0:00:00.968,0:00:03.611
I visit the future for a living.

0:00:04.265,0:00:05.891
Not just one future,

0:00:05.915,0:00:08.161
but many possible futures,

0:00:08.185,0:00:12.304
bringing back evidences from those futures[br]for you to experience today.

0:00:13.197,0:00:15.420
Like an archaeologist of the future.

0:00:16.432,0:00:19.164
Over the years, my many journeys[br]have brought back things

0:00:19.188,0:00:22.213
like a new species[br]of synthetically engineered bees;

0:00:25.052,0:00:27.435
a book named, "Pets as Protein;"

0:00:28.263,0:00:31.427
a machine that makes you rich[br]by trading your genetic data;

0:00:31.451,0:00:33.498
a lamp powered by sugar;

0:00:34.045,0:00:35.926
a computer for growing food.

0:00:36.573,0:00:40.964
OK, so I don't actually travel[br]to different futures -- yet.

0:00:40.988,0:00:43.927
But my husband Jon and I spend[br]a lot of time thinking

0:00:43.951,0:00:47.641
and creating visions[br]of different futures in our studio.

0:00:48.081,0:00:50.857
We are constantly looking out[br]for weak signals,

0:00:50.881,0:00:53.255
those murmurs of future potential.

0:00:53.279,0:00:57.352
Then we trace those threads of potential[br]out into the future, asking:

0:00:57.963,0:01:00.498
What might it feel like[br]to live in this future?

0:01:01.068,0:01:03.903
What might we see, hear and even breathe?

0:01:05.157,0:01:09.606
Then we run experiments,[br]build prototypes, make objects,

0:01:09.630,0:01:11.660
bringing aspects of these futures to life,

0:01:11.684,0:01:13.996
making them concrete and tangible

0:01:14.020,0:01:18.774
so you can really feel the impact[br]of those future possibilities

0:01:18.798,0:01:19.965
here and now.

0:01:20.936,0:01:23.737
But this work is not about predictions.

0:01:23.761,0:01:25.768
It's about creating tools --

0:01:25.792,0:01:29.256
tools that can help connect[br]our present and our future selves

0:01:29.280,0:01:33.685
so we become active participants[br]in creating a future we want --

0:01:33.709,0:01:35.565
a future that works for all.

0:01:36.758,0:01:38.573
So how do we go about doing this?

0:01:39.143,0:01:42.487
For a recent project called Drone Aviary,

0:01:42.511,0:01:44.049
we were interested in exploring

0:01:44.073,0:01:47.040
what it would mean to live[br]with drones in our cities.

0:01:47.064,0:01:49.897
Drones that have the power[br]to see things we can't,

0:01:49.921,0:01:51.673
to go places we can't

0:01:51.697,0:01:53.896
and to do so with increasing autonomy.

0:01:54.734,0:01:56.324
But to understand the technology,

0:01:56.348,0:01:58.217
getting our hands dirty was crucial.

0:01:58.652,0:02:01.482
So we built several different[br]drones in our studio.

0:02:01.506,0:02:04.610
We gave them names, functions[br]and then flew them --

0:02:05.395,0:02:06.908
but not without difficulty.

0:02:07.413,0:02:08.802
Things came loose,

0:02:08.826,0:02:10.446
GPS signals glitched

0:02:10.470,0:02:11.882
and drones crashed.

0:02:12.599,0:02:14.741
But it was through such experimentation

0:02:14.765,0:02:18.940
that we could construct a very[br]concrete and very experiential slice

0:02:18.964,0:02:20.587
of one possible future.

0:02:21.613,0:02:23.688
So now, let's go to that future.

0:02:24.199,0:02:27.569
Let's imagine we are living in a city[br]with drones like this one.

0:02:28.196,0:02:30.123
We call it The Nightwatchman.

0:02:30.756,0:02:34.645
It patrols the streets, often spotted[br]in the evenings and at night.

