Throughout the weeks of coming up and the development of a future scenario, the act of prototyping has really allowed me to weigh out the likelihood of ideas to be implemented and the various choices in determining the plausibility of an outcome.

By looking beyond the year 2040, I have decided to delve into the potential creation of an artificial womb. The choice of coming to this decision was mainly fabricated by the two interviews that I conducted previously.

The outcome of my prototype after sketching possible ideas and manifesting various prototypes resulted to the ‘Incubabytor’.

Other ideas that I came up with included a chameleon cloak or suit that reveals a desired appearance of a person, wowza glasses that creates an ideal look for the world, a gene or substance injector that enables the improvement of gene selection and a face beautifier which sculpts the face to appear more beautiful.

By looking at the positive and negative factors of the various prototype ideas, I was able to cut down the ideas to one.

This ‘Do it yourself baby oven’, which is also known as an ‘Incubabetor’ or ‘Incubaetor’, explores the idea of ectogenesis.

By looking at a traditional incubator, ‘baby boxes’ and exisiting artificial wombs for animals, I considered the various constructions and shape of the ‘Incubabytor’. As the sole purpose of the ‘Incubabytor’ is to act as an artificial womb,

The initial prototypes that I had made were in the form of a rectangle and bag. This is where the rectangular box would imitate an incubator and the bag imitating artificial wombs for animals and the idea of the stork delivering a baby to your doorstep. Continuing the research within ectogenesis, I decided to make the final ‘Incubabytor’ in the shape of a cylindrical egg shape. The reason for this is formulised from the effective purpose of the prototype.

To allow a thorough representation of the prototype, I decided to make the model deconstructable. This allowed the multiple layers of the prototype to be removed and the user to have a better understanding of the device through the senses of sight and touch.

The final purpose of ‘Incubabytor’ prototype is to allow the successful course of carrying a baby through the early stages of growth to birth. It provides a solution to women who can’t carry children, the elimination of miscarriages, equality between men and women and LGBT community. Women would also not be put under the risk of any life threatening during labour, it eliminates the pain factor during birth and they would be able to continue to work.

 

In order to make sure that the mother and child bond is existent throughout pregnancy and not eliminated, the dome of the prototype adopts a technology that allows a person to register their touch, voice and smell. From here, once activated through your phone, the person will be able to communicate to the growing foetus with a touch of a button. Within the device, there is a gel like agent which contracts or expands around the foetus to mimic your touch. The person will also get notifications and regular updates of the foetus, whether it’d be growth or movement.

Becker, R. 2017, An artificial womb successfully grew baby sheep — and humans could be next, The Verge, viewed 03 October 2018, <https://www.theverge.com/2017/4/25/15421734/artificial-womb-fetus-biobag-uterus-lamb-sheep-birth-premie-preterm-infant&gt;

Interview with mothers

By looking into the relationship of mother and child through different stages of development and lifecycle, meeting both Linda and Diana at the comfort of their own homes, they allowed me to gain insight on their thoughts of the impacts of technology towards pregnancy and natural birth.

Linda is a mother who has two beautiful children (aged 3 and 5) and has undergone the impacts of postpartum depression (depression that occurs after giving birth).

J:Did you have any differences between your pregnancies? Between Lienna and Logan?

L:With Lienna, I tend to eat more junk food, sweeter food and just pigging out more. With Logan, I was craving salads and healthy food.

J:In terms of the whole process of getting pregnant and giving birth, is there any of it that you would change?

L:Not really, I guess. They were both really different. With Lienna, I gave birth naturally and with Logan, I had a C-section. I feel like I sort of preferred a C-section even though it was an emergency C-section because I didn’t feel any pain. It was a bit scary, because there was blood but there was no pain at all, because they gave me a lot of drugs. With Lienna, the contractions were the most painful bit. It’s like getting cramps and someone pulling your tummy together like this. *scrunches hands together* It was also harder with Lienna since she was my first child and as a result harder to loose weight as well. Especially with eating all that junk food and whatever you’re craving. With Logan, I was craving healthy food so it was okay.

J:In terms of in the future, there were technology advances, which would enable you not to carry the baby but still have the baby at the same time…

L:YES! I will accept! Because I wouldn’t have to gain weight and buy more clothes. I could just stick to the same size without worrying about new clothes and new everything.

