Dogs get a genetic upgrade, but only if they pass the test
A startup is cloning and editing military dogs to avoid the risk of failure.
The story
A $200 million startup, Warhound, aims to clone and genetically enhance military working dogs to address supply chain issues, with no signed contracts yet.
Source: fortune.com
Our reading
Warhound’s plan to clone and gene-edit military dogs is a bizarre but oddly logical extension of corporate efficiency. The company wants to eliminate the risk of a dog failing training by cloning only the best ones, but the real kicker is that they’re also editing out genetic diseases—like the ones that make dogs sad and untrained. It’s not just about making better dogs; it’s about making sure they don’t fail in the first place. The military is already spending twice as much as it should to get a single working dog, so why not just make the perfect one from the start? The idea that a dog’s performance can be optimized like a software update is both unsettling and oddly relatable. After all, who hasn’t wanted to reboot their pet’s personality?
