Modify the genes of his baby so that he has more chances to make great schools?

38% of Americans would not hesitate to test their embryos before in vitro fertilization (IVF) to select those with a strong chance of being accepted into a world-renowned university. They are also 28% to declare that they would agree to modify the genes of their embryo if that ensured him to make higher studies at Harvard, Stanford, Princeton or Columbia.

Tests promising a high IQ already available

This opinion poll, carried out by bioethics researchers, reveals that the desire to genetically modify human embryos to improve their academic skills is more marked among those under 35 and among individuals with at least a university degree. . A phenomenon that could accentuate certain social inequalities, as declared by Michelle N. Meyer, one of the authors of the study, on Twitter.

To date, no academic aptitude test for embryos has been marketed. Some biotechnology companies, however, offer couples to examine the genome of their embryos to choose the sex of their future child, or prevent him from being a carrier of mutations causing serious genetic diseases. These analyzes make it possible to calculate a “polygenic score” for each individual, and to estimate their more or less strong predisposition to academic success, to a high IQ, to Huntington’s disease, etc. A technique decried by many specialists in human genetics.

The diploma, one recruitment criterion among many others

The results of this study, published in the journal Science, show how much importance future parents place on higher education. They reinforce the idea that a college degree is king in the United States, even if you sometimes have to spend tens of thousands of dollars to obtain it. Europeans aged 15 to 34 are much more skeptical of the usefulness of higher education. Only 45% of young workers consider that their diplomas help them a lot in their work, according to the 2016 Employment survey carried out by INSEE. On the other hand, 33% consider that they are of very little use, or even useless…

An opinion shared by many business leaders and recruiters. They increasingly take professional experience, behavioral skills (the so-called “soft skills”) and “mad skills” into consideration during the recruitment process. Nearly seven in ten recruiters say they value “personal experiences and hobbies” when reading a CV, according to a 2019 Indeed survey relayed by Welcome to the Jungle. The diploma is now perceived as one criterion among others in obtaining a job, and no longer as the Holy Grail which opens any professional door to its holder.

This new approach to recruitment would make the labor market more diverse and inclusive, according to Joseph Fuller, professor of management at Harvard Business School and co-director of the “Managing the Future of Work” project. “If we’re going to promote fairness in the labor market, an important way to do that is to remove barriers to well-paying jobs—and there’s no doubt that in recent years one of those barriers has been the inflated degree requirements“, he wrote in the Harvard Business Review. “Such a challenge would benefit everyone: previously neglected workers will be able to follow attractive career paths, even without a four-year degree, and companies will be better able to“. It would also dissuade some parents from wanting to modify the genome of their future child to ensure that they get a good education.