0:00:13.460,0:00:15.436
What if our plants

0:00:15.460,0:00:18.156
could sense the toxicity[br]levels in the soil

0:00:18.180,0:00:21.220
and express that toxicity[br]through the color of its leaves?

0:00:22.419,0:00:25.739
What if those plants could also[br]remove those toxins from the soil?

0:00:27.260,0:00:29.356
Instead, what if those plants

0:00:29.380,0:00:31.236
grew their own packaging,

0:00:32.740,0:00:35.316
or were designed to only be harvested

0:00:35.340,0:00:37.596
by their owners' own patented machines?

0:00:39.200,0:00:41.096
What happens when biological design

0:00:41.120,0:00:44.656
is driven by the motivations[br]of mass-produced commodities?

0:00:44.680,0:00:46.280
What kind of world would that be?

0:00:48.400,0:00:52.416
My name is Ani, and I'm a designer[br]and researcher at MIT Media Lab,

0:00:52.440,0:00:56.576
where I'm part of a relatively new[br]and unique group called Design Fiction,

0:00:56.600,0:01:00.696
where we're wedged somewhere[br]between science fiction and science fact.

0:01:01.440,0:01:05.194
And at MIT, I am lucky enough[br]to rub shoulders with scientists

0:01:05.218,0:01:07.195
studying all kinds of cutting edge fields

0:01:07.219,0:01:09.512
like synthetic neurobiology,

0:01:09.536,0:01:11.553
artificial intelligence, artificial life

0:01:11.577,0:01:13.313
and everything in between.

0:01:14.370,0:01:18.186
And across campus,[br]there's truly brilliant scientists

0:01:18.210,0:01:21.706
asking questions like,[br]"How can I make the world a better place?"

0:01:21.730,0:01:24.626
And part of what my group[br]likes to ask is, "What is better?"

0:01:25.550,0:01:27.646
What is better for you, for me,

0:01:27.670,0:01:29.806
for a white woman, a gay man,

0:01:29.830,0:01:32.326
a veteran, a child with a prosthetic?

0:01:33.700,0:01:35.756
Technology is never neutral.

0:01:35.780,0:01:37.436
It frames a reality

0:01:37.460,0:01:39.236
and reflects a context.

0:01:39.260,0:01:42.996
Can you imagine what it would say[br]about the work-life balance at your office

0:01:43.020,0:01:45.196
if these were standard issue[br]on the first day?

0:01:45.220,0:01:46.636
(Laughter)

0:01:47.460,0:01:49.716
I believe it's the role[br]of artists and designers

0:01:49.740,0:01:51.876
to raise critical questions.

0:01:51.900,0:01:54.316
Art is how you can see[br]and feel the future,

0:01:56.080,0:01:58.536
and today is an exciting[br]time to be a designer,

0:01:58.560,0:02:00.696
for all the new tools becoming accessible.

0:02:00.920,0:02:02.496
For instance, synthetic biology

0:02:02.520,0:02:05.416
seeks to write biology[br]as a design problem.

0:02:06.250,0:02:07.786
And through these developments,

0:02:07.810,0:02:10.746
my lab asks, what are the roles[br]and responsibilities

0:02:10.770,0:02:15.106
of an artist, designer,[br]scientist or businessman?

0:02:15.130,0:02:16.666
What are the implications

0:02:16.690,0:02:19.426
of synthetic biology, genetic engineering,

0:02:19.450,0:02:24.351
and how are they shaping our notions[br]of what it means to be a human?

0:02:24.890,0:02:28.186
What are the implications of this[br]on society, on evolution

0:02:28.210,0:02:30.786
and what are the stakes in this game?

0:02:32.050,0:02:35.051
My own speculative design research[br]at the current moment

0:02:35.075,0:02:36.586
plays with synthetic biology,

0:02:36.610,0:02:38.669
but for more emotionally driven output.

0:02:39.250,0:02:42.026
I'm obsessed with olfaction[br]as a design space,

0:02:42.050,0:02:45.065
and this project started with this idea

0:02:45.089,0:02:48.479
of what if you could take[br]a smell selfie, a smelfie?

0:02:48.503,0:02:49.977
(Laughter)

0:02:50.001,0:02:52.660
What if you could take[br]your own natural body odor

0:02:52.684,0:02:54.740
and send it to a lover?

