ACLU Study Looks at Human Rights in the Future

"Sometimes, science fiction isn't as futuristic as we might think." 

That's the conclusion of Humanoid Rights, a recent article from American Prospect on a 2002 study by analyst Jay Stanley for the ACLU. Titled Technology, Liberties, and The Future, the report was never released to the public. Stanley drew "insights from scientists, legal scholars, and political theorists, gaming out the ACLU's possible response to everything from cloning to artificial intelligence to genetic splicing to nanotechnology." He also found inspiration from the film world, citing Gattaca, Blade Runner, 1984 and many others.

In the same article, journalist Adam Serwer recounts past court cases, showing how technology has been discussed in the courtroom and how dangerously close we've come to gene patenting. The dialogue could have been lifted from a sci-fi movie:

Chris Hansen, an ACLU staff attorney, balked. "What?" he said. "You're telling me ... the U.S. patent office is granting patents on human genes?"

"Chris," Simoncelli explained, "it's been going on for about 20 years."