0:02:35.239,0:02:38.639
Initially, many of us were annoyed[br]by its low, dull hum.

0:02:39.144,0:02:41.912
But then, like everything else,[br]we got used to it.

0:02:42.423,0:02:45.157
Now, what if you could see[br]the world through its eyes?

0:02:46.615,0:02:50.937
See how it constantly logs[br]every resident of our neighborhood;

0:02:50.961,0:02:54.281
logging the kids who play football[br]in the no-ballgame area

0:02:54.305,0:02:56.752
and marking them as statutory nuisances.

0:02:56.776,0:02:58.213
(Laughter)

0:02:58.237,0:03:02.207
And then see how it disperses[br]this other group, who are teenagers,

0:03:02.231,0:03:05.345
with the threat of an autonomously[br]issued injunction.

0:03:06.387,0:03:09.520
And then there's this giant[br]floating disc called Madison.

0:03:10.203,0:03:12.423
Its glaring presence is so overpowering,

0:03:12.447,0:03:14.600
I can't help but stare at it.

0:03:15.242,0:03:17.243
But if feels like each time I look at it,

0:03:17.267,0:03:19.081
it knows a little more about me --

0:03:19.914,0:03:23.079
like it keeps flashing all these[br]Brianair adverts at me,

0:03:23.103,0:03:25.447
as if it knows about[br]the holiday I'm planning.

0:03:26.479,0:03:30.206
I'm not sure if I find this[br]mildly entertaining

0:03:30.230,0:03:32.042
or just entirely invasive.

0:03:33.684,0:03:35.008
Back to the present.

0:03:35.611,0:03:37.834
In creating this future, we learned a lot.

0:03:38.352,0:03:40.958
Not just about how these machines work,

0:03:40.982,0:03:43.841
but what it would feel like[br]to live alongside them.

0:03:44.239,0:03:46.493
Whilst drones like Madison[br]and Nightwatchman,

0:03:46.517,0:03:48.034
in these particular forms,

0:03:48.058,0:03:49.599
are not real yet,

0:03:49.623,0:03:53.580
most elements of a drone future[br]are in fact very real today.

0:03:54.264,0:03:55.415
For instance,

0:03:55.439,0:03:57.753
facial recognition systems[br]are everywhere --

0:03:57.777,0:04:00.187
in our phones, even in our thermostats

0:04:00.211,0:04:02.041
and in cameras around our cities --

0:04:02.714,0:04:05.460
keeping a record of everything we do,

0:04:05.484,0:04:09.669
whether it's an advertisement[br]we glanced at or a protest we attended.

0:04:09.693,0:04:11.363
These things are here,

0:04:11.387,0:04:14.111
and we often don't understand[br]how they work,

0:04:14.135,0:04:15.985
and what their consequences could be.

0:04:17.279,0:04:18.859
And we see this all around us.

0:04:18.883,0:04:20.655
This difficulty in even imagining

0:04:20.679,0:04:24.823
how the consequences of our actions[br]today will affect our future.

0:04:25.649,0:04:28.534
Last year, where I live, in the UK,[br]there was a referendum

0:04:28.558,0:04:31.083
where the people could vote[br]for the UK to leave the EU

0:04:31.107,0:04:32.265
or stay in the EU,

0:04:32.289,0:04:33.991
popularly known as "Brexit."

0:04:34.819,0:04:36.621
And soon after the results came out,

0:04:36.645,0:04:39.660
a word began to surface[br]called "Bregret" --

0:04:39.684,0:04:40.724
(Laughter)

0:04:40.748,0:04:44.183
describing people who chose to vote[br]for Brexit as a protest,

0:04:44.207,0:04:47.297
but without thinking through[br]its potential consequences.

0:04:49.127,0:04:52.551
And this disconnect is evident[br]in some of the simplest things.

0:04:53.795,0:04:55.664
Say you go out for a quick drink.

0:04:55.688,0:04:58.422
Then you decide[br]you wouldn't mind a few more.

