Human Development

Jul 6, 2026 Daron Acemoglu

Genetic-engineering tools with which to design one's progeny already exist, and they are being made even more potent with AI—at least for those who can afford such services. In the absence of policy interventions, we will be hurtling toward a tiered society in which economic privileges become biological advantages.

BOSTON—Designer babies who are genetically engineered for desirable health, physical, and intellectual features are now within reach using existing technologies, a prospect that raises far-reaching societal and ethical questions not unlike those associated with advances in AI. One difference, though, is that the institutions needed to open an ethical path for gene editing—by treating the technology as a public-health measure that should be available to everyone—may be easier to conceive than in the case of AI.