If You're Curious About These Questions...
You should listen to this audiobook
- What if you could hand-select your future child’s genetic traits, from physical health to intelligence, long before they are even conceived?
- Did you know that 4 billion years of natural selection is coming to an end, and humanity is about to become the lead architect of its own evolution?
- Are you curious about how the looming 'genetic arms race' will fundamentally change our societies and what it means to be human?
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Key Takeaways from Hacking Darwin
- Discover how the impending genetic revolution will allow parents to screen embryos and select traits, reducing disease risks while influencing height, IQ, and personality.
- Understand how humanity is moving beyond Darwinian natural selection by taking an active role in designing our biological future.
- Learn how the dramatic drop in sequencing costs—from $100 million to just $700—is transforming human biology into an accessible form of information technology.
- Find out how artificial intelligence and big-data analytics are being deployed to decode complex patterns within our DNA and unlock the secrets of the human genome.
- Explore how advances in reproductive technologies, like IVF and genetic screening, are already successfully eliminating certain hereditary disorders and paving the way for advanced human engineering.
Learning Tools
Reinforce what you learned from Hacking Darwin
Mind Map
Hacking Darwin
Biology as Information Technology
Evolutionary Foundations
The Human Genome
Sequencing Revolution
AI & Big Data
The Future of Reproduction
IVF Dominance
Preimplantation Testing
Economic Incentives
Redefining Natural
Genetic Engineering
CRISPR Technology
Disease Elimination
Adult Gene Therapy
Synthetic Biology
The Genetic Arms Race
Athletic Advantage
Geopolitical Dominance
The Cost of Opting Out
Weaponization
Ethics & Society
Class Inequality
Threat to Diversity
Ideological Divides
Regulation & Education
Global Governance
Bioterrorism Risks
Public Education
Model Frameworks
Quiz — Test Your Understanding
Question 1 of 8
How did the discoveries of Charles Darwin and Gregor Mendel complement each other to form the foundation of modern biology?
Hacking Darwin — Full Chapter Overview
Chapter 1: Recommendation
Chapter 2: Until now, humanity has evolved through the natural selection of inherited traits.
Chapter 3: Thanks to AI and big data, our biology is turning into a new form of information technology.
Chapter 4: Advances in assisted reproductive technologies will enable embryo screening for ever more complex traits.
Chapter 5: Around 2045, IVF is expected to overtake sex as our main way of reproducing.
Chapter 6: Breakneck progress in genetic engineering points toward a future of editing, designing and inventing new life.
Chapter 7: The genetic revolution will split opinions at personal, social and national levels.
Chapter 8: Competition will propel the genetic revolution onward.
Chapter 9: The genetic revolution poses profound ethical challenges about diversity and fairness.
Chapter 10: Educating the public and regulating reproductive tech will be crucial to averting disaster.
Hacking Darwin Summary & Overview
Hacking Darwin (2019) argues that humanity is on the cusp of a future beyond natural selection with the help of assisted reproductive technologies that will enable us to hack our genetic makeup. By mapping the history of genetics, technology and the implications of genetic engineering, it advocates for an informed adoption of the genetic revolution and suggests how to approach its political and ethical challenges.
Who Should Listen to Hacking Darwin?
- Prospective parents interested in advanced reproductive technologies
- Futurists, technocrats and sci-fi enthusiasts
- Students of ethics and biology
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