DNI Ratcliffe says that China may be pursuing genetically modified "super soldiers".

 

Chinese honor guards march in China's Forbidden City. NBC News/Getty.

DNI John Ratcliffe says that China may be pursuing genetically modified "super soldiers". NBC News. Ratcliffe wrote in an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal that China has already conducted human tests in order to develop soldiers with enhanced capabilities. Experts have said that China may be using CRISPR, a gene editing program, to enhance human performance. Doing so would be considered unethical by western standards. In addition to the concerns of China having enhanced soldiers, experts worry that the genetic modification could result in damage to the human genome. 

The Wall Street Journal post by DNI Ratcliffe can be found here, but is paywalled. 

My Comment:

As new technologies emerge in the field of genetic engineering it was inevitable that some country would probably try to do this, even despite the obvious potential consequences of the move. It was also always likely to be China. After all, human rights are an after thought for China and the value of any given human life there is almost nil. They would have no problem ruining the lives of their own soldiers if this goes wrong. 

But would enhanced soldiers really be more effective? I think it's possible to some extent. If you have a stronger soldier he can fight better and can travel harder. Perhaps they could improve vision or make it so their soldiers could sleep less? Who knows, but I think whatever gains would be minor. Even genetically enhanced soldiers need the right arms, training, equipment and, critically, logistics to fight effectively and I think that China is lacking in those areas compared to the United States. 

I do think that China's moves here might require other countries to try and emulate them. If one country has super-soldiers then every other country is going to want them so China doesn't have them at a disadvantage. That means despite the ethical and environmental issues it will be inevitable that other countries will be adopting their own programs. Indeed, I would be surprised if there wasn't some research going on in this area even in the United States. 

I think the dangers of a super soldier program are somewhat overrated. People tend to think of genetically enhanced super soldiers as being something out of sci-fi where the soldiers are hardly even human anymore. I think that is possible maybe a hundred years down the line but our technology is not anywhere near that level yet. China won't be making a new species of humans or anything like that so we don't really have to worry too much. 

The real problem is that with a new technology like this it's possible that there could be some damage down the line. These soldiers may end up developing a genetic disease, which could of course be passed on to their children. That would of course be a disaster and something that should be avoided. I doubt China cares though.

I do think there are class issues that could arise if this kind of genetic modification becomes more common or perfected. Though I doubt that the enhanced will completely outcompete normal people, they will have a leg up and it would not be long before the military applications for this technology will be used for the civilian market. When that happens it will be the rich that can afford to enhance themselves and their children. That has some pretty obvious negative consequences for the future...