Tucker Carlson’s two-hour discussion with Vladimir Putin marked the Russian leader’s first interview with an American journalist since the Ukraine invasion. They covered a wide variety of topics, including NATO, artificial intelligence, Bill Clinton, and the imprisoned WSJ reporter Evan Gershovich, among many others. Putin said humanity faced “many threats,” which include the existence of “superhumans.”
Putin’s Remarks
Tucker Carlson asked Putin, “When does the AI empire start?” Putin chuckled and responded, “Mankind is currently facing many threats. Due to genetic researchers, it is now possible to create a superhuman, a specialized human being, a genetically engineered athlete, scientists, and military men.”
International Regulations
Vladimir Putin said the danger of artificial intelligence and genetic research comes from its “unbridled and uncontrolled development.” He said once that is globally understood, “the time will come for an international agreement on how to regulate these things.”
Concerns
This revelation startled and disturbed quite a few people. It brought to light the stark reality of humanity’s potential manipulation through biotechnology. The idea of a world where individuals are genetically modified to exceed the limitations of ordinary humans was a scary thought for many.
CRISPR Technology
Christophe Galichet, a senior research scientist at the Francis Crick Institute in London, describes CRISPR as clusters of regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats. He said this gene editing technology was a “revolution.” However, he highlights its limitations, likening it to using find-and-replace on text – while it enables precise swapping of phrases, what works in one context may not be suitable in another. “It’s wrong to think that one gene will have one effect. If you take a gene, you could have an individual with greater muscles or being able to breathe at high altitude. But maybe further down the line the individual will develop cancer.”
China’s Research
According to The South China Post, China has been employing CRISPR technology to manipulate the DNA of human embryos, with a Chinese research team suggesting that this could potentially result in super soldiers capable of withstanding nuclear fallout. A study conducted by the Academy of Military Sciences team in Beijing found that modified human embryonic stem cells exhibited remarkable resistance to radiation.
Genetic Engineering Breakthrough?
The scientists in China reported that they successfully integrated a gene from the microscopic water bear into human embryonic stem cells, resulting in a substantial enhancement of these cells’ ability to withstand radiation. The team suggested that the achievement of this groundbreaking experiment could pave the way for the development of exceptionally resilient soldiers capable of surviving nuclear fallout.
BBC Report
An examination of this prospect presented by the BBC on February 8 casts uncertainty on the feasibility of utilizing current technology to genetically modify humans for enhanced performance. The article highlighted that China is not alone in contemplating the notion of leveraging technology to bolster soldiers, with countries like France and the U.S. also exploring such possibilities.
He Jiankui
In 2018, He Jiankui, a Chinese scientist, gained international attention for genetically modifying twin baby girls to provide them with protection against HIV transmission. There are laws in China and many other nations prohibiting gene editing for the purpose of “enhancing” babies, so Jiankui’s actions resulted in his imprisonment.
Conspiracy
The notion that superhumans existed was long thought to be just a conspiracy. Many thought that even if it was possible to create them, it wasn’t something that would be allowed due to ethical concerns. Due to this, it came as a shock to many when Putin said that superhumans already exist.
Is Putin Lying?
It’s plausible that Putin’s claims about genetic engineering and superhumans could be exaggerated or fabricated to project an image of power and technological prowess. It could also be an attempt to divert attention away from other issues, such as the war in Ukraine.
White House Response
In response to the Tucker-Putin interview, White House Communications Coordinator John Kirby told reporters, “Anybody that watches that interview you need to make sure to remember that you are listening to Vladimir Putin. You shouldn’t take at face value anything he has to say.”
History Of Super Soldier Research
The concept of creating super soldiers has been a recurring theme in military research throughout recent history. During World War II, both the Axis and the Allies explored methods to enhance soldiers’ physical and mental capabilities.
Humanzees
There were reports of Soviet scientists and military officials exploring various methods to enhance soldiers’ physical and mental capabilities during Stalin’s reign. One infamous project allegedly conducted was the attempt to create “Humanzees,” a hybrid of humans and apes. The intention of this experiment wasn’t to establish a military force but rather to disprove religious beliefs by demonstrating the validity of evolution. Doctor Ilya Ivanoff inseminated three chimpanzees with human sperm, but the endeavor was unsuccessful.
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