Michael Bess In The Excerpt From Our Grandchildren Redesigned: An Analysis

1. Michael Bess in the excerpt from Our Grandchildren Redesigned asserts his idea that through innovations like genetic engineering, new medicines and bioelectronics people will improve their control over emotions, live longer healthier lives, and they will raise our abilities in both thought and action. This brings increased benefits such as blind people being able to see again with genetic altering or hearing aid transplants that allow deaf people to hear for the first time. It can also allow for humans have a higher learning capabilities through medicines that increase focus or by the use of technological implants. People with debilitating genetic diseases may also be able to live their lives in a better and healthier state through genetic

Some dangers people face include a larger more distinguished class divide caused by the poor not being able to afford these innovations which causes them to fall behind the rich. This especially matters with the educational enhancements that increase brain capacity and medical enhancements that help prevent genetic diseases and physical imperfections as opposed to the cosmetic uses of these new technologies. Also a longer life span will surely arise from genetic engineering and body modification. With a rapidly rising population due to less deaths and more births and toll will be taken on our planet and its resources along with the job market and economy. There will no longer be as high of a demand for jobs because people who have them will last longer in them, but people will still need jobs. This will increase the poverty rate and natural cycle of life and the economy. He also asserts that the things that make us truly human like our emotions will be disrupted by these technologies and people will have to redefine

I somewhat agree with Michaels Bess’ caution at the end of the article that people need to hold off from using the rapidly increasing technology and science in body modification and genetic innovation because people do not know the full impact it will have on society. I agree that people are moving too fast in their innovations to be able to analyze how it is benefiting and hurting society. People are always updating their computers and phones for the next newest and greatest thing, but if we do that with our bodies there may be unintended affects that we were unable to see because of the speed of creation. Also many of these innovations made to help us are very invasive. We only want things that better us and we may not see the consequences of the medical procedures. A modern example of these is breast implants. People feel the need to get them because they will make them beautiful and a better human in that way, but they somehow forget the caution needed because it is still a major surgery that can cause infection and complications. Now if we add the futuristic competition that would come with procedures like biotechnology implants that enhance the brain capacity people will be even more inclined to forget the repercussions of such procedures because they need it to be equal with others. I do disagree with him in the idea of these new innovation saving people whose lives are threatened. If someone has a debilitating genetic disease that could cause death, then they