What Would Darwin Write If He Were Alive Today?

What would Darwin write if he were alive today? For the last 3.8 billion years, evolution has proceeded according to the laws of natural selection: random variation and selection by reproductive fitness. Humans have now flipped that process on its head: we induce our own variations, and we select for properties we care about. Selective breeding, genomics, CRISPR, and modern medicine have created an earth-wide ecosystem where only 3% of mammals are wild. The rest, including humans, are engaged in our planetary-scale experiment in directed evolution. We have cured the most dread diseases, reduced infant mortality by over 90% and extended human lifespans significantly.

Today we are beginning to be able to create new six-pair DNA-like molecules with the potential for self-replication to create new life forms, and with CRISPR we can conceive of implanting genes for radiation resistance for space travel and climate resilience in a warming world. We’re in the process of redesigning humanity itself. We’re also at the dawn of creating new alien intelligences with AI, which self-evolve even more quickly. 

The world today is very different from what Darwin saw on the Beagle. What would he write if he could see today’s lifeforms and ecosystems? The feedback loops he observed have tightened beyond recognition. Blind random variation is now often supplanted by directed alternatives. The process of evolution is itself evolving. What are the ethical implications of this new teleological selection? Are we building up “genetic debt?” What could humanity look like in ten thousand years? And as this technological wave overwhelms our societal frameworks, what can we do to adapt?

Join us for a fascinating conversation with Juan Enriquez, author of Evolving Ourselves, to explore the future of evolution and life on earth. A discussion and informal networking with fellow Deep Time thinkers will follow the talk. Join us — the next ten thousand years start with the conversations we have today.

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