Genetics can be associated with one's behavior and health -- from the willingness to take risks, and how long one stays in school, to chances of developing Alzheimer's disease and breast cancer. Although our fate is surely not written in our genes, corporations may still find genetic data valuable for risk assessment and business profits, according to a perspective article.
"And for that reason, people have said, 'we don't need to worry about companies wanting to use this information at the individual level because it's not very informative,'" says economist and co-corresponding author Nicholas Papageorge of Johns Hopkins University."Well, that's not exactly true. Firms operate under a lot of uncertainty and any little bit of information that they have about you is worthwhile.
For example, financial service companies may develop products that reduce financial decision-making burdens or offer error monitoring services for people at high polygenic risk of Alzheimer's."But I do think it's fair to say the burden is on the firm to explicate and help develop appropriate guardrails to prevent nefarious uses."
"I don't think people realize that when they give up their genetic information today, they're not giving it up just for today; they're giving it up forever," says Papageorge."When there's new science, they know a little bit more about you."Chicago