I visit the future for a living. Not just one future, but many possible futures, bringing back evidences from those futures for you to experience today. Like an archaeologist of the future. Over the years, my many journeys have brought back things like a new species of synthetically engineered bees; a book named, "Pets as Protein;" a machine that makes you rich by trading your genetic data; a lamp powered by sugar; a computer for growing food.
我靠造訪未來來為生。 不只是一個未來, 而是好幾個可能的未來, 從那些未來帶回證據, 讓你們今天能夠體驗。 我就像一位未來的考古學家。 多年來,我多趟的旅行 帶回來的東西包括 新品種人工合成的蜜蜂、 一本名為「以寵物作為蛋白質」的書、 一台透過買賣你的基因資料 來讓你致富的機器、 一盞以糖為能源的燈、 一台種糧食用的電腦。
OK, so I don't actually travel to different futures -- yet. But my husband Jon and I spend a lot of time thinking and creating visions of different futures in our studio. We are constantly looking out for weak signals, those murmurs of future potential. Then we trace those threads of potential out into the future, asking: What might it feel like to live in this future? What might we see, hear and even breathe? Then we run experiments, build prototypes, make objects, bringing aspects of these futures to life, making them concrete and tangible so you can really feel the impact of those future possibilities here and now. But this work is not about predictions. It's about creating tools -- tools that can help connect our present and our future selves so we become active participants in creating a future we want -- a future that works for all.
好吧,我其實無法旅行到 不同的未來,目前還無法。 但我和我的老公,強,花了很多時間 在我們的工作室裡思考 並創造不同未來的想法。 我們經常在尋找微弱的訊號, 即那些關於未來可能性的私語。 接著,我們追蹤這些可能性, 一路追蹤到未來,並問: 生活在這個未來裡的感覺會是如何? 我們可能會看到、聽到、 甚至呼吸到什麼? 接著,我們進行實驗、 建立原型、製作實物, 呈現這些未來的外觀, 讓這些未來的實體成形, 使你們當下得以在此感受到 這些未來可能帶來的衝擊。 但這並不是在做預測, 而是在創造工具, 能協助我們連結現在的自我 與未來的自我的工具, 使我們成為主動的參與者, 共同打造一個我們渴望的未來, 一個對大家而言都行得通的未來。
So how do we go about doing this? For a recent project called Drone Aviary, we were interested in exploring what it would mean to live with drones in our cities. Drones that have the power to see things we can't, to go places we can't and to do so with increasing autonomy. But to understand the technology, getting our hands dirty was crucial. So we built several different drones in our studio. We gave them names, functions and then flew them -- but not without difficulty. Things came loose, GPS signals glitched and drones crashed. But it was through such experimentation that we could construct a very concrete and very experiential slice of one possible future.
我們如何做呢? 近期有一個名為 「鳥舍無人機」的計畫, 我們想要探究的是 與無人機一同生活在城市的涵義。 無人機可以看見我們看不見的東西, 到達我們到達不了的地方, 且它們這麼做時還有著自主權。 但為了解這樣科技, 親自下海去做是很重要的。 所以我們在工作室裡 打造了幾架不同的無人機, 為它們命名,給它們功能, 並操作它們飛行。 但不是沒遇到困難,比如 有些東西會鬆掉、 GPS訊號故障、 還有無人機墜機。 但是就是透過這樣的實驗, 我們才能夠打造出 可能未來的其中一小部份, 具體且來自經驗的一小部份。
So now, let's go to that future. Let's imagine we are living in a city with drones like this one. We call it The Nightwatchman. It patrols the streets, often spotted in the evenings and at night. Initially, many of us were annoyed by its low, dull hum. But then, like everything else, we got used to it. Now, what if you could see the world through its eyes? See how it constantly logs every resident of our neighborhood; logging the kids who play football in the no-ballgame area and marking them as statutory nuisances.
所以,現在,我們前往那個未來吧。 想像我們與像這樣的無人機 一同住在一個城市中。 我們稱這台為「守夜者」。 它會在街上巡邏, 通常在傍晚和晚上可以看到它。 剛開始,很多人會覺得 它低沉單調的嗡嗡聲很惱人。 但和我們習慣其他的事物一樣, 接下來我們習慣了它。 假如你能夠透過它的眼睛 來看世界,會是怎樣的? 看看它如何不斷在記錄 我們街坊中的每位居民; 記錄在禁止球類運動區中 玩足球的那些孩子, 並將他們標記為法定滋擾者。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
And then see how it disperses this other group, who are teenagers, with the threat of an autonomously issued injunction. And then there's this giant floating disc called Madison. Its glaring presence is so overpowering, I can't help but stare at it. But if feels like each time I look at it, it knows a little more about me -- like it keeps flashing all these Brianair adverts at me, as if it knows about the holiday I'm planning. I'm not sure if I find this mildly entertaining or just entirely invasive.