—

Linda explained the differences between her two pregnancies. The main focus were the discomfort she had to endured with the pain of giving birth, change in body through weight gain and the need to spend money through the purchase of clothes, on top of the other necessary things that she needed to purchase due to pregnancy.

J:Would you feel as if there is a difference though with carrying the baby and experiencing the bond you create with your baby?

L:No, I don’t think so because the baby will still know your voice and they would know it’s you. They will feel you and smell you to know.

—

This was an interesting point, as Linda believes the connection between mother and child is affiliated with all senses, not only touch; and the natural instinct of a child and their mother is a connection not easily sabotaged and substituted.

 

Diana is seven months pregnant at the time of this interview. She shared her thought on pregnancy and the connection her and her husband Sevan shares with their baby.

J: In terms of your pregnancy so far, how would you describe the experience? Is there anything you would change?

D: It’s been a journey especially since this is my first child. It is amazing to be able to feel your baby move and kick inside of you. At first, she was quite shy in terms of kicking but eventually I was able to completely recognise when she was kicking. Same goes with my partner. When I felt her kick, I would tell him to put his palm on my belly to feel her kick. But she would stop as soon as he did. But eventually I think she is recognising his voice because she kicks for quite a while when he puts his hand on my belly.

I am stopping work soon and I wish my belly isn’t the reason for it. It would be nice to work longer and not have to worry about safety, would allow me to earn more money before she comes. Apart from that, I am quite nervous about when she decides to come out. I am planning to have her naturally, however, as I have heart problems, the doctors may decide to do an emergency C-section. I am just dreading the recovery time if that happens.

—

In Diana’s case, there is the yearn of not having to worry about miscarriage and the ability to continue work throughout her pregnancy. Perhaps, the idea of having an artificial womb would be a solution to her work and unique medical situation.

Living in a developed country, technology plays a vital part in our everyday life. This may be simply seen through the preferred method of documentation shifting from pen and paper to the use of mobile phones, laptops and tablets. Among the en route of two destinations, it is rare to find two individuals engaged in conversation. Instead, rows and rows of individuals prefer the company of music played through listening devices or finding out any updates of the day through social media. Drawing back to Ides’ (1993), the responses that we as humans make are on the basis of technology and the natural progression we seek. With our natural instinct of survival in mind and the process of natural selection, we have evolved to develop desired traits that are superior to others. Putting this in the context of love and yearn to correct the inequalities we are forced to deal with, technology is the chosen means to certain solutions. This under the guidelines that it will be provided safe and ethical to humans.

In a day and age where gender equality is increasingly advocated, some women are found to be ‘breaking the glass ceiling’ rather than choosing to enter motherhood. With this said, there need not be the loss of desire to bear offspring, but rather this just comes with the fear that it would not be made possible when the suitable time comes. Women and girls find themselves looking into other methods to fall pregnant in the hopes to overcome this unfortunate situation. This is where technology comes into play with the process of in vitro fertilisation.

According to IVF Australia (2018), in vitro fertilisation, or more widely known as IVF, is “a procedure, used to overcome a range of fertility issues, by which an egg and sperm are joined together outside the body, in a specialised laboratory”. Furthermore, “the fertilised egg (embryo) is allowed to grow in a protected environment for some days before being transferred into the woman’s uterus increasing the chance that a pregnancy will occur”. The success of IVF, though increasing, is still quite low and dependent on various factors such as age, risk and personal situation. This can be depicted in the movie Baby Mama. It explores the struggles of a single woman in her late thirties in the attempt to have a baby and the question of ethics.

This gamble to bypass biological inequality – early loss of fertility for women, is able to help some strive forward without needing to constantly worry about time constraints and societal expectations of delaying motherhood.

Similarly, in My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult, the book explores the options within genetic modification, as a technique to create a sibling with chosen potential desired genetic characteristics to safe a girl suffering from leukemia.

As a result, it is evident that we live in a world that is yet to accept the entirety of genetic modification, in terms of ethical and safety reasons. This is further explored in our scenario and shifts in the impacts it has on society. At the same time, we have not completely rejected the likelihood of genetic modification becoming a reliable source to existing or upcoming issues in society.

Only time will tell.

 

Ihde, Don 1993, ‘Technology,’ Philosophy of Technology: An introduction, New York: Paragon House, pp.47-64.

Youtube 2016, Designer Babies My Sisters Keeper, viewed 16 September 2018, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bLHzf0fl1Y&gt;.

