The new technology that I have thought up is called “Digital DNA”. What this technology allows for is genetic plastic surgery. This is done through a computer program that is able to mirror the DNA replication process that naturally occurs in the human body. The computer program itself would utilize the knowledge of nucleotide base pairs gained through the human genome project to write out the sequences necessary to exemplify specific traits. The required nucleotide base pairs would then be ordered so that a full strand of DNA would be created. This process would be replicated hundreds of thousands of times until enough DNA had been created to evoke a reaction from the human body. The next step in the process would be DNA extraction where the existing DNA would be removed from the body to allow the new DNA to create a change. This artificial DNA would then be introduced into the cells of the human where it would begin the protein synthesis process until enough proteins had been created that the traits would be expressed by the individual. Basically, the human body uses DNA as a manual on how to create new cells and Digital DNA would replace this manual to allow for changes in traits like skin color, eye color, or even traits such as height and weight. Even further it could be used to change the gender of an individual.
This would be initially designed by geneticists for the purpose of reversing genetically inherited traits such as deformation, heart projects, or some other birth defect. However as with all technology, it will be abused by the wealthy elite in order to change their physical appearance to be more like that of what is considered “perfect”. I believe that it would then transition into the LGBT community as people would be able to instantly and completely change their sex to whatever gender they identify with. After this I believe that the technology would become more widespread allowing other wealth brackets to access it. In this instance it would be used both in the way that the creators intended as well as being misused. The creators would be playing God as they are literally changing the code that determines the physical makeup of people.
The most obvious problem that would be associated with this product would be a severe increase in the division of classes as the wealthy elite would take on an entirely different appearance than that of the poorer class. It’s not too far of a stretch to assume that there would be an attempt at creating a new Aryan race as people would be able to pick and choose their physical traits making poor and wealthy easily distinguishable. However, as this process becomes cheaper and more accessible to the common person I believe that people will at first change to all mirror the same image of perfection until people inevitably become bored of seeing the same look everywhere. I believe it will be at this point that true social change will take hold. People will start celebrating uniqueness as gender, race, and ethnicity would cease to be an issue of discrimination. At this point the choice of physical appearance would belong entirely to every individual person. This would challenge every social standard that we as a human race have created up until this point in history. All discrimination and stereotypes that we have as a culture would be shattered. Granted, there is still a possibility that cultural differences that currently exist would translate to this new world in a way very similar to the transition that occurred when the internet was first introduced to civilians. In this case many professionals believed that the anonymity of the internet would have the effect of erasing all racial tensions. This proved to be untrue as cultural differences translated onto the internet due to differences in which websites people visited, subject matter of conversations, and the manner in which people communicated.
Another major problem that may arise would be a forensic issue as criminals would be able to change their physical appearance as well as the genetic makeup of their DNA making it impossible to identify said criminals. Laws will have to be passed in order to counteract the actions of these criminals. This will cost both governments as well as law enforcers money as they attempt to put a stop to these actions. The standards that would have to be set in order to effectively integrate this technology into the lives of the everyday civilian would create severe issues in terms of making accessibility.
Overall it is impossible to make an accurate prediction as to the actual social effects of introducing this technology into the world due to the fact that it is impossible to predict the actions of human beings. I think it is safe to say that it would however completely destroy the existing social standards that the human race has created through this point in history. I personally believe that we should each be proud of who we are and the way that we were born so I would not be particularly happy if this technology became mainstream. Unfortunately, this technology is already nearing completion as humans already have the option to pick and choose traits that their children will have. There is a social change coming as these genetically engineered children are born and inherit the Earth. The extent of the change belongs to them.