Smelfies, and other experiments in synthetic biology | Ani Liu

翻译人员: Conway Ye 校对人员: 宇飞 郑

What if our plants

如果我们的植物

could sense the toxicity levels in the soil

能够感觉到土壤中的毒性强弱，

and express that toxicity through the color of its leaves?

并通过叶子的颜色来表示毒性强弱。

What if those plants could also remove those toxins from the soil?

如果这些植物还能够把毒素从土壤中移除？

Instead, what if those plants

或者，如果那些植物

grew their own packaging,

生长自己的包装，

or were designed to only be harvested

或者只能被所有者的专利机器收割。

by their owners' own patented machines?

What happens when biological design

当生物设计是被大批量产品所驱使

is driven by the motivations of mass-produced commodities?

事情会是怎样？

What kind of world would that be?

那样的世界会是怎么样？

My name is Ani, and I'm a designer and researcher at MIT Media Lab,

我的名字是安妮，我是MIT媒体实验室 的一个设计师和研究人员，

where I'm part of a relatively new and unique group called Design Fiction,

我是新成立的组织“虚构设计”的一员，

where we're wedged somewhere between science fiction and science fact.

我们挤在科幻和科学之间。

And at MIT, I am lucky enough to rub shoulders with scientists

在MIT，我很幸运能够和在最先进领域

studying all kinds of cutting edge fields

像人工神经学、人工智能、人工生活

like synthetic neurobiology,

artificial intelligence, artificial life

等等等等领域研究的科学家比肩。

and everything in between.

And across campus, there's truly brilliant scientists

校园里，有很多聪明的科学家

asking questions like, "How can I make the world a better place?"

问像“我们如何让世界变的更好？”这样的问题。

And part of what my group likes to ask is, "What is better?"

我的团队喜欢问的，是“什么是更好？”

What is better for you, for me,

“更好”对于你，对于我，

for a white woman, a gay man,

对于一个白人女士，一个同性恋男人，

a veteran, a child with a prosthetic?

一个退役军人，一个有假体的孩子是什么？

Technology is never neutral.

科技永远都不是中性的。

It frames a reality

它搭建现实的框架，

and reflects a context.

反射社会背景。

Can you imagine what it would say about the work-life balance at your office

你能够想象如果这是 你工作第一天的常见问题，

if these were standard issue on the first day?

你在办公室的生活和工作的平衡会是怎样的吗？

(Laughter)

I believe it's the role of artists and designers

（笑声）

我相信是艺术家和设计师的责任，

to raise critical questions.

来提出批判性问题。

Art is how you can see and feel the future,

艺术是你能够看见和感受未来的方式，

and today is an exciting time to be a designer,

现在成为一个设计师是很激动人心的，

for all the new tools becoming accessible.

因为新的工具变的容易获取。

For instance, synthetic biology

比如，人工生物学

seeks to write biology as a design problem.

把生物学变成一个设计学。

And through these developments,

通过这些发展，

my lab asks, what are the roles and responsibilities

我的实验室问：作为一个艺术家、 设计师、科学家或者商人

of an artist, designer, scientist or businessman?

的角色和责任？

What are the implications

人工生物学、基因工程的含义是什么？

of synthetic biology, genetic engineering,

and how are they shaping our notions of what it means to be a human?

以及它们是如何改变 我们作为人类的概念？

What are the implications of this on society, on evolution

这对我们的社会、 进化论的影响是什么？

and what are the stakes in this game?

这其中有哪些利害关系

My own speculative design research at the current moment

我的现在的臆想设计实验

plays with synthetic biology,

和人工生物学有关，

but for more emotionally driven output.

但是更和情感的表达有关。

I'm obsessed with olfaction as a design space,

我痴迷于对气味的设计，

and this project started with this idea

这个项目开始于一个主意：

of what if you could take a smell selfie, a smelfie?

如果你能够有一个气味自拍？

(Laughter)

（笑声）

What if you could take your own natural body odor

如果你能够提取你的自然体味

and send it to a lover?