然後看它如何驅散這群青少年, 靠的是威脅要自動簽發強制令。 還有這台名叫麥迪森的巨大飛碟。 它顯眼的存在給人壓迫感, 我忍不住盯著它看。 但感覺每當我多看它一眼, 它就多了解我一點。 就像它不斷對我呈現那些 Brianair 航空公司的廣告, 彷彿它知道我正規劃著假期一般。 我不太確定我的感受, 是有點好玩,還是全然被冒犯了。
Back to the present. In creating this future, we learned a lot. Not just about how these machines work, but what it would feel like to live alongside them. Whilst drones like Madison and Nightwatchman, in these particular forms, are not real yet, most elements of a drone future are in fact very real today. For instance, facial recognition systems are everywhere -- in our phones, even in our thermostats and in cameras around our cities -- keeping a record of everything we do, whether it's an advertisement we glanced at or a protest we attended. These things are here, and we often don't understand how they work, and what their consequences could be. And we see this all around us. This difficulty in even imagining how the consequences of our actions today will affect our future.
回到現在, 在創造這個未來時,我們學到很多。 不只學到這些機器如何運作, 也學到和它們一起生活的感受如何。 雖然無人機,特別是像麥迪森跟守夜者 這類形式的無人機, 尚未成真, 許多無人機的未來元素 在現今就非常真實了。 比如, 臉孔辨識系統到處可見, 在我們的手機上,甚至在溫度調節器 和城市各處無所不在的攝影機上 , 記錄著我們所做的每件事, 不論是我們看了一眼的廣告, 或是參與的抗議活動。 這些現今已然存在, 我們通常不了解它們如何運作, 也不知道它們會造成什麼後果。 在我們身邊處處可見。 難以想像 我們今天的行為 會如何影響我們的未來。
Last year, where I live, in the UK, there was a referendum where the people could vote for the UK to leave the EU or stay in the EU, popularly known as "Brexit." And soon after the results came out, a word began to surface called "Bregret" --
去年在我的居住地,英國, 有一場公民投票, 人民投票選擇是要英國脫離歐盟 或留在歐盟中, 一般稱為「英國脫歐(Brexit)」。 (註:Br 英國 + exit 脫離) 在結果出來之後不久, 「(英國後悔)Bregret」一詞出現了。 (註:Br 英國 + regret 後悔)
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
describing people who chose to vote for Brexit as a protest, but without thinking through its potential consequences. And this disconnect is evident in some of the simplest things. Say you go out for a quick drink. Then you decide you wouldn't mind a few more. You know you'll wake up in the morning feeling awful, but you justify it by saying, "The other me in the future will deal with that." But as we find out in the morning, that future "you" is you.
這詞被用來形容 投票贊成英國脫歐以示抗議, 卻但沒有想清楚 會造成什麼後果的那些人。 顯而易見的不一致性 出現在一些非常簡單的事物上。 比如,你出門想快速喝杯酒, 接著,你決定多喝幾杯, 明明知道隔天早上起床會很難受, 但你找了個理由,說: 「未來面對宿醉的是另一個我。」 但次日的早晨,我們發現 那個未來的「你」就是你本人。
When I was growing up in India in the late '70s and early '80s, there was a feeling that the future both needed to and could actually be planned. I remember my parents had to plan for some of the simplest things. When they wanted a telephone in our house, they needed to order it and then wait -- wait for nearly five years before it got installed in our house.
當我 70 年代末、80 年代初 在印度長大時, 有一種感覺,就是 未來需要被規劃, 而且確實能夠被規劃。 記得我父母必須規劃 一些最簡單的事。 想在家裡裝支電話, 他們需要先預訂,然後等待, 等了將近五年,我們家才裝了電話。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
And then if they wanted to call my grandparents who lived in another city, they needed to book something called a "trunk call," and then wait again, for hours or even days. And then abruptly, the phone would ring at two in the morning, and all of us would jump out of our beds and gather round the phone, shrieking into it, discussing general well-being at two in the morning.