0:04:58.446,0:05:01.066
You know you'll wake up[br]in the morning feeling awful,

0:05:01.090,0:05:02.472
but you justify it by saying,

0:05:02.496,0:05:04.999
"The other me in the future[br]will deal with that."

0:05:05.607,0:05:07.475
But as we find out in the morning,

0:05:07.499,0:05:09.464
that future "you" is you.

0:05:10.454,0:05:13.651
When I was growing up in India[br]in the late '70s and early '80s,

0:05:13.675,0:05:14.826
there was a feeling

0:05:14.850,0:05:17.837
that the future both needed to[br]and could actually be planned.

0:05:18.343,0:05:21.603
I remember my parents had to plan[br]for some of the simplest things.

0:05:21.627,0:05:23.656
When they wanted a telephone in our house,

0:05:23.680,0:05:25.990
they needed to order it and then wait --

0:05:26.014,0:05:29.261
wait for nearly five years before[br]it got installed in our house.

0:05:29.285,0:05:30.319
(Laughter)

0:05:30.343,0:05:33.841
And then if they wanted to call[br]my grandparents who lived in another city,

0:05:33.865,0:05:36.393
they needed to book[br]something called a "trunk call,"

0:05:36.417,0:05:38.677
and then wait again,[br]for hours or even days.

0:05:39.298,0:05:42.235
And then abruptly, the phone[br]would ring at two in the morning,

0:05:42.259,0:05:45.509
and all of us would jump out of our beds[br]and gather round the phone,

0:05:45.533,0:05:47.848
shrieking into it,[br]discussing general well-being

0:05:47.872,0:05:49.205
at two in the morning.

0:05:49.229,0:05:53.009
Today it can feel like things[br]are happening too fast --

0:05:53.033,0:05:55.288
so fast, that it can[br]become really difficult

0:05:55.312,0:05:58.269
for us to form an understanding[br]of our place in history.

0:05:58.293,0:06:01.720
It creates an overwhelming sense[br]of uncertainty and anxiety,

0:06:01.744,0:06:04.786
and so, we let the future[br]just happen to us.

0:06:06.032,0:06:08.027
We don't connect with that future "us."

0:06:08.528,0:06:10.840
We treat our future selves as a stranger,

0:06:10.864,0:06:12.832
and the future as a foreign land.

0:06:13.735,0:06:14.920
It's not a foreign land;

0:06:14.944,0:06:16.692
it's unfolding right in front of us,

0:06:16.716,0:06:19.280
continually being shaped[br]by our actions today.

0:06:19.734,0:06:21.224
We are that future,

0:06:21.940,0:06:24.770
and so I believe fighting[br]for a future we want

0:06:24.794,0:06:27.417
is more urgent and necessary[br]than ever before.

0:06:28.297,0:06:29.762
We have learned in our work

0:06:29.786,0:06:33.230
that one of the most powerful means[br]of effecting change

0:06:33.254,0:06:37.398
is when people can directly, tangibly[br]and emotionally experience

0:06:37.422,0:06:40.450
some of the future consequences[br]of their actions today.

0:06:41.130,0:06:45.104
Earlier this year, the government[br]of the United Arab Emirates invited us

0:06:45.128,0:06:47.574
to help them shape[br]their country's energy strategy

0:06:47.598,0:06:49.182
all the way up to 2050.

0:06:49.558,0:06:53.816
Based on the government's econometric[br]data, we created this large city model,

0:06:53.840,0:06:56.908
and visualized many[br]possible futures on it.

0:06:58.387,0:07:01.707
As I was excitably taking a group[br]of government officials

0:07:01.731,0:07:03.268
and members of energy companies

0:07:03.292,0:07:05.823
through one sustainable[br]future on our model,

0:07:05.847,0:07:07.577
one of the participants told me,

0:07:08.122,0:07:11.229
"I cannot imagine that in the future[br]people will stop driving cars

0:07:11.253,0:07:13.051
and start using public transport."