 IVF Treatment & Procedures, viewed 16 August 2018, <https://www.ivf.com.au/fertility-treatment/ivf-treatment>.

BBC World Service – The Documentary 2018, The Great Egg Freeze, viewed 16 August 2018, <https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csxfj0>.

Youtube 2018, Baby Mama, viewed 22 August 2018, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUsTb5TWymY>.

Throughout the course of time, the use of technology has been proven to influence the manifestation of the process of love and the way we love. Don Ides (1993) notes that the ‘transformative power of humans enhanced by technology’, which alludes the relationship between humans and our surroundings is affected by technology. This progressing trajectory, whether it establishes positive or negative effects on society, is based on the blurred line between what is human and nature, and what is technology and mechanical. As we are trying to meet the foundations and basis of human relationships and fundamental needs of human beings, at the same time as advancing from them, there is a contingency of the dependence of technology. This is where futuring plays a role in providing multi faceted sides of change and an abundance of different scenarios. Inayatullah (2008 p6), states “that, while we cannot predict a particular future always accurately, by focusing on a range of alternatives, we can better prepare for uncertainty, indeed, to some extent embrace uncertainty.” Thus, humans ourselves are the fundamental creators and deciders to the future and satisfactory standards of communication.

By raising our interests and concerns about the future, our group decided to look into the development of genetic modification for a scenario in the year 2040. As new techniques are introduced within genetic modification, there is a range of potential applications discovered and as a result, the emergence of ethical, lawful and technological challenges. According to Simmons (2008), the use of genomics can be explored through “testing for traits unrelated to disease”, “building better athletes with gene doping” and the application of eugenics through “creating designer babies”. Although these methods are all hypothetical, the development of potential ideas is a direct depiction of Inayatullah’s (2008 p6) theory of a mutual endeavor to continue to move forward, even at times where we are unaware of it occurring.

With the idea of genetic modification on animals initially introduced by the creation of Dolly the Sheep, just two decades later, the creation of two primates cloned from a non-embryonic cell raises the question of whether it will be possible to clone our own human species in the future.  Looking at our scenario under the circumstances of having variables set in place as controllers, it would seem entirely feasible. However, due to misperception and lack of understanding towards the science behind genetic modification, a greater benefit towards this technology is in need to be harbored. Perhaps, with continued development and the demonstration of precision in results, widespread acceptance and the strive to survival; there will be the alleviation of fear of speculated consequences.

Ihde, Don 1993, ‘Technology,’ Philosophy of Technology: An introduction, New York: Paragon House, pp.47-64.

Inayatullah, S., 2008. Six pillars: futures thinking for transforming. Foresight, 10 (1), 4-21.

Simmons, Daniella 2008, ‘Genetic inequality: Human Genetic Engineering, Nature Education, viewed 10 October 2018, <https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/genetic-inequality-human-genetic-engineering-768&gt;

Youtube 2018, Meet the First Monkey Clones Of Their Kind | National Geographic, viewed 22 August 2018, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjcMXkwPf-0&gt;

J: 政策有什么不好的吗？

J: Is there anything bad about the policy?

M: 国家实行这个政策一家要一个孩子是从整个国家考录的， 但是一个孩子说道好不好，当然不好了。从孩子角度来说，他自己孤单，没有兄弟姐妹。从家庭来说，以后父母老了，孩子结婚了以后，要照顾四个老人。同时两夫妻又要工作，照顾四个老人，那时确实不是什么好事情了。

M: The country implemented the one child per family policy as a preferred option for the country. However speaking for the child, of course it isn’t good. Looking from the child’s perspective, they are going to be lonely with no siblings. Looking from the family’s perspective, when their parents become elderly and the child is married, they will have to help look after four elders. At the same time, the couple will have to work and look after the elders. At that time, in reality it won’t be a desired situation.

J: 那现在他们把政策改了，允许要两个孩子。就是应为这个吗？

J: They have changed the policy now, allowing more than one child. Is that due to the previous reason?

M: 不是应为这个改的。是应为中国现在富强了， 有钱了，意思是鼓励你能多要一个孩子就多要一个吧。但是好多家庭应为现在各方面竞争压力大就还会只要一个孩子。

M: Not solely because of that reason. It is because China is now much more prosperous in terms of growth of country and is encouraging in having more children. At the same time, a lot of families are experiencing a lot of stress, which discourages them to have another child.

