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An important fact (illustrated wonderfully in “Gattaca” which everyone rightly loves) is that there is not naturally any such thing as genetic privacy. If someo
by currymj 2y ago
An important fact (illustrated wonderfully in “Gattaca” which everyone rightly loves) is that there is not naturally any such thing as genetic privacy. If someone wants your DNA, you are constantly leaving it everywhere you go, and sequencing and checking SNPs just keeps getting cheaper and easier.
So genetic privacy, or at least nondiscrimination, is something we need to actively create with laws and social norms, if we want it.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- krunck 2y agoYep. For example, I can see a person is black/asian/whatever. And our society (well, most of it) acknowledges that to discriminate based on that is wrong. Someone can get my DNA data. Society needs to also acknowledge that discrimination based on that is also wrong.
- underlipton 2y agoWhat should terrify you is that "most of it" is highly contingent on context. "I can excuse racism, but I draw the line at _____," is a real thing. (Last week, it was "egg prices.") Never underestimate people's willingness to ruin or end your life, and the lives of those they can put in a box with you, over something that is transitory and/or fixable. Genetic discrimination is just another, perhaps more versatile, box.
- Phanyxx 2y agoData privacy is an instructive example of what happens in a more free-for-all situation. If there were stringent protections in place, the data broker industry wouldn't exist.