a muscular body and the ability to generate explosive momentum. Marathon runners, on the other hand, are generally lean and have a lot of unnecessary muscle to reduce energy expenditure. Therefore, in order to excel at both of these abilities, you have to sacrifice one for the other. Because of these negatively correlated abilities, not everyone has the same genes for different abilities.
An additional argument against this is that there is a natural tendency to specialize. It’s impossible to be good at everything at the same time, so there is a diversity of skills. However, this assumes that there are different professions that value different abilities equally. If being a doctor was the most valued profession, every parent would want their child to have the right abilities to be a doctor, and everyone would be homogenized. In the early stages of introducing personalized humans, in the short term, people will flock to become doctors. Occupational endemicity occurs when there is more supply than demand. If everyone who applies to become a doctor becomes a doctor, the value of being a doctor will decrease and equilibrate with other professions. If only a subset of those who apply to become doctors become doctors, and the rest are unable to become doctors, then those who do not become doctors are less likely to succeed in competing with people who specialize in that profession. In the following generations, there will be no overcrowding of any profession, and all professions will be increasingly balanced. Of course, this is not a perfect division of labor. No one wants to have a 3D job, so they’re not going to genetically adapt to it. But this is the same problem in the natural human world. There will inevitably be people who don’t want to do 3D jobs in their current lives, but can’t get other jobs because they’re socially necessary. So there’s no perfect solution, and the solution doesn’t lie in natural humans.
Finally, some of the advantages of customizable humans are mental and emotional. Custom humans are likely to have higher self-esteem and self-confidence because they have superior genes from birth. This can have a positive impact on the individual’s mental health as well. Because they grow up recognizing that they are genetically superior, they are likely to have higher self-esteem and a greater sense of accomplishment and satisfaction with the work they do. This can be an important factor in improving an individual’s quality of life. High self-esteem and confidence can also help with stress management, which can contribute to overall mental well-being.
It is also worth considering the possibility of society evolving to a combination of natural and customized humans. While customizable humans have superior physical and mental capabilities to their natural counterparts, the diversity and unpredictable creativity of natural humans is still valuable. The balance between the two will be an important factor in the development and survival of the human race. It is important to protect and develop the unique strengths of natural humans while taking full advantage of the benefits of customized humans. This can provide stronger and more flexible solutions to the various challenges facing humanity.