Planet of the (Little) Apes. The Daily Mail has recently published an article entitled ‘Planet of the (little) apes: Save the world by genetically engineering humans to be smaller, suggests NYU philosopher.’ ( It is always good to see the Daily Mail covering philosophy and covering issues in applied ethics in particular. The NYU philosopher in question is former Uehiro Centre researcher S. Matthew Liao. His co-authors, Anders Sandberg and Rebecca Roache are both affiliated with the Future of Humanity Institute here at Oxford and the paper under discussion is called ‘Human Engineering and Climate Change’ and is forthcoming in Ethics Policy and the Environment, an interdisciplinary academic journal which specialises in environmental policy and ethics.
Liao et al. make the interesting suggestion that we should consider ‘human engineering’ as a possible solution to climate change. How Engineering the Human Body Could Combat Climate Change - Ross Andersen - Technology. Some of the proposed modifications are simple and noninvasive. For instance, many people wish to give up meat for ecological reasons, but lack the willpower to do so on their own. The paper suggests that such individuals could take a pill that would trigger mild nausea upon the ingestion of meat, which would then lead to a lasting aversion to meat-eating.
Other techniques are bound to be more controversial. For instance, the paper suggests that parents could make use of genetic engineering or hormone therapy in order to birth smaller, less resource-intensive children. The lead author of the paper, S. Matthew Liao, is a professor of philosophy and bioethics at New York University. Liao is keen to point out that the paper is not meant to advocate for any particular human modifications, or even human engineering generally; rather, it is only meant to introduce human engineering as one possible, partial solution to climate change.
Liao: There is a widely cited U.N. S. Liao: Yes. HEandClimateChange. Twenty top predictions for life 100 years from now. 16 January 2012Last updated at 08:50 Last week we asked readers for their predictions of life in 100 years time. Inspired by ten 100-year predictions made by American civil engineer John Elfreth Watkins in 1900, many of you wrote in with your vision of the world in 2112.
Many of the "strange, almost impossible" predictions made by Watkins came true. Here is what futurologists Ian Pearson (IP) and Patrick Tucker (PT) think of your ideas. 1. Oceans will be extensively farmed and not just for fish (Jim 300) IP: Likelihood 10/10. PT: Good chance. 2. IP: Likelihood 10/10. PT: Good chance. 3.
IP: Likelihood 9/10. PT: Good chance. 4. IP: Likelihood 8/10. PT: Good chance. Continue reading the main story More readers' predictions 5. IP: Likelihood 8/10. PT: Pretty close. 6. IP: Likelihood 8/10. PT: Great try! 7. Will deserts become tropical forests? IP: Likelihood 10/10. 8. PT: Good chance. IP: Likelihood: 7/10. 9. IP: Likelihood 10/10. 10. IP: Likelihood 8/10. 11. IP: Likelihood 8/10. 12. 13. 14. 15. World Future Society | Tomorrow is built today.