Evolutionary development is sometimes thought of as exhibiting an inexorable trend
towards higher, more complex, and normatively worthwhile forms of life. This paper
explores some dystopian scenarios where freewheeling evolutionary developments, while
continuing to produce complex and intelligent forms of organization, lead to the gradual
elimination of all forms of being that we care about. We then consider how such catastrophic
outcomes could be avoided and argue that under certain conditions the only possible
remedy would be a globally coordinated policy to control human evolution by modifying
the fitness function of future intelligent life forms.