Earlier quoted context omitted.
Unintended consequences still manage to arise most of the time when people think they can play god and mess with nature in that way. Until relatively recently, people didn't even know that hummingbirds relied heavily on eating small insects like mosquitos rather than just drinking nectar. Undoubtedly there are many things like that which we simply aren't aware of.
I've never understood this argument. We have been "playing god" since we settled down 10,000 years ago and started practicing agriculture. The ways in which we selectively cultivate/breed plants/animals have do doubt caused major changes in ecosystems. Yet, if we had not done those things, we probably would not be here today. Furthermore, where do you draw the line? We are very close to eradicating the polio virus. D…
There's a huge difference between any virus and an organism which plays a role in a super complex ecosystem (and our food chain) we don't entirely understand.
Likewise, there is a difference between playing god in a self-contained environment like a farm, but which is not the case with the wider environment.
Yes, humans have driven many species to extinction but I think in retrospect this would have been inadvisable.