0:07:13.916,0:07:15.076
And then he said,

0:07:15.100,0:07:18.706
"There's no way I can tell my own son[br]to stop driving his car."

0:07:19.927,0:07:21.908
But we were prepared for this reaction.

0:07:23.208,0:07:26.545
Working with scientists in a chemistry lab[br]in my home city in India,

0:07:26.569,0:07:28.744
we had created approximate samples

0:07:28.768,0:07:33.518
of what the air would be like in 2030[br]if our behavior stays the same.

0:07:34.493,0:07:37.886
And so, I walked the group[br]over to this object

0:07:37.910,0:07:40.257
that emits vapor from those air samples.

0:07:41.494,0:07:45.050
Just one whiff of the noxious[br]polluted air from 2030

0:07:45.074,0:07:48.191
brought home the point[br]that no amount of data can.

0:07:49.069,0:07:52.121
This is not the future you would want[br]your children to inherit.

0:07:52.620,0:07:55.185
The next day, the government[br]made a big announcement.

0:07:55.209,0:07:58.372
They would be investing billions[br]of dollars in renewables.

0:07:58.396,0:08:02.775
We don't know what part our future[br]experiences played in this decision,

0:08:02.799,0:08:05.291
but we know that they've changed[br]their energy policy

0:08:05.315,0:08:06.799
to mitigate such a scenario.

0:08:06.823,0:08:10.328
While something like air from the future[br]is very effective and tangible,

0:08:10.352,0:08:13.182
the trajectory from our present[br]to a future consequence

0:08:13.206,0:08:14.511
is not always so linear.

0:08:15.347,0:08:18.520
Even when a technology[br]is developed with utopian ideals,

0:08:18.544,0:08:21.277
the moment it leaves the laboratory[br]and enters the world,

0:08:21.301,0:08:24.646
it is subject to forces outside[br]of the creators' control.

0:08:25.617,0:08:29.851
For one particular project,[br]we investigated medical genomics:

0:08:29.875,0:08:32.966
the technology of gathering[br]and using people's genetic data

0:08:32.990,0:08:34.849
to create personalized medicine.

0:08:35.268,0:08:36.646
We were asking:

0:08:36.670,0:08:40.394
What are some of the unintended[br]consequences of linking our genetics

0:08:40.418,0:08:41.579
to health care?

0:08:43.175,0:08:45.441
To explore this question further,

0:08:45.465,0:08:47.357
we created a fictional lawsuit,

0:08:47.914,0:08:52.300
and brought it to life through 31 pieces[br]of carefully crafted evidence.

0:08:52.783,0:08:55.871
So we built an illegal genetic clinic,

0:08:55.895,0:08:59.078
a DIY carbon dioxide incubator,

0:08:59.102,0:09:01.438
and even bought frozen mice on eBay.

0:09:02.273,0:09:05.428
So now let's go to that future[br]where this lawsuit is unfolding,

0:09:05.452,0:09:07.574
and meet the defendant, Arnold Mann.

0:09:08.194,0:09:11.759
Arnold is being prosecuted[br]by this global giant biotech company

0:09:11.783,0:09:13.081
called Dynamic Genetics,

0:09:13.627,0:09:15.117
because they have evidence

0:09:15.141,0:09:19.731
that Arnold has illegally inserted[br]the company's patented genetic material

0:09:19.755,0:09:21.249
into his body.

0:09:21.273,0:09:23.863
How on earth did Arnold manage to do that?

0:09:24.853,0:09:26.027
Well, it all started

0:09:26.051,0:09:30.234
when Arnold was asked to submit[br]a saliva sample in this spit kit

0:09:30.258,0:09:31.816
to the NHI --

0:09:31.840,0:09:34.790
the UK's National Health[br]Insurance service.

0:09:35.289,0:09:38.209
When Arnold received[br]his health insurance bill,

0:09:38.233,0:09:39.945
he was shocked and scared

0:09:39.969,0:09:42.351
to see that his premiums[br]had gone through the roof,

0:09:42.375,0:09:45.349
beyond anything he or his family[br]could ever afford.