J: 那要是说来四十年以后，能有选择克隆人呢？

J: What do you think would happen if in 40 years time, we would have the option of cloning humans?

M: 即便有这样的科学，也不是说谁都能要的。即便克隆能造小孩，这个家庭还是会考虑他自己能不能多养这个小孩，他面临的经济压力大不大。现在在中国培养一个孩子花销相当大了。

M: Regardless of there being this kind of technology, not all people will want it. Regardless of the possibility of cloning a child, the family will still consider whether they are capable of having this child and whether they are capable to handle the financial pressure. Right now in China, it is quite expensive to cater for a child’s needs.

J: 那要是说是只有这个孩子是克隆的呢？

J: What if cloning is used for the one and only child?

M: 你是说就一个孩子，还是克隆的？

M: You’re saying only one child, and he or she is cloned?

J: 是啊。

J: Yes.

M: 为什么呢？人家自己能生，他们为什么要去克隆呢？

M: Why? If a family were capable of having a child naturally, why would they clone one?

J: 那要是不能生呢？

J: What if they are not able to have a child naturally?

M: 如果这对两个夫妻真的不能生小孩的，要是使用克隆技术，也许可以带来一个孩子，这是对来这样家庭的高兴的地方。但是要是正常能生那为什么要是用克隆呢？那没必要嘛。

M: If a couple is not able to fall pregnant with a child, and using cloning as a way to give them a child, then perhaps that would put the family in a positive position. However, if they were capable of falling pregnant with a child, why would they have to clone a child? What is the point?

J: 那要是说不是百分之百克隆呢？比如说有人嫌自己丑，想改变缺点。

J: What if the child is genetically modified? Let’s say some people think they are not blessed in terms of looks and they want to change this for their child?

M: 那才去克隆的方法，是不是还用爸妈的基因？

M: If using genetically modification, would they be using the parent’s genes?

J: 用啊，但是能改变呀。

J: Yes, but they will be making changes to it.

M: 能改变就让他们改变吧。些许到那时候发达了，人的思想也有所转变，他们能喜欢能接受这个。

M: If they are able to change it, then let them change it. Maybe in the future, when people’s perspectives become more widened and open to the thought of genetic modification and liking it.

J: 您觉得这个会带来好的或者坏的方面？

J: Do you think this would have a positive or negative impact?

K: 人会变成不存的。

K: Humans will become artificial.

M: 对呀。

M: Yes.

J: 那您会觉得人都希望是一个某样吗？

J: Would you think humans would all want to look a certain way?

M: 当然是还是爸爸妈妈自己有的孩子是最正常，一代一代人。不同的？要是克隆技术都要那么美美漂亮的想假人的，那还会有什么意思？

M: If a child has their parent’s genes, of course they would be the most original, being passed down from generation to generation. If genetic modification allows all humans to look perfectly sculpted like dolls, how would that be interesting?

K: Why would you want your child to have bad genes?

J: So would you pay for that?

K: Well derrrrrr. Yes, I don’t want some ugly ass kid.

J: 那你会付钱吗？

J: Would you pay for it?

M: 付钱？所以说克隆技术使用不是说人门谁都是能免费用的。使用那个也是会用金钱才能那样的技术。所以有条件的人，他想去做，他才能去做。没条件的人，他们根本不承担呢个费用，他想要也做不成。不管社会这么发展，他还是根据这个人个人条件所决定。

M: Pay money? This is the reason why the use of genetic modification is not something that everyone is able to use. By using it, you would have to pay for it. For those who have the financial stability, if they were willing, they would use it. For those who don’t, they won’t be able to use it even if they wanted to. Regardless of how much society progresses, it is still determined according to the personal capabilities of a person.

__________________

M: 当然对于一个家庭，要两个孩子好过要一个孩子。但是还有一个情况，应为这些年中国政策只让要一个孩子，再加上社会发展这么大，竞争激烈，培养一个孩子费用很高，现在的人有些让他再要一个孩子，他要考录自己的经济条件，就是收入个方面，培养一个孩子有没有条件。现在有些能力上很擦，就这对一个孩子就花销很大的，就不想要第二个孩子。对一比较有条件的，现在要第二个甚至要第三个他要养的起，照样会要的。

M: Of course for a family, having two children is better than having one child. However, under the condition of China’s one child policy and the various pressures within society and the competitiveness, it costs a lot of money to bring up a child. For some, even if they have the option of have another child, they have to consider their own financial state, their income, whether they have the capability to bring up a child. For some who don’t have the capability, they will choose not to have the second child. For some who do, if they want a second child, or even a third, they definitely will.

