But there may be ways to administer the moral enhancement to the relevant populations, without those populations knowing about the enhancement. The method of delivery would depend on the mechanism of action of the enhancement, but one possible way of distributing it to the relevant populations is by way of the public water supply. Another way it could be distributed is by packaging it with various vaccines, while eliminating most exceptions. Or perhaps it could be distributed through forced air systems in public buildings, or some combination of these.
There are of course members of the population that don’t use public water, don’t get vaccinated, and don’t visit public buildings. For example, there are many people in rural areas who get all of their water from wells drilled into natural aquifers. These people wouldn’t regularly come into contact with the public water supply. But they would still spend time in public places or get vaccinated, both opportunities to receive the enhancement.
There are still individuals who never use public water, never get vaccinated, and never go out in public. And if the enhancement were only administered through these channels, such individuals would never receive the enhancement. The threat of ultimate harm is greater now than it has been because people now have greater access to information and materials that are capable of triggering ultimate harm, such as advancing technologies or widespread use of fossil fuels. People who refrain from public services may not have widespread access to the information and materials that make ultimate harm a threat. There are large segments of the human population who lack access to utilities, vaccinations, or public services of any kind. And if these are the channels of distribution, then these segments of the population will not receive the enhancement. But these segments of the population aren’t the ones who increase the threat of ultimate harm—they not only lack access to public services, but also to the information and materials that make ultimate harm a threat. In some cases individuals in these segments could travel to places where the information and materials are accessible, but in so doing they would be traveling to a place with, and very likely use, public services, and would receive the enhancement. It’s the bad actor with access to a published recipe for bird flu and the intelligence and infrastructure to produce it or the person who consumes the resources which contribute to climate change that we have to worry about, rather than a member of a recently discovered Amazonian tribe or someone who never engages with the public.
Though the methods of distribution described above occur by way of public utilities or public spaces, there is no implication that the administration of a covert moral enhancement must be a matter of public policy. Governments and bureaucrats are possible administrators, but the argument doesn’t require that a covert program be carried out by any particular individual or group. A covert program would indeed require excellent coordination and control to not only maximize the number of people who receive enhanced moral capacities but also to maintain secrecy. Such coordination is not logically impossible, not metaphysically impossible, and not even practically impossible. It may even be easier to administer than other attempts at secrecy, if the administrators themselves are being enhanced, as their moral motivation to maintain secrecy may be stronger than it otherwise would be. Keeping a covert program covert would be a challenging obstacle. But just because it would be a challenging obstacle doesn’t mean that my argument is unsound.