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Funny enough, I found that this[br]was a 19th century Austrian tradition,

0:02:59.210,0:03:01.826
where couples in courtship[br]would keep a slice of apple

0:03:01.850,0:03:04.426
crammed under their armpit during dances,

0:03:04.450,0:03:05.986
and at the end of the evening,

0:03:06.010,0:03:09.386
the girl would give the guy[br]she most fancied her used fruit,

0:03:09.410,0:03:11.586
and if the feeling was mutual,

0:03:11.610,0:03:13.546
he would wolf down that stinky apple.

0:03:13.570,0:03:18.526
(Laughter)

0:03:18.550,0:03:22.946
Famously, Napoleon wrote[br]many love letters to Josephine,

0:03:22.970,0:03:27.226
but perhaps amongst the most memorable[br]is this brief and urgent note:

0:03:27.250,0:03:29.466
"Home in three days. Don't bathe."

0:03:29.490,0:03:31.546
(Laughter)

0:03:33.370,0:03:35.530
Both Napoleon and Josephine[br]adored violets.

0:03:36.560,0:03:38.696
Josephine wore violet-scented perfume,

0:03:38.720,0:03:40.536
carried violets on their wedding day,

0:03:40.560,0:03:42.575
and Napoleon sent her a bouquet of violets

0:03:42.599,0:03:44.136
every year on their anniversary.

0:03:44.890,0:03:46.766
When Josephine passed away,

0:03:46.790,0:03:48.366
he planted violets at her grave,

0:03:48.390,0:03:50.206
and just before his exile,

0:03:50.230,0:03:52.366
he went back to that tomb site,

0:03:52.390,0:03:55.046
picked some of those flowers,[br]entombed them in a locket

0:03:55.070,0:03:56.806
and wore them until the day he died.

0:03:56.830,0:03:58.366
And I found this so moving,

0:03:58.390,0:04:02.286
I thought, could I engineer that violet[br]to smell just like Josephine?

0:04:02.930,0:04:04.586
What if, for the rest of eternity,

0:04:04.610,0:04:06.186
when you went to visit her site,

0:04:06.210,0:04:09.466
you could smell Josephine[br]just as Napoleon loved her?

0:04:09.490,0:04:11.906
Could we engineer new ways of mourning,

0:04:11.930,0:04:14.026
new rituals for remembering?

0:04:14.500,0:04:17.196
After all, we've engineered[br]transgenic crops

0:04:17.220,0:04:19.356
to be maximized for profit,

0:04:19.380,0:04:21.516
crops that stand up to transport,

0:04:21.540,0:04:23.476
crops that have a long shelf life,

0:04:23.500,0:04:25.956
crops that taste sugary sweet[br]but resist pests,

0:04:25.980,0:04:29.396
sometimes at the expense[br]of nutritional value.

0:04:29.420,0:04:33.996
Can we harness these same technologies[br]for an emotionally sensitive output?

0:04:34.870,0:04:36.166
So currently in my lab,

0:04:36.190,0:04:39.486
I'm researching questions like,[br]what makes a human smell like a human?

0:04:39.510,0:04:41.826
And it turns out it's fairly complicated.

0:04:41.850,0:04:45.066
Factors such as your diet,[br]your medications, your lifestyle

0:04:45.090,0:04:47.106
all factor into the way you smell.

0:04:48.370,0:04:50.906
And I found that our sweat[br]is mostly odorless,

0:04:50.930,0:04:53.065
but it's our bacteria and microbiome

0:04:53.089,0:04:56.826
that's responsible for your smells,[br]your mood, your identity

0:04:56.850,0:04:58.466
and so much beyond.

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And there's all kinds[br]of molecules that you emit

0:05:00.810,0:05:03.090
but which we only perceive subconsciously.

0:05:04.250,0:05:06.586
So I've been cataloging and collecting

0:05:06.610,0:05:08.786
bacteria from different sites of my body.

0:05:08.810,0:05:10.786
After talking to a scientist, we thought,

0:05:10.810,0:05:12.506
maybe the perfect concoction of Ani

0:05:12.530,0:05:16.506
is like 10 percent collarbone,[br]30 percent underarm,

0:05:16.530,0:05:18.626
40 percent bikini line and so forth,

0:05:18.650,0:05:21.706
and occasionally[br]I let researchers from other labs

0:05:21.730,0:05:23.386
take a sniff of my samples.

