Today it is obvious that technology, science and sports are making incredible strides in helping athletes and teams achieve peak performance. Now comes the news that work is underway to create synthetic DNA from the genome, and thus possibly create a complete synthetic human being. With that comes the idea that the perfect athlete can be created from a synthetic human genome. This raises a lot of intriguing questions and some of which are not good ones.

As recently as May 10, a group of elite research professionals and business leaders met at Harvard to discuss the latest advances in human gene sequencing and agreed that there is a distinct possibility that a fully synthetic human genome in the next decade.

It is estimated that the cost of developing each bit of a genetic code could cost approximately $90 million, quite reasonable, considering how priceless life itself is. And if a human can be built entirely from scratch, making that human perfect at something, like sports, seems like a logical step in the futuristic direction. All this is to say that the artificial generation of a perfect athlete does not seem as far-fetched as it once was.

But that begs the question: do we really want perfect synthetic athletes? Probably the biggest draw to watching sports is the story behind the story, or the human interest side of watching our favorite athletes or defeating our bitter rivals. With “perfect” artificial athletes, a very different but interesting dynamic would be created. Imagine 2 teams of synthetic athletes competing against each other, with formations, lineups, and plays dictated not by real human coaches, but by intelligent analytical devices. Some would say that is already happening today on many gaming devices. However, this would not be a gaming device. The synthetic super athletes would be very real, playing in real stadiums in front of real crowds.

A more likely scenario where real human athletes have artificial body parts such as knees, shoulders, or elbows that are far superior to their original limbs. The six million dollar man of yesteryear may arrive at some point in the future, but the price tag will be more like $60 million.

What I feel will happen is that the governing bodies of all major sports will have to closely monitor and regulate the use of artificial humans or real humans with artificial limbs and body parts. There will probably be separate leagues for real and artificial athletes. It would seem strange or unreasonable at this point to see a mix between the 2. Also, we’ve seen the uproar that ensues when real athletes today are arrested for using performance-enhancing drugs. Most of us still want to see “real” athletes compete at the highest levels as naturally as possible.

So be prepared that at some point in the next 20-30 years, artificial or cybernetic humans will be commonplace and we as humans will adapt to them just as we have adapted to so many other significant changes to the that we face