如果他們想打電話 給我住在外地的祖父母, 他們需要訂購一種叫 「長途電話」的東西, 然後再等待,等幾小時甚至幾天。 可能在清晨兩點電話鈴突然響起, 我們所有人跳下床,圍著電話, 對著電話大喊,話家常, 清晨兩點鐘。
Today it can feel like things are happening too fast -- so fast, that it can become really difficult for us to form an understanding of our place in history. It creates an overwhelming sense of uncertainty and anxiety, and so, we let the future just happen to us. We don't connect with that future "us." We treat our future selves as a stranger, and the future as a foreign land. It's not a foreign land; it's unfolding right in front of us, continually being shaped by our actions today. We are that future, and so I believe fighting for a future we want is more urgent and necessary than ever before.
今天,感覺像是事物都發生得太快, 快到讓我們很難去 了解我們在歷史上的位置。 它會造成不可抵擋的 不確定感和焦慮感, 如此,我們容許未來 直接發生在我們的身上。 我們沒連結上「未來的我們」, 而是把未來的自己當作外人, 把未來當作異鄉。 未來不是異鄉, 它正在我們的面前展開, 不斷由我們現今的行為塑造成形。 我們就是那未來, 所以我相信為我們希求的未來而戰 比以往更為迫切。
We have learned in our work that one of the most powerful means of effecting change is when people can directly, tangibly and emotionally experience some of the future consequences of their actions today. Earlier this year, the government of the United Arab Emirates invited us to help them shape their country's energy strategy all the way up to 2050. Based on the government's econometric data, we created this large city model, and visualized many possible futures on it. As I was excitably taking a group of government officials and members of energy companies through one sustainable future on our model, one of the participants told me, "I cannot imagine that in the future people will stop driving cars and start using public transport." And then he said, "There's no way I can tell my own son to stop driving his car."
從實作中,我們學到 若要影響改變,最強大的手段之一 就是讓人們能夠直接地、 實質地,帶著情緒地 去體驗一些他們現今行為 所造成的未來後果。 今年年初,我們應 阿拉伯聯合大公國政府之邀, 去協助他們計畫該國的能源策略, 一直到 2050 年的策略。 根據該政府的計量經濟資料, 我們建立了這個大型城市模型, 將許多可能的未來 都視覺化呈現在其中。 當我很興奮地帶著一群政府官員 以及能源公司的成員 看過我們模型呈現的一個永續未來, 其中一位參與者告訴我: 「我無法想像未來人們不再開車, 開始改乘大眾交通工具。」 接著,他說: 「我不可能叫我兒子不再開車。」
But we were prepared for this reaction. Working with scientists in a chemistry lab in my home city in India, we had created approximate samples of what the air would be like in 2030 if our behavior stays the same. And so, I walked the group over to this object that emits vapor from those air samples. Just one whiff of the noxious polluted air from 2030 brought home the point that no amount of data can. This is not the future you would want your children to inherit. The next day, the government made a big announcement. They would be investing billions of dollars in renewables. We don't know what part our future experiences played in this decision, but we know that they've changed their energy policy to mitigate such a scenario.
但我們對這樣的反應早有準備, 我們和科學家合作,在我印度 家鄉城市的化學實驗室中, 創造出了近似的樣本, 來呈現如果我們的行為持續不變, 2030 年的空氣會是什麼樣子。 所以,我帶這群人走向這樣物品, 然後把那些空氣樣本釋放出來。 吸一口這 2030 年的 有害污染空氣, 比任何份量的數據更能指出重點。 這不是你希望你的孩子繼承的未來。 隔天,該政府做了一項重大宣佈, 他們將投入數十億元於再生能源上。 我們不知道我們的未來體驗 在這個決策中扮演了什麼角色, 但我們知道這些未來體驗 的確改變了他們的能源政策, 轉向試著緩和這個污染情況。
While something like air from the future is very effective and tangible, the trajectory from our present to a future consequence is not always so linear. Even when a technology is developed with utopian ideals, the moment it leaves the laboratory and enters the world, it is subject to forces outside of the creators' control. For one particular project, we investigated medical genomics: the technology of gathering and using people's genetic data to create personalized medicine. We were asking: What are some of the unintended consequences of linking our genetics to health care? To explore this question further, we created a fictional lawsuit, and brought it to life through 31 pieces of carefully crafted evidence. So we built an illegal genetic clinic, a DIY carbon dioxide incubator, and even bought frozen mice on eBay.
