Silicon Valley Parents Are Spending $50,000 to Screen Embryos for IQ

Like Sydney Sweeney, these Silicon Valley parents want good genes, and they’re paying Bay Area companies as much as $50,000 to ensure they choose the embryos with the highest IQ for in vitro fertilization. Stephen Hsu, a co-founder of one of the earliest genetic screening companies, told the Wall Street Journal that some of his clients are choosing to screen their embryos out of an existential fear of artificial intelligence. They “are committed to a long-term eugenics program where they create smarter humans, and the smarter humans are the ones that make AI safe,” he said. Others simply want to optimize their children’s chance for success, as defined by the Silicon Valley culture that prizes intelligence to such an extent that top preschools require IQ tests of prospective students and pr