What Embryo Selection Means for Humanity - Dr Jonathan Anomaly

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… - 0:00 When Does Health Screening Turn Into Human Engineering? 7:08 Does Embyro Selection Risk Deepening Inequality? 14:30 How Can We Soften the Conversation on Genetic Selection? 21:13 Inside Herasight: The Algorithm Powering Polygenic Selection 26:56 Should Parents Drive Embryo Selection During IVF? 33:09 How Can We Tell If Genetic Screening Companies Actually Know What They’re Doing? 46:45 Does Herasight’s Algorithm Work? 51:38 Is Buyer’s Remorse a Risk of Embryo Selection? 01:01:20 Where Do We Draw the Line with Trait Selection? 01:05:15 Could Genetic Selection Lead to Wrongful Life Lawsuits? 01:13:07 How Genetic Selection Impacts Personhood and Identity 01:25:36 Are Genetics Blueprints of Our Lives? 01:36:57 Does Embryo Screening Increase Stigma? 01:45:22 Will Embryo Selection Become a Marketing Race? 01:53:15 What Does the Next Five Years Look Like? 01:58:29 Where to Find Jonathan - Check out Herasight: ⁠https://www.herasight.com/⁠ Get access to every episode 10 hours before YouTube by subscribing for free on Spotify - https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn or Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Get my free Reading List of 100 life-changing books here - https://chriswillx.com/books/ Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic here - https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

Chris WilliamsonhostJonathan Anomalyguest

Nov 8, 20251h 59mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: November 8, 2025
Duration: 1h 59m
Channel: Modern Wisdom
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

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… - 0:00 When Does Health Screening Turn Into Human Engineering? 7:08 Does Embyro Selection Risk Deepening Inequality? 14:30 How Can We Soften the Conversation on Genetic Selection? 21:13 Inside Herasight: The Algorithm Powering Polygenic Selection 26:56 Should Parents Drive Embryo Selection During IVF? 33:09 How Can We Tell If Genetic Screening Companies Actually Know What They’re Doing? 46:45 Does Herasight’s Algorithm Work? 51:38 Is Buyer’s Remorse a Risk of Embryo Selection? 01:01:20 Where Do We Draw the Line with Trait Selection? 01:05:15 Could Genetic Selection Lead to Wrongful Life Lawsuits? 01:13:07 How Genetic Selection Impacts Personhood and Identity 01:25:36 Are Genetics Blueprints of Our Lives? 01:36:57 Does Embryo Screening Increase Stigma? 01:45:22 Will Embryo Selection Become a Marketing Race? 01:53:15 What Does the Next Five Years Look Like? 01:58:29 Where to Find Jonathan - Check out Herasight: ⁠https://www.herasight.com/⁠ Get access to every episode 10 hours before YouTube by subscribing for free on Spotify - https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn or Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Get my free Reading List of 100 life-changing books here - https://chriswillx.com/books/ Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic here - https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

SPEAKERS

Chris Williamson
host
Jonathan Anomaly
guest

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Modern Wisdom, featuring Chris Williamson and Jonathan Anomaly, What Embryo Selection Means for Humanity - Dr Jonathan Anomaly explores embryo Selection, Genetics, And The Future Of Human Reproduction Explained Chris Williamson and Dr. Jonathan Anomaly discuss embryo selection using polygenic risk scores, clarifying how it differs from gene editing and traditional IVF embryo grading. They explore public fears around 'eugenics', the ethics of selecting for disease vs. intelligence, and how World War II taboos still shape Western attitudes to genetics. Anomaly explains the science and validation of polygenic scores, his company HeraCyte’s approach to democratizing the technology, and concerns about inequality, government coercion, and professional gatekeeping by doctors and regulators. The conversation also tackles deeper issues of personhood, determinism, parental guilt, social norms, and how different cultures and countries are likely to adopt or resist these technologies.

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