雖然來自未來的空氣 是非常有效且有形的, 從我們現今對應到未來後果的軌道 不見得都是這麼線性的。 即使是根據烏托邦理想 而開發出來的科技, 當它離開實驗室,進入真實世界, 它就要面臨其創造者 無法控制的外在力量, 在一個特別的專案中, 我們研究了醫學的基因組學: 這項技術收集和使用人的基因資料, 來創造個人化的藥物。 我們問: 連結我們的基因組學與健康照護 會有什麼未預期的後果? 為了進一步探究這個問題, 我們創造了一個虛構的法律訴訟, 用 31 個細心製作的證據 讓它活起來, 我們建立了一所非法的基因診所, 以及自製的二氧化碳恆溫箱, 甚至從 eBay 買了冰凍老鼠。
So now let's go to that future where this lawsuit is unfolding, and meet the defendant, Arnold Mann. Arnold is being prosecuted by this global giant biotech company called Dynamic Genetics, because they have evidence that Arnold has illegally inserted the company's patented genetic material into his body. How on earth did Arnold manage to do that? Well, it all started when Arnold was asked to submit a saliva sample in this spit kit to the NHI -- the UK's National Health Insurance service. When Arnold received his health insurance bill, he was shocked and scared to see that his premiums had gone through the roof, beyond anything he or his family could ever afford.
現在我們前往未來, 去看看這個訴訟如何展開, 以及看這被告,阿諾曼恩。 一間大型的生技公司控告阿諾, 公司名叫 Dynamic Genetics (直譯:動態遺傳學)。 因為他們有證據顯示 阿諾的身體非法植入了 該公司握有的專利基因素材。 到底阿諾是怎麼做到的? 嗯,一切源於 阿諾被要求交出一盒唾液樣本 給 NHI, 英國的國家健康保險服務。 當阿諾收到健康保險帳單時, 他很驚訝和害怕, 因為他發現他的保險費飆高, 遠超過他或他的家人能負擔的金額。
The state's algorithm had scanned his genetic data and found the risk of a chronic health condition lurking in his DNA. And so Arnold had to start paying toward the potential costs of that future disease -- potential future disease from today. In that moment of fear and panic, Arnold slipped through the city into the dark shadows of this illegal clinic for treatment -- a treatment that would modify his DNA so that the state's algorithm would no longer see him as a risk, and his insurance premiums would become affordable again. But Arnold was caught. And the legal proceedings in the case Dynamic Genetics v. Mann began.
國家的演算法掃瞄了他的基因資料, 發現有慢性健康問題的風險 潛伏在他的 DNA 中。 所以阿諾得要開始支付 那未來潛在疾病的治療成本, 那是現在來看有可能 在未來發生的疾病。 在那恐懼和慌張的時刻, 阿諾悄悄穿過城市, 到一間非法診所暗中治療, 修正他的 DNA, 讓國家演算法不再判讀他存在風險, 而保險費降回負擔得起的金額。 但阿諾被逮到, Dynamic Genetics 公司 對付阿諾曼恩的法律訴訟開始了 。
In bringing such a future to life, what was important to us was that people could actually touch, see and feel its potential, because such an immediate and close encounter provokes people to ask the right questions, questions like: What are the implications of living in a world where I'm judged on my genetics? Or: Who might claim ownership to my genetic data, and what might they do with it? If this feels even slightly out-there or farfetched, today there's a little-known bill being passed through the American congress known as HR 1313, Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act. This bill proposes to amend the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, popularly known as GINA, and would allow employers to ask about family medical history and genetic data to all employees for the first time. Those who refuse would face large penalties.
在呈現出未來的時候, 對我們很重要的一點, 是人們要真的能觸碰、 看見、感受到這個未來的可能性, 因為這種立即且親密的接觸, 會使人們正確提問, 比如這樣的問題: 居住在一個由基因判斷人的世界 有什麼意涵? 或,誰能擁有我的基因資料 和會用這些資料做什麼? 如果你覺得這有點牽強, 現今,有個鮮少人知道的法案 正處於美國國會的審查流程中, 叫做 HR 1313, 維護員工健康專案法。 法案的內容是要修正 非歧視基因資訊法, 通稱 GINA, 它允許僱主詢問其所有員工的 家庭醫療病史以及基因資料, 史上頭一回。 拒絕提供資料的員工將面臨重罰。
In the work I've shown so far, whether it was drones or genetic crimes, these stories describe troubling futures with the intention of helping us avoid those futures. But what about what we can't avoid? Today, especially with climate change, it looks like we are heading for trouble. And so what we want to do now is to prepare for that future by developing tools and attitudes that can help us find hope -- hope that can inspire action.