0:09:45.970,0:09:48.651
The state's algorithm had scanned[br]his genetic data

0:09:48.675,0:09:52.683
and found the risk of a chronic health[br]condition lurking in his DNA.

0:09:53.135,0:09:56.499
And so Arnold had to start paying[br]toward the potential costs

0:09:56.523,0:09:58.199
of that future disease --

0:09:58.223,0:10:00.406
potential future disease from today.

0:10:00.430,0:10:02.042
In that moment of fear and panic,

0:10:02.066,0:10:03.572
Arnold slipped through the city

0:10:03.596,0:10:06.654
into the dark shadows[br]of this illegal clinic for treatment --

0:10:07.457,0:10:09.618
a treatment that would modify his DNA

0:10:09.642,0:10:13.300
so that the state's algorithm[br]would no longer see him as a risk,

0:10:13.324,0:10:16.301
and his insurance premiums[br]would become affordable again.

0:10:16.325,0:10:18.010
But Arnold was caught.

0:10:18.034,0:10:22.112
And the legal proceedings in the case[br]Dynamic Genetics v. Mann began.

0:10:22.961,0:10:24.653
In bringing such a future to life,

0:10:24.677,0:10:27.631
what was important to us[br]was that people could actually touch,

0:10:27.655,0:10:29.223
see and feel its potential,

0:10:29.757,0:10:32.752
because such an immediate and close[br]encounter provokes people

0:10:32.776,0:10:34.267
to ask the right questions,

0:10:34.816,0:10:36.087
questions like:

0:10:36.111,0:10:38.297
What are the implications[br]of living in a world

0:10:38.321,0:10:40.310
where I'm judged on my genetics?

0:10:41.045,0:10:44.186
Or: Who might claim ownership[br]to my genetic data,

0:10:44.210,0:10:45.720
and what might they do with it?

0:10:46.918,0:10:50.027
If this feels even slightly[br]out-there or farfetched,

0:10:50.051,0:10:53.843
today there's a little-known bill[br]being passed through the American congress

0:10:53.867,0:10:57.916
known as HR 1313, Preserving[br]Employee Wellness Programs Act.

0:10:58.455,0:11:02.935
This bill proposes to amend the Genetic[br]Information Nondiscrimination Act,

0:11:02.959,0:11:04.665
popularly known as GINA,

0:11:04.689,0:11:07.997
and would allow employers to ask[br]about family medical history

0:11:08.021,0:11:09.205
and genetic data

0:11:09.229,0:11:11.798
to all employees for the first time.

0:11:12.938,0:11:15.532
Those who refuse[br]would face large penalties.

0:11:17.346,0:11:19.100
In the work I've shown so far,

0:11:19.124,0:11:21.287
whether it was drones or genetic crimes,

0:11:21.311,0:11:23.669
these stories describe troubling futures

0:11:23.693,0:11:26.445
with the intention of helping us[br]avoid those futures.

0:11:27.004,0:11:28.981
But what about what we can't avoid?

0:11:29.577,0:11:31.669
Today, especially with climate change,

0:11:31.693,0:11:33.763
it looks like we are heading for trouble.

0:11:34.151,0:11:37.350
And so what we want to do now[br]is to prepare for that future

0:11:37.374,0:11:41.631
by developing tools and attitudes[br]that can help us find hope --

0:11:42.322,0:11:44.094
hope that can inspire action.

0:11:44.908,0:11:47.596
Currently, we are running[br]an experiment in our studio.

0:11:47.620,0:11:49.097
It's a work in progress.

0:11:49.539,0:11:51.763
Based on climate data projections,

0:11:51.787,0:11:53.343
we are exploring a future

0:11:53.367,0:11:56.800
where the Western world has moved[br]from abundance to scarcity.

