Dalton Conley

I have two older children that are adults now, and I raised them before I really knew the power of genes. And I thought that I had a lot more power over how they were going to turn out than I did. I'd recognize that as a parent, you're not in control. You're being parented by your kids' genes, at least as much as you're parenting them.

I have two older children that are adults now, and I raised them before I really knew the power of genes. And I thought that I had a lot more power over how they were going to turn out than I did. I'd recognize that as a parent, you're not in control. You're being parented by your kids' genes, at least as much as you're parenting them.

But then I had a third kid 20 years later, and I was in the thrall of genetics at that point. We were doing IVF to conceive him, and I thought of, wow, we could optimize it. Among the embryos, we could choose the one with the highest polygenic scores for certain traits or the lowest for other traits. What about that? We turned out not to do that.

But then I had a third kid 20 years later, and I was in the thrall of genetics at that point. We were doing IVF to conceive him, and I thought of, wow, we could optimize it. Among the embryos, we could choose the one with the highest polygenic scores for certain traits or the lowest for other traits. What about that? We turned out not to do that.

And I'm, of course, glad we didn't because I'm really, I love the kid we got by chance. And I also now realize that using that kind of simple genetic prediction idea ignores the fact that we've been talking about genes and environment are braided together. And I can control the environment of my child a little bit in response to their genes. So to give an example of that,

And I'm, of course, glad we didn't because I'm really, I love the kid we got by chance. And I also now realize that using that kind of simple genetic prediction idea ignores the fact that we've been talking about genes and environment are braided together. And I can control the environment of my child a little bit in response to their genes. So to give an example of that,

If I found out that my son had a musical talent, which would be quite a shock to me because I have zero, I would expose him to instruments and to lessons from a young age and see if they took and could start that forward-feeding snowball. If he had tested to be off the charts for the PGI for opioid addiction...

If I found out that my son had a musical talent, which would be quite a shock to me because I have zero, I would expose him to instruments and to lessons from a young age and see if they took and could start that forward-feeding snowball. If he had tested to be off the charts for the PGI for opioid addiction...

I would try to make sure that if he breaks his arm or if he has a surgery, he's not prescribed opioids as a painkiller after that or that he's aware of that as he gets older and makes his own medical decisions.

I would try to make sure that if he breaks his arm or if he has a surgery, he's not prescribed opioids as a painkiller after that or that he's aware of that as he gets older and makes his own medical decisions.

One of the important things I'd like to sound the alarm on is this genetic genomic revolution that's happening right now under our noses. In the last 15 years, this new tool I mentioned, the polygenic index has come on the scene and has become more and more predictive of outcomes. They're still in their infancy. They're noisy. They predict poorly, but they're getting better every year.

One of the important things I'd like to sound the alarm on is this genetic genomic revolution that's happening right now under our noses. In the last 15 years, this new tool I mentioned, the polygenic index has come on the scene and has become more and more predictive of outcomes. They're still in their infancy. They're noisy. They predict poorly, but they're getting better every year.

And they're going to radically transform society. We have a lot of talk about the promise and perils of AI. We've had a lot of public discussion about CRISPR gene editing as a potential revolutionary technology. But I think the polygenic index is just as revolutionary as those other two and is here already. Genetic prediction... is going to soon be taken up by insurance companies.

And they're going to radically transform society. We have a lot of talk about the promise and perils of AI. We've had a lot of public discussion about CRISPR gene editing as a potential revolutionary technology. But I think the polygenic index is just as revolutionary as those other two and is here already. Genetic prediction... is going to soon be taken up by insurance companies.

Like if you want to apply for a life insurance policy or a long-term care insurance or even car insurance, they might soon ask for a swab of your cheek, a saliva sample or a blood spot and analyze your DNA to make better pricing of your premiums. Are people okay with that? IVF clinics, some IVF clinics already offer what I had thought I wanted seven or eight years ago.

Like if you want to apply for a life insurance policy or a long-term care insurance or even car insurance, they might soon ask for a swab of your cheek, a saliva sample or a blood spot and analyze your DNA to make better pricing of your premiums. Are people okay with that? IVF clinics, some IVF clinics already offer what I had thought I wanted seven or eight years ago.

The polygenic screening for embryos to select which one you want to implant. So people are going to be optimizing babies long before there's going to be genetically modified babies running around preschools. Sperm and ova banks might use this genetic prediction algorithms to screen donors or to offer clients different samples based on their price point of how good a genetic sample they want.

The polygenic screening for embryos to select which one you want to implant. So people are going to be optimizing babies long before there's going to be genetically modified babies running around preschools. Sperm and ova banks might use this genetic prediction algorithms to screen donors or to offer clients different samples based on their price point of how good a genetic sample they want.

That's just a few of the examples of how this area of genetic prediction is going to sweep across society. And we have had no discussion about it. I think we should keep in mind, it's not a blueprint. It's an algorithm. And it depends on the environment and the environmental landscape.

That's just a few of the examples of how this area of genetic prediction is going to sweep across society. And we have had no discussion about it. I think we should keep in mind, it's not a blueprint. It's an algorithm. And it depends on the environment and the environmental landscape.