并发给一个爱人？

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

很好笑的是，我发现这是奥地利 19世纪的一个传统，

where couples in courtship would keep a slice of apple

情侣在求爱期会在跳舞时

crammed under their armpit during dances,

把一片苹果放在他们的腋下，

and at the end of the evening,

在晚上快结束时，

the girl would give the guy she most fancied her used fruit,

女孩会把用过的水果送给她最喜欢的男孩

and if the feeling was mutual,

如果感情是相互的，

he would wolf down that stinky apple.

他会吃掉那个有气味的苹果。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Famously, Napoleon wrote many love letters to Josephine,

拿破仑给约瑟芬写了一份情书，

but perhaps amongst the most memorable is this brief and urgent note:

但是可能情书中最值得记住的 是这个简短迫切的话：

"Home in three days. Don't bathe."

“三天内到家。不要洗澡。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Both Napoleon and Josephine adored violets.

拿破仑和约瑟芬都喜欢紫罗兰。

Josephine wore violet-scented perfume,

约瑟芬用紫罗兰味道的香水，

carried violets on their wedding day,

在婚礼当天戴紫罗兰花，

and Napoleon sent her a bouquet of violets

拿破仑每年在纪念日

every year on their anniversary.

都会送她一束紫罗兰。

When Josephine passed away,

当约瑟芬去世的时候，

he planted violets at her grave,

他在她的坟墓上种了紫罗兰，

and just before his exile,

在他被驱逐前，

he went back to that tomb site,

他回到她的坟墓，

picked some of those flowers, entombed them in a locket

捡起一些花朵，放在项链坠内

and wore them until the day he died.

并戴到他去世的那一天。

And I found this so moving,

我觉得这非常感人，

I thought, could I engineer that violet to smell just like Josephine?

我想，我能够改变那朵紫罗兰， 让它闻起来像约瑟芬吗？

What if, for the rest of eternity,

如果，在未来，

when you went to visit her site,

你去拜访她的坟墓，

you could smell Josephine just as Napoleon loved her?

你能够闻到约瑟芬， 就像拿破仑那样爱她吗？

Could we engineer new ways of mourning,

我们能够创造吊唁的新方式，

new rituals for remembering?

新的记忆的仪式吗？

After all, we've engineered transgenic crops

毕竟我们已经创造了转基因庄稼，

to be maximized for profit,

来最大化收益，

crops that stand up to transport,

能够承受住运输的庄稼，

crops that have a long shelf life,

有长保质期的庄稼，

crops that taste sugary sweet but resist pests,

吃起来很甜但是抵抗害虫的庄稼，

sometimes at the expense of nutritional value.

有的时候以营养价值为代价。

Can we harness these same technologies for an emotionally sensitive output?

我们能够有同样的科技， 为了情感的表达吗？

So currently in my lab,

所以现在在我的实验室里，

I'm researching questions like, what makes a human smell like a human?

我在研究像 “什么让人类 闻起来像人类？”这样的问题。

And it turns out it's fairly complicated.

结果，这挺复杂的。

Factors such as your diet, your medications, your lifestyle

你的饮食，你的药物和 你的生活方式等等因素

all factor into the way you smell.

都影响你的气味。

And I found that our sweat is mostly odorless,

我发现我们的汗绝大多数是无味的，

but it's our bacteria and microbiome

但是是我们的细菌和微生物

that's responsible for your smells, your mood, your identity

产生了我们的气味、我们的心情、

and so much beyond.

我们的身份等等。

And there's all kinds of molecules that you emit

你释放出非常多种分子

but which we only perceive subconsciously.

被我们无意间接收。

So I've been cataloging and collecting

所以我一直在分类和收集

bacteria from different sites of my body.

我身体不同部分的细菌。

After talking to a scientist, we thought,

在与一个科学家的谈话后，我们想，

maybe the perfect concoction of Ani

安妮最好的混合体可能是

is like 10 percent collarbone, 30 percent underarm,

10%的锁骨，30%的腋下，

40 percent bikini line and so forth,

40%比基尼线等等，

and occasionally I let researchers from other labs

偶尔，我让其他实验室的研究人员

take a sniff of my samples.

