Post by Wally on May 1, 2020 12:33:43 GMT
Selective breeding to remove strains from the population is the definition of eugenics - Cummings was more focussed on tech but the reaction from the scientific community was just as aghast.
dominiccummings.com/2014/08/19/standin-by-the-window-where-the-light-is-strong-de-extinction-machine-intelligence-the-search-for-extra-solar-life-neural-networks-autonomous-drone-swarms-bombing-parliament-genetics-amp/
dominiccummings.com/2019/02/21/on-the-referendum-29-genetics-genomics-predictions-the-gretzky-game-a-chance-for-britain-to-help-the-world/
www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/feb/19/sabisky-row-dominic-cummings-criticised-over-designer-babies-post
David Curtis, an honorary professor in the UCL Genetics Institute at University College London, said Cummings had “fundamentally misunderstood key concepts in genetics and his suggestions are wildly unrealistic”.
He said: “He seems to have got his ideas from a physicist rather than the genetics researchers who have a more thorough understanding of these topics. Cummings is proposing a form of eugenics which we actually know would never be effective. Measurable genetic variants have only a tiny influence on IQ and the testing he is proposing would be worse than useless.”
The professor, who is editor-in-chief of the Annals of Human Genetics, whose original title was the Annals of Eugenics, called the idea “ludicrous” and said: “It’s incredible to think that his proposals would involve creating 10 healthy fertilised embryos and then discarding nine of them, purely to select the one which scored highest on some completely illusory measure.”
Prof Richard Ashcroft, a medical ethicist at City University, called Cummings’ ideas “cargo cult science”. He added: “This idea that we can use biological selection to improve individuals and society, and that the state through the NHS, should facilitate this, really is pure eugenics.”
He said: “He seems to have got his ideas from a physicist rather than the genetics researchers who have a more thorough understanding of these topics. Cummings is proposing a form of eugenics which we actually know would never be effective. Measurable genetic variants have only a tiny influence on IQ and the testing he is proposing would be worse than useless.”
The professor, who is editor-in-chief of the Annals of Human Genetics, whose original title was the Annals of Eugenics, called the idea “ludicrous” and said: “It’s incredible to think that his proposals would involve creating 10 healthy fertilised embryos and then discarding nine of them, purely to select the one which scored highest on some completely illusory measure.”
Prof Richard Ashcroft, a medical ethicist at City University, called Cummings’ ideas “cargo cult science”. He added: “This idea that we can use biological selection to improve individuals and society, and that the state through the NHS, should facilitate this, really is pure eugenics.”
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