J: 那要是只能要一个孩子，那个孩子有毛病呢？

J: What happens if they are only able to have one child and that child happens to have special needs?

M: 在中国有这种情况，有一个孩子真正有问题的话，医院出示证明以后，可以向国家要指标要第二胎。第一个孩子有问题，比如像残疾，当然可以会有二胎。国家也不会说是绝对性的，他都是会格局具体情况的。

M: There is this situation occurring in China, if a child has special needs            and the hospital gives certified documents, the parents are able to apply to have a second child. If the first child has special needs, for example a disability, of course they will be able to have a second child. The country will not say that it is an absolute; it is still dependent according to various situations.

Following on about the issue of early loss of fertility for women and the yearn to bear children, an article popped up on my Facebook feed that I find is interesting and relatable to this topic.

The article is about two monkeys being born in China. These two monkeys however, are not your typical monkeys that would be climbing on trees or be found mimicking your actions. According to ABC News, these two monkeys are different as they are the first two primates to be cloned from a non-embryonic cell. Although there had been previous attempts to clone monkeys, these two monkeys named Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua, distinguish themselves as previous attempts made were using fetal cells instead.

This step made in scientific study raises the question of whether it will be possible to clone our own human species in the future.

Could this be the answer to the unfortunate circumstances of not being able to enter motherhood for some women?

What would this mean for the human population?

What is the likelihood of this to occur in real life and their pros and cons?

Would it end up causing more heartbreak and distress than gratitude, love and joy?

For these two monkeys to be born, it took a total of 127 eggs until success was seen.

Born on the 5th July 1996 in Scotland, Dolly the sheep was the first mammal to be cloned from a similar technique as the two monkeys above were created.

…

References:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-25/chinese-scientists-clone-monkeys/9360148

The following are futuring methods that are introduced and considered within past and upcoming studios:

• Quadrant method (week 2 and 3)
• Drivers of change (week 2 and 3)
• Scenarios – including personas and sited scenarios (week 2, 4 and 5)
• STEEP analysis – social, technological, economic, environmental and political (week 2 and 4)
• Systems thinking (week 3)
• Collaborative mapping (week 3)
• STEM (week 3)
• Double variant (week 3)
• Interviewing techniques (week 4)
• Visualisation techniques (week 5)
• Retro-fitting (week 5)
• Forecasting / backcasting (week 5)
• Experimental collage (week 5)
• Iterative prototyping (week 8)
• Fast-failing (week 8)

 

In a day and age where gender equality is increasingly advocated, some women are found to be ‘breaking the glass ceiling’ rather than choosing to enter motherhood.

With this said, there need not be the loss of desire to bear offspring, but rather this just comes with the fear that it wouldn’t be made possible when the suitable time comes.

Women and girls find themselves looking into other methods to fall pregnant in the hopes to overcome this unfortunate situation.

One of them is in vitro fertilisation.

According to IVF Australia, in vitro fertilisation, or more widely known as IVF, is “a procedure, used to overcome a range of fertility issues, by which an egg and sperm are joined together outside the body, in a specialised laboratory’. Furthermore, ‘the fertilised egg (embryo) is allowed to grow in a protected environment for some days before being transferred into the woman’s uterus increasing the chance that a pregnancy will occur”.

The success of IVF, though increasing, is still quite low and dependent on various factors such as age, risk and personal situation.

This can be depicted in the movie Baby Mama. It explores the struggles of a single woman in her late thirties in the attempt to have a baby.

This gamble to bypass biological inequality – early loss of fertility for women, is able to help some strive forward without needing to constantly worry about time constraints and societal expectations of delaying motherhood.

However, is this option just providing false hope?

Only time will tell.

References:

 IVF Treatment & Procedures, viewed 16 August 2018, <https://www.ivf.com.au/fertility-treatment/ivf-treatment>.

BBC World Service – The Documentary 2018, The Great Egg Freeze, viewed 16 August 2018, <https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csxfj0>.

Youtube 2018, Baby Mama, viewed 22 August 2018, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUsTb5TWymY>.