闻闻我的样本。

And it's been interesting to hear how smell of the body

身体的气味是如何在身体外被接收的

is perceived outside of the context of the body.

一直让我觉得有兴趣。

I've gotten feedback such as,

我听过反馈，

smells like flowers, like chicken,

像闻起来像花朵，像鸡，

like cornflakes,

像脆玉米片，

like beef carnitas.

像墨西哥玉米牛肉卷。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

At the same time, I cultivate a set of carnivorous plants

同时，我种植了一系列食肉植物，

for their ability to emit fleshlike odors to attract prey,

因为他们能够释放 像动物一样的气味来吸引猎物，

in an attempt to kind of create this symbiotic relationship

创造这种共生的关系，

between my bacteria and this organism.

在我的细菌和这个生物之间。

And as it so happens, I'm at MIT and I'm in a bar,

当这发生的时候， 我在MIT，我在一个酒吧里，

and I was talking to a scientist

我在和一个科学家说话，

who happens to be a chemist and a plant scientist,

他正好是一个化学家和植物学家，

and I was telling him about my project,

我在跟他说关于我的项目，

and he was like, "Well, this sounds like botany for lonely women."

他回答：“好吧，这听起来 像是一个孤独的女人的园艺。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Unperturbed, I said, "OK."

镇定地，我说：“好吧。”

I challenged him.

我挑战了他，

"Can we engineer a plant that can love me back?"

“我们能改造一个植物， 让它回应我的爱吗？”

And for some reason, he was like, "Sure, why not?"

他回答：“当然，为什么不呢？”

So we started with, can we get a plant to grow towards me

所以我们以“能否让一个植物朝我生长”开始，

like I was the sun?

就好像我是太阳一样。

And so we're looking at mechanisms in plants such as phototropism,

所以我们查找植物的机制，比如趋光性，

which causes the plant to grow towards the sun

它让植物向太阳生长，

by producing hormones like auxin,

通过分泌像生长素一样的荷尔蒙，

which causes cell elongation on the shady side.

这能够引起在阴暗处的细胞生长。

And right now I'm creating a set of lipsticks

现在，我在创造一套唇膏，

that are infused with these chemicals

能够和这些化学成分融合，

that allow me to interact with a plant on its own chemical signatures --

使我和一株有自己独特 化学标志——唇膏的植物互动，

lipsticks that cause plants to grow where I kiss it,

能够使我亲吻的那部分植物生长，

plants that blossom where I kiss the bloom.

在我亲吻处开花。

And through these projects,

通过这些项目，

I'm asking questions like,

我问问题，像

how do we define nature?

“我们如何定义自然？”

How do we define nature when we can reengineer its properties,

我们如何定义自然， 当我们可以重建它的特点？

and when should we do it?

什么时候我们应该付诸行动？

Should we do it for profit, for utility?

我们应该以盈利还是效用为目的？

Can we do it for emotional ends?

我们能够为感情需求做什么吗？

Can biotechnology be used to create work as moving as music?

生物科技能否被用来 创造动作或者音乐作品？

What are the thresholds between science

科学和改变我们情绪的门槛在哪里？

and its ability to shape our emotional landscape?

It's a famous design mantra that form follows function.

形态和功能是设计最出名的颂歌。

Well, now, wedged somewhere between science, design and art

挤在科学、设计和艺术之间，

I get to ask,

我不得不问，

what if fiction informs fact?

如果虚幻启发现实，会怎样？

What kind of R&D lab would that look like

那样的研究与开发实验室会是什么样子？

and what kind of questions would we ask together?

我们应该一起问怎样的问题？

We often look to technology as the answer,

我们通常认为科技是答案，

but as an artist and designer,

但是作为一个艺术家和设计师，

I like to ask, but what is the question?

我喜欢问问题，但是问题是什么？

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）