Should we worry about pet cloning? I was asked that question the other day by a woman who had just heard about CC the cloned cat and the Genetic Savings and Clone company. And while it might seem like a trivial, sideshow kind of issue, a quick internet search revealed that they follow a set of internally developed bioethical code of conduct. I was impressed - wish all biotech companies had such transparent guidelines.
Whether you support pet cloning or not, I think her question reveals the core anxiety we all feel about emerging technologies: Could we? Would we? Should we? And why it is so important to always ask the bigger question of "what kind of a world do we want to live in."
I dunno about cloning in general, but the whole notion of "I want to clone MY pet (child, self, whatever)" just seems stupid. It might have the same genes, it might look the same, but it ISN'T the same; why on earth would anyone think...? And then I realize: you know, really what this is raising are profound metaphysical questions that haven't been much on the collective "mainstream" radar for a while now.
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