0:05:23.410,0:05:26.586
And it's been interesting to hear[br]how smell of the body

0:05:26.610,0:05:29.426
is perceived outside[br]of the context of the body.

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I've gotten feedback such as,

0:05:31.650,0:05:34.106
smells like flowers, like chicken,

0:05:34.130,0:05:35.346
like cornflakes,

0:05:35.370,0:05:36.826
like beef carnitas.

0:05:36.850,0:05:38.746
(Laughter)

0:05:38.970,0:05:42.586
At the same time, I cultivate[br]a set of carnivorous plants

0:05:42.610,0:05:46.266
for their ability to emit[br]fleshlike odors to attract prey,

0:05:46.290,0:05:49.106
in an attempt to kind of create[br]this symbiotic relationship

0:05:49.130,0:05:52.050
between my bacteria and this organism.

0:05:53.250,0:05:55.906
And as it so happens,[br]I'm at MIT and I'm in a bar,

0:05:55.930,0:05:58.226
and I was talking to a scientist

0:05:58.250,0:06:00.626
who happens to be a chemist[br]and a plant scientist,

0:06:00.650,0:06:02.546
and I was telling him about my project,

0:06:02.570,0:06:05.706
and he was like, "Well, this sounds[br]like botany for lonely women."

0:06:05.730,0:06:08.746
(Laughter)

0:06:08.770,0:06:11.437
Unperturbed, I said, "OK."

0:06:11.461,0:06:12.678
I challenged him.

0:06:12.702,0:06:15.026
"Can we engineer a plant[br]that can love me back?"

0:06:15.050,0:06:17.806
And for some reason,[br]he was like, "Sure, why not?"

0:06:17.830,0:06:20.766
So we started with,[br]can we get a plant to grow towards me

0:06:20.790,0:06:22.246
like I was the sun?

0:06:22.270,0:06:25.906
And so we're looking at mechanisms[br]in plants such as phototropism,

0:06:25.930,0:06:28.106
which causes the plant[br]to grow towards the sun

0:06:28.130,0:06:29.905
by producing hormones like auxin,

0:06:29.929,0:06:32.585
which causes cell elongation[br]on the shady side.

0:06:32.990,0:06:35.126
And right now I'm creating[br]a set of lipsticks

0:06:35.150,0:06:37.366
that are infused with these chemicals

0:06:37.390,0:06:41.046
that allow me to interact with a plant[br]on its own chemical signatures --

0:06:41.070,0:06:44.486
lipsticks that cause plants[br]to grow where I kiss it,

0:06:44.510,0:06:47.246
plants that blossom[br]where I kiss the bloom.

0:06:48.100,0:06:50.876
And through these projects,

0:06:50.900,0:06:52.415
I'm asking questions like,

0:06:52.439,0:06:54.036
how do we define nature?

0:06:54.060,0:06:57.596
How do we define nature[br]when we can reengineer its properties,

0:06:57.620,0:06:59.107
and when should we do it?

0:06:59.131,0:07:02.441
Should we do it for profit, for utility?

0:07:02.465,0:07:04.161
Can we do it for emotional ends?

0:07:05.600,0:07:09.776
Can biotechnology be used[br]to create work as moving as music?

0:07:09.800,0:07:11.696
What are the thresholds between science

0:07:11.720,0:07:14.560
and its ability to shape[br]our emotional landscape?

0:07:15.380,0:07:19.156
It's a famous design mantra[br]that form follows function.

0:07:19.180,0:07:23.236
Well, now, wedged somewhere[br]between science, design and art

0:07:23.260,0:07:24.476
I get to ask,

0:07:24.500,0:07:25.956
what if fiction informs fact?

0:07:25.980,0:07:28.036
What kind of R&D lab would that look like

0:07:28.060,0:07:30.676
and what kind of questions[br]would we ask together?

0:07:32.330,0:07:34.666
We often look to technology as the answer,

0:07:34.690,0:07:36.226
but as an artist and designer,

0:07:36.250,0:07:38.746
I like to ask, but what is the question?

0:07:38.770,0:07:39.986
Thank you.

0:07:40.010,0:07:47.010
(Applause)