A paper published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B is the first to systematically investigate aversion to “playing God” and link it to negative attitudes toward science and technology. Psychologists Adam Waytz and Liane Young found that the more a scientific procedure (such as genetic testing during pregnancy or cloning humans) is taken to involve “playing God,” the more likely it is to be judged as morally unacceptable, and its progress obstructed.

Waytz and Young argue that, at least in some cases, aversion to playing God and negative attitudes toward science and technology are not only correlated, but related causally, where the former drives the latter. They also argue that aversion to playing God could gravely hinder progress in areas such as reproductive technology, medicine, robotics, and artificial intelligence, where rapid technological advances are pushing the boundaries of what humans can achieve. This aversion could result in placing restrictions to research on gene editing in humans—which could prevent disease—or discouraging the widespread adoption of artificially intelligent agents in decision-making roles that could improve the efficient and equitable distribution of resources.

Which of the following, if true, would strengthen the main idea presented in this passage?