在我目前已經展現出來的內容中, 不論是無人機或基因犯罪, 這些故事都在描述讓人困擾的未來, 故事目的是在協助我們 避免發生這些未來。 但對我們無法避免的,要如何是好? 現今看來,氣候變遷尤其 使我們面臨困境。 因此我們現在要為未來做準備, 我們可以發展工具和備好態度 來協助我們找到希望, 找到能夠激發行動的希望。
Currently, we are running an experiment in our studio. It's a work in progress. Based on climate data projections, we are exploring a future where the Western world has moved from abundance to scarcity. We imagine living in a future city with repeated flooding, periods with almost no food in supermarkets, economic instabilities, broken supply chains. What can we do to not just survive, but prosper in such a world? What food can we eat?
目前,我們工作室正進行一項實驗, 正朝著目標前進。 根據氣候資料預測, 在我們正探究的未來中, 西方世界已經從充足變為匱乏。 想像我們居住在洪水 不斷重覆泛濫成災的未來城市中, 超市裡幾乎沒有食物, 經濟不穩定, 供應鏈支離破碎。 在這樣的世界裡,如果不只要生存, 還要繁榮,我們能做些什麼? 我們能吃什麼食物?
To really step inside these questions, we are building this room in a flat in London from 2050. It's like a little time capsule that we reclaimed from the future. We stripped it down to the bare minimum. Everything we lovingly put in our homes, like flat-panel TVs, internet-connected fridges and artisanal furnishings all had to go. And in its place, we're building food computers from abandoned, salvaged and repurposed materials, turning today's waste into tomorrow's dinner. For instance, we've just finished building our first fully automated fogponics machine. It uses the technique of fogponics -- so just fog as a nutrient, not even water or soil -- to grow things quickly. At the moment, we have successfully grown tomatoes. But we'll need more food than what we can grow in this small room. So what else could we forage from the city? Insects? Pigeons? Foxes?
為了真正探究這些問題, 我們正在倫敦的一間公寓裡 建造這個 2050 年的房間。 它像是我們回收自未來的時空膠囊。 我們將它減至最精簡。 家中我們深愛並擺放的一切, 比如平板電視、 有網路連線的冰箱、 以及工藝傢俱, 都得除掉。 取而代之,我們建立了食物電腦, 用的是被棄的廢料, 以及改變用途再利用的材料, 將今天的垃圾轉為明日的晚餐。 比如, 我們才剛建好第一個全自動霧耕機, 用霧耕的技術, 也就是只用霧氣當作養份, 甚至不用水或土, 來快速種植栽培。 此刻, 我們已經成功種出了蕃茄。 但我們需要的食物量 遠超過這小房間中種得出來的。 所以我們還能從城市中 搜索到什麼來做糧秣? 昆蟲?鴿子?狐狸?
Earlier, we brought back air from the future. This time we are bringing an entire room from the future, a room full of hope, tools and tactics to create positive action in hostile conditions. Spending time in this room, a room that could be our own future home, makes the consequences of climate change and food insecurity much more immediate and tangible.
先前,我們帶回了未來的空氣。 這次,我們要把整個房間 從未來帶回現在, 這個房間中滿是希望、工具和戰術, 用來在惡劣條件下創造正面的行動。 花時間在這間 我們未來可能的家裡面, 把氣候改變和糧食不安全的後果 變得更直接、更具體。
What we're learning through such experiments and our practice and the people we engage with is that creating concrete experiences can bridge the disconnect between today and tomorrow. By putting ourselves into different possible futures, by becoming open and willing to embrace the uncertainty and discomfort that such an act can bring, we have the opportunity to imagine new possibilities. We can find optimistic futures; we can find paths forward; we can move beyond hope into action. It means we have the chance to change direction, a chance to have our voices heard, a chance to write ourselves into a future we want. Other worlds are possible.
我們從這類的實驗、 實作,以及參與的人中學到: 創造出具體的實驗 能架起連結今日和明日之間的橋樑。 透過把我們自己放入 不同的可能未來中, 透過變得開放且願意 擁抱這類行為可能會帶來的 不確定性和不舒服, 我們就有機會能想像出新的可能性。 我們能夠找到樂觀的未來; 我們能夠找到向前的路; 我們能超越僅僅希望的層面, 真正開始行動。 這意味著,我們有機會改變方向, 有機會讓我們的聲音被聽見, 有機會將我們自己 寫入我們想要的未來當中。 其他的世界是有可能的。
Thank you.
謝謝大家。
(Applause)
(掌聲)