Controlling our own evolution is not a bad thing. What bad or stupid people do with Gene splicing(ie. Splice) may cast gene splicing in a negative light, this will only lead to greater transparency and control over the genetic process.
I have to disagree with Mr. Hawking on modifying aggression. As terrible as it is, aggression and war have, at least in the last ten thousand years, lead us to where we are, evolutionarily speaking. Looking back at history, peace has lead each empire that has embraced it down a path of stagnation and destruction much faster than war. Ego-maniacal retards are the reason why warlike cultures fail, providing impetus to learn from the mistakes of past empires, this learning being the external information type of evolution that Mr. Hawking is, I believe, referring to. Objectively speaking, aggression and progression go hand in hand, as many technologies result directly from military research(take a look at your precious cell-phone, nay-sayer. yup, its from the military.) just as our current ability to reach space unfortunately owes its existence to Hitler's V2 rockets, and even further back, to Persia's "magic" hand grenades. Just as we have evolved our weapons to serve several different purposes, so must we evolve ourselves for the different purposes of the future.
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