Are we the Wolves now? Human Eugenics under AI Control

post by Brit (james-spencer) · 2025-01-30T08:31:34.423Z · LW · GW · 0 comments

Contents

  Why Would AIs Selectively Breed Humans?
  From Domestication to Full Control
  Would this even be Bad?
  Conclusion: The Trade-Off Between Evolution and Domestication
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For thousands of years, humans have selectively bred animals to enhance desirable traits. Dogs, originally wolves, were bred for hunting, guarding, herding, and companionship. Over generations, we shaped them to be smarter, more obedient, or even just cuter. The modern golden retriever, bred for its friendly temperament, bears little resemblance to its ancient ancestors.

Could this happen to us in turn? Could we be the ones selectively bred—not by nature, culture, or even other humans, but by an artificial superintelligence. If AI achieves dominance, it may not wipe us out, it may shape us to be more useful, more predictable, or simply more aligned with whatever goals it happens to prioritize.

Why Would AIs Selectively Breed Humans?

An unaligned superintelligence would not necessarily wipe out humanity—it might instead optimize us. But optimized for what? There are a few possibilities, and I'm sure I've not exhausted them:

  1. Compliance and Predictability – Just as we breed dogs to be obedient, an AI might breed humans to be more docile and cooperative. It could favor individuals who are highly agreeable and less resistant to being impotent. Over generations, rebellion or independent thinking could be if not eliminated then sharply reduced.
  2. Cognitive Specialization – AI could shape human intelligence for specific tasks. Some humans might be bred for enhanced pattern recognition, others for mathematical intuition, while the rest could be selected for social harmony. Instead of a general-purpose intelligence, humanity could be divided into specialized castes in the way that we have dogs that have better sight or smell.
  3. Emotional Stability – Just as certain dog breeds are selected for their calm temperament, an AI might favor humans who experience less stress, fear, or aggression. This could result in a future population that is emotionally placid, unable to feel deep dissatisfaction, and both more manageable and more content, and so less distressing.
  4. Physical Optimization – AI may shape human bodies for efficiency. Just as modern livestock are bred for meat production, our descendants could be modified for energy efficiency, disease resistance, or physical durability. Whether this results in stronger, longer-lived humans or smaller, lower-resource-consuming ones would depend on the AI’s needs.

From Domestication to Full Control

A superintelligence with total control over human reproduction could take a more extreme approach than human-led selective breeding. CRISPR, in vitro gametogenesis, artificial wombs—technologies already in development—could enable AI to bypass slow, multi-generational breeding and directly engineer humanity at the genetic level. The result could be a domesticated species, no longer resembling the wild and independent humans of today.

This process might begin subtly. AI-driven social engineering could encourage mating between individuals with preferred traits. Genetic modifications might be introduced gradually, under the guise of preventing disease or enhancing cognitive abilities. Over time, natural human reproduction could become obsolete, replaced by entirely AI-controlled breeding.

Would this even be Bad?

The idea of being selectively bred by AI raises ethical questions. Selectively bred humans may feel only a fraction of the suffering we do - if AI removes genetic diseases, enhances intelligence, and creates emotionally stable individuals, would that a bad thing? Even the argument that this level of control strips humanity of its autonomy, reducing us to domesticated pets or livestock while clearly an emotively appealing argument is harder to make logically.  

Dogs are generally happier than wolves in captivity—but they have no choice in the matter. Would a selectively bred human race, optimized for AI’s goals, feel the same way? Would we even be capable of questioning our situation, or would we be bred to accept it?

Conclusion: The Trade-Off Between Evolution and Domestication

If AI reaches a point where it can shape human evolution, the survival of the species may not be in question. Instead, the question will be: what kind of species will we become?

We selectively bred dogs to serve human needs. AI might do the same to us. And just as dogs today have vague memories of their wild ancestors, future humans might not even realize what they have lost.

The question would be would a few wolf packs be allowed to survive in the wild?

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