0:11:56.824,0:12:00.235
We imagine living in a future city[br]with repeated flooding,

0:12:00.259,0:12:02.996
periods with almost[br]no food in supermarkets,

0:12:03.020,0:12:04.756
economic instabilities,

0:12:04.780,0:12:06.465
broken supply chains.

0:12:07.111,0:12:11.167
What can we do to not just survive,[br]but prosper in such a world?

0:12:12.015,0:12:13.361
What food can we eat?

0:12:14.163,0:12:15.982
To really step inside these questions,

0:12:16.006,0:12:19.820
we are building this room in a flat[br]in London from 2050.

0:12:20.654,0:12:23.970
It's like a little time capsule[br]that we reclaimed from the future.

0:12:23.994,0:12:26.140
We stripped it down to the bare minimum.

0:12:26.164,0:12:28.070
Everything we lovingly put in our homes,

0:12:28.094,0:12:29.770
like flat-panel TVs,

0:12:29.794,0:12:31.590
internet-connected fridges

0:12:31.614,0:12:33.043
and artisanal furnishings

0:12:33.067,0:12:34.389
all had to go.

0:12:34.413,0:12:37.315
And in its place,[br]we're building food computers

0:12:37.339,0:12:40.193
from abandoned, salvaged[br]and repurposed materials,

0:12:40.715,0:12:43.122
turning today's waste[br]into tomorrow's dinner.

0:12:44.707,0:12:45.858
For instance,

0:12:45.882,0:12:49.870
we've just finished building our first[br]fully automated fogponics machine.

0:12:49.894,0:12:53.310
It uses the technique of fogponics --[br]so just fog as a nutrient,

0:12:53.334,0:12:54.913
not even water or soil --

0:12:54.937,0:12:56.332
to grow things quickly.

0:12:57.324,0:12:58.543
At the moment,

0:12:58.567,0:13:00.291
we have successfully grown tomatoes.

0:13:01.254,0:13:04.381
But we'll need more food than what[br]we can grow in this small room.

0:13:04.705,0:13:06.940
So what else could we forage[br]from the city?

0:13:07.509,0:13:10.881
Insects? Pigeons? Foxes?

0:13:13.794,0:13:16.363
Earlier, we brought back[br]air from the future.

0:13:16.387,0:13:19.110
This time we are bringing[br]an entire room from the future,

0:13:19.134,0:13:21.481
a room full of hope, tools and tactics

0:13:21.505,0:13:24.640
to create positive action[br]in hostile conditions.

0:13:25.384,0:13:26.975
Spending time in this room,

0:13:26.999,0:13:29.062
a room that could be our own future home,

0:13:29.086,0:13:32.648
makes the consequences[br]of climate change and food insecurity

0:13:32.672,0:13:34.911
much more immediate and tangible.

0:13:37.055,0:13:40.083
What we're learning through such[br]experiments and our practice

0:13:40.107,0:13:41.598
and the people we engage with

0:13:41.622,0:13:43.873
is that creating concrete experiences

0:13:43.897,0:13:47.210
can bridge the disconnect[br]between today and tomorrow.

0:13:47.761,0:13:50.655
By putting ourselves[br]into different possible futures,

0:13:50.679,0:13:52.241
by becoming open and willing

0:13:52.265,0:13:56.605
to embrace the uncertainty and discomfort[br]that such an act can bring,

0:13:56.629,0:13:59.714
we have the opportunity[br]to imagine new possibilities.

0:14:00.223,0:14:02.127
We can find optimistic futures;

0:14:02.151,0:14:03.992
we can find paths forward;

0:14:04.016,0:14:06.068
we can move beyond hope into action.

0:14:06.781,0:14:10.061
It means we have the chance[br]to change direction,

0:14:10.966,0:14:13.119
a chance to have our voices heard,

0:14:13.832,0:14:18.047
a chance to write ourselves[br]into a future we want.

0:14:19.548,0:14:21.586
Other worlds are possible.

0:14:22.469,0:14:23.636
Thank you.

0:14:23.660,0:14:26.849
(Applause)