[ExI] the transparent society

[Rafal Smigrodzki]

On Thu, Jun 27, 2013 at 10:17 PM, Mike Dougherty <msd001 at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> You might as well get your whole genome sequenced now then publish the
> whole thing under an open source license.  From that point onward you
> could claim someone used your public-domain genetic pattern to 3D
> print gametes on demand.  If human genes can't be patented and held
> for profit, they also shouldn't be custom-crafted for extortion.  I
> feel sorry for the pioneers who will have to set the legal precedent
> in these matters.

### Indeed, for now the law is not on your side: There is a de facto
strict liability standard as far as biological fatherhood goes,
illustrated by the case of a 14 year old victim of rape who was
sentenced to pay child support to the 35 year old rapist. Not only did
she get off scot free, she actually got paid! It's clear that any
contract attempting to indemnify a man against unwanted fatherhood
would be voided by the court.

Eventually the law could change, after a few million-man marches on
Washington but this could take decades, since the social animus is
very much anti-male nowadays, and unlikely to disappear overnight.

In order to avoid becoming the victim of wrongful fatherhood (Is that
how you could call this grievance?), non-destitute men will need to
use full 24 hour validated recording of their lives to positively
prove the absence of any activity that could in the normal course of
events lead to fatherhood. Hopefully, the female plaintiff would not
be able to claim her child's genes as sufficient evidence of the
defendant's fatherhood - she would need to prove the recording to be
insufficient or incorrect, barring that she would have to explain how
on Earth did she come by the defendant's child without ever having the
requisite form of physical contact with him. Should she disclose the
cloning procedure as the source, the defendant would claim that the
child was conceived by his twin brother, the little colony of
spermatogonia in a dish in Somalia and the case would be hopefully
dismissed, unless the judge was more feminist than usual.

My prediction then is as follows: While today the Tiger hides his many
dalliances, his successors would rather meticulously document and
broadcast the absence of sexual activity involving any even the most
remote  likelihood of transfer of sperm to a female. The power of
cloning will find its match in the power of Google Glass.

Eventually, Google Glass will be built into the Google Woman, a home
robot that would obviate the need for unchaste contact and legally
prove you don't get any.

Rafal