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#1017 - Jonathan Anomaly - What Embryo Selection Means for Humanity

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Nov 8, 2025

Guest

Jonathan Anomaly

Dr. Jonathan Anomaly is a philosopher and author specializing in ethics and public policy. In a thought-provoking discussion, he explores the potential of embryo selection, from erasing genetic diseases to selecting traits like intelligence. He highlights the ethical dilemmas of playing God and the slippery slope toward eugenics. Anomaly debates the societal implications, including inequality and parental responsibilities. Ultimately, he advocates for transparency in genetic practices while pondering how these advancements might redefine our views on luck and merit.

02:02:40

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Transcript

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Episode notes

00:00 / 00:00

Selection Is Information Not Editing

Embryo selection reveals existing genetic variation without editing genes and simply provides more information for parental choice.
People often confuse selection with gene editing, which fuels public fear.

00:00 / 00:00

Mental Traits Carry Historical Taboos

Western taboos after WWII make people more uneasy about selecting mental traits like intelligence.
Other cultures treat selecting for positive traits and against disease similarly, reducing that taboo.

00:00 / 00:00

Prioritize Autonomy Over Coercive Equality

Protect individual autonomy by avoiding government coercion in reproductive choices.
Consider subsidies cautiously because forcing opponents to pay can be coercive.

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Why People Worry About Embryo Selection

00:12 • 1min

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How IVF Currently Selects Embryos

01:30 • 1min

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Romance, Choice, and the Ethics of Selection

02:57 • 1min

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Public Attitudes: Disease vs. Intelligence Screening

04:01 • 2min

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Why Mental Traits Trigger Stronger Reactions

05:58 • 1min

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Slippery Slope to Eugenics and Liberal Eugenics

07:12 • 2min

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Inequality Concerns and Redistribution Tradeoffs

09:08 • 2min

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Autonomy, Insurance, and Moral Disagreement

11:28 • 3min

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Making Genetics Conversation Less 'Icky'

14:30 • 5min

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Explaining What Herosite Does Technically

19:24 • 9min

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Access, Gatekeepers, and Democratizing Selection

28:10 • 50sec

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Clinics' Mixed Reactions to Polygenic Selection

29:00 • 5min

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Validating Polygenic Scores and Avoiding Bad Providers

34:20 • 4min

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Anecdote: Misleading Schizophrenia Risk Reports

38:38 • 1min

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How Polygenic Scores Are Derived and Validated

39:44 • 3min

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Ancestry Limits and Efforts to Improve Transferability

42:25 • 2min

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Using Adult Data to Validate Embryo Predictions

44:51 • 4min

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Efficacy: What Improvements Selection Can Achieve

48:56 • 4min

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Real Trade-offs: Intelligence vs. Disease Risk

53:00 • 2min

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Buyer’s and Parent Guilt Around Selecting Embryos

54:44 • 4min

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Does More Control Increase Parental Culpability?

58:40 • 2min

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Cultural Norms, Pressure, and the Risk of Coercive Expectations

01:00:51 • 4min

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Which Traits Should Be Forbidden or Shunned?

01:04:34 • 7min

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Company Policies and Moral Red Lines

01:11:41 • 56sec

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Pleiotropy Study: Mostly Positive Correlations

01:12:37 • 4min

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Personhood and the Non-Identity Problem

01:16:16 • 5min

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Thought Experiments on Replacement and Moral Reasoning

01:21:20 • 5min

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Pro-Choice Views Versus Opposition to Embryo Selection

01:26:30 • 2min

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Will Selection Change Ideas of Luck and Merit?

01:28:46 • 8min

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Genetics, Parenting, and Adjusting Expectations

01:36:52 • 3min

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Screening Psychiatric Conditions: Stigma or Compassion?

01:40:10 • 5min

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Embryo, Fetus, and Personhood Distinctions

01:45:00 • 4min

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Regulatory Red Lines: Transparency and Validation

01:48:40 • 3min

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Open-Source Scores, Competition, and Innovation Access

01:51:53 • 42sec

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Global Dynamics: China, Middle East, and Policy Divergence

01:52:35 • 4min

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Near-Future Outlook: Adoption, Pushback, and Subsidies

01:56:32 • 4min

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Practical Resources and Heresite Introduction

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Dr Jonathan Anomaly is a philosopher, professor and an author.

What if you could design your own “super baby”? Imagine erasing genetic diseases, removing inherited conditions, and even selecting traits for beauty or intelligence. How close are we to making this possible, and what unintended consequences could this unleash?

Expect to learn why embryo selection will be the next frontier of fertility planning, why screening for traits beyond disease is a slippery slope toward eugenics, what the moral, ethical and realistic arguments are for embryo selection and how big of a societal gap this will create, if you can return the super baby if it didn’t yield desired results, if there were regulations in this space, what red lines would be drawn and what would be left to the market and much more…

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