The Ultimate Arrogance: When Silicon Valley Tries to Redesign Humanity [018]
I just read a Wall Street Journal piece that, unfortunately, didn’t surprise me. It should have left me stunned, but it didn’t; it left me deeply concerned about where we're headed as a society. Silicon Valley parents are now paying up to $50,000 to genetically screen embryos for IQ, essentially trying to engineer smarter babies. But what struck me most wasn't the technology itself; it was the breathtaking arrogance behind it.
ILLUSTRATION: DAISY KORPICS/WSJ, ISTOCK, GETTY (2)
In the story, Kian Sadeghi, founder of Nucleus Genomics, captured the essence of this mindset perfectly when he said, "Silicon Valley, they love IQ. You talk to mom and pop America…not every parent is like, I want my kid to be, you know, a scholar at Harvard. Like, no, I want my kid to be like LeBron James."
Let that sink in for just a bit. Here's a tech entrepreneur dismissing "mom and pop America" as somehow less enlightened because they might value athletic excellence, determination, or other qualities over raw intellectual horsepower measured by genetic algorithms.
Here's what these tech leaders seem to have forgotten: that same "mom and pop America" they're so casually dismissing: those are the people who built the very foundation they're standing on.
The farmers who fed the nation. The factory workers who built their cars. The teachers who educated previous generations. The military personnel who protected our freedoms. The entrepreneurs who started with nothing and built something meaningful. The parents who raised children with values, work ethic, and character are those who instill qualities that can't be programmed into DNA or predicted by IQ.
I feel compelled to remind them that Steve Jobs was adopted, not a likely choice for someone like Sadeghi, trying to engineer a superhuman.
What They are Breeding is a Dangerous Delusion
Harvard's Sasha Gusev, nails the underlying psychology: "I think they have a perception that they are smart and they are accomplished, and they deserve to be where they are because they have 'good genes.'"
This is where success can become toxic and dangerous. When leaders start believing their achievements are primarily due to genetic superiority rather than circumstance, opportunity, hard work, and yes, the contributions of countless others, they lose touch with reality and humility.
A Disturbing Historical Echo
This isn't the first time wealthy elites have convinced themselves that their success proves genetic superiority. The early 20th-century American eugenics movement was funded primarily by the same type of wealthy philanthropists who believed their wealth and position demonstrated superior genes worth preserving and propagating.
Image via the American Philosophical Society
The Rockefeller Foundation and Carnegie Institution funded much of the American-based eugenics movement, including research that would later influence Nazi policies. By 1926, Rockefeller had donated over $400,000—almost $4 million in today's money—to hundreds of researchers promoting genetic superiority theories.
The parallels to today's Silicon Valley mindset are chilling. Then, as now, wealthy elites believed their success proved genetic superiority. Then, as now, they dismissed ordinary Americans as genetically inferior. Then, as now, they sought to engineer a "better" human race according to their definitions of superiority.
Real leadership isn't about having the highest IQ in the room. I've worked with brilliant executives who couldn't inspire a team or make a tough decision when it mattered. I've also worked with leaders who may not have been the smartest person technically, but who had the emotional intelligence, character, and vision to transform organizations and develop extraordinary people.
The qualities that make someone a great leader—integrity, empathy, resilience, the ability to inspire others these aren't captured in genetic tests. They're developed through experience, challenge, failure, and the choice to grow from each setback
Want to optimize for better outcomes? Start with character? Teach your children resilience, empathy, and the value of hard work. Show them that their worth isn't determined by test scores but by how they treat others and contribute to their communities. I call this Impact!
The parents in "Mom and Pop America" who want their kids to be like LeBron James aren't settling for less; they're recognizing that greatness comes in many forms. James didn't become great because of genetic optimization; he became great through relentless work, overcoming obstacles, and, more recently, using his platform to lift others up.
The real tragedy here isn't that these tech leaders are trying to engineer smarter children. It's that they've lost sight of what actually makes humans valuable and what authentic leadership requires.
True leadership development doesn't start with genetic selection. It starts with understanding that our greatest strength as humans doesn’t come from our individual intelligence, but from our ability to connect, collaborate, and care for one another.
The very people they're dismissing as intellectually inferior are often the ones demonstrating the character and values that our society desperately needs more of, especially in leadership positions.
Maybe instead of trying to genetically engineer the next generation, we should focus on developing humanity in the current one.
And Steve Jobs was adopted.
Be well,
Ron
I help leaders and organizations Lead with Purpose™.
Want to Lead with Purpose™, contact me at ron@uplandgroup.us, ron@valize.com, or connect with me on LinkedIn atlinkedin.com/in/ronboire/ or Twitter @ronboire
Ron partners with senior executives, boards, and leadership teams to create long-term personal and business growth strategies that deliver lasting impact. His work blends 35+ years of leadership experience running businesses as large as $30B with cutting-edge innovation frameworks developed alongside Rita McGrath, one of the world’s top strategic thinkers.
Ron has served as CEO or business unit leader at Sony, Best Buy, Sears Canada, Barnes and Noble, and Brookstone, working with private equity giants such as KKR, Bain Capital, and TH Lee, as well as sovereign wealth funds including Temasek. I’ve learned from both successes and setbacks, and I bring those lessons to the leaders I coach and advise.
Ron also lectures regularly at Columbia Business School and Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management as part of the U.S. Army’s FA59 Strategy Group program.
If you’re looking for a trusted partner to help you and your organization Lead with Purpose™, drive innovation, and achieve measurable results, you can contact me at ron@uplandgroup.us.
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