FUTURITY SYSTEMS

For millennia, humans have dominated the earth, and dominated species, “domesticating” plants and animals, and claimed ownership to nature and its resources. Our project Plantiverse is an exploration of rights for plants, by giving them autonomy, building on the Rights of Nature movement's gains of independent legal standing for forests and species. We wanted to see if we could get operational, financial, and even civil rights for non-human living beings. We gave Herbie (a herb houseplant) a form of their own autonomy, letting them make certain decisions on their own. Sensors measure Herbie's state; which are linked to decisions about mobility; so that Herbie, when in need of water or light, will go to the water source / light source. These sensors, in turn, give readings that are then paired with a particular output of an image, leave colors, for example, indicate water level and so on. The rendering, then, becomes a visualization of physiological status of the plant itself, essentially a digital twin, or avatar, of the plant in real life. These visualizations, then were minted in the carbon neutral blockchain and sold as NFTs or NFTrees. The funds raised via the sales will be directed to sustainable causes. http://www.plantiver.se

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Our new magazine inTENSE is a publication that explores the intersection of design and deeptech, and how they will shape the world around us in 2030 – written from the perspective of 2030. It features in-depth research by creative minds driving the future, speculative product roundups and trend reports, in various fields such as fashion, food, entertainment and more. InTENSE is more than just a magazine – it's a community of individuals excited about the future and the possibilities it holds. In this starter issue, we explore the Culturian lifestyle. Culturian is our new word to describe consumers who eat, drink, and wear only things (meat, coffee, leather etc) grown from microbes - not killing any animals or even plants in the process. Join us in imagining a post-vegan world where synthetic biology, microbial fermentation, and other technologies just entering the market today, have become trendy expressions.

Protesters around the world - from Pussy Riot in Moscow, the yellow Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong, Black Lives Matter in the United States, and pro-independence marchers in Catalonia - all have re-made clothing, cell phones, and computers to protect their bodies and identities. Increasingly, even non-protesting people worry about a surveillance capitalism state, where stores recognize your face as you walk in, or track your phone to see what you're browsing for. At the same time, amateur celebrities, influences, and others want to record and share more aspects of their everyday lives, without letting their followers into their innermost private lives. All three of these situations, and more, are driving interest and needs for protecting cyber-physical privacy. The Blur Hoodie provides a system that includes textiles, protective plastics, and electronic features for these situations, in a design that is as timelessly stylish as it is functional and convenient. In addition to the hoodie itself, we developed a catalog page outlining the benefits and features: "Pro athletes, first responders, and astronauts have long had access to the most advanced apparel and accessories. Now the Blur Hoodie brings the same types of materials, electronics, sensors, and algorithms to skateboarding, parkour, athleisure, and street wear. Whether you're practicing steezy kickflips over broken glass, concerned about protecting your personal privacy while shopping in the stores that still exist, or gearing up for a protest that could take a wrong turn, Blur has you covered in every sense." Users say Blur is... “The Patagonia for protests” – A.D., social hacktivist, Karachi “A traceur’s go-to gear” – Z.S., parkour TikTok celebrity, Atlanta “My family’s bubble between surveillance capitalism and the surveillance state.” - K.W., father of three, Stockholm

What if our food ingredient choices were suddenly restricted - by climate change, health concerns, or the limitations of living inside a base on Mars? How will we cope and compensate? What will we miss the most? You can explore these scenarios, and how you would choose to balance taste, nutrition, and health, by making your own personal food cubes in our PixelAte workshop. It's a practical as well as emotional exercise meant to incite action now.

We facilitate workshops with your team on-site or remotely. Hundreds of people have used our process for everything from new product development, to scenario planning and personal career development.

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Artificial Intelligence seems to be everywhere, solving problems ranging from healthcare to home cleaning. But to solve the biggest challenges facing humanity or a nation, governments need to know how to best allocate scarce resources such as finance, expertise, and regulatory attention. To help the Spanish government tackle the country's largest challenges, and find opportunities for its innovators beyond its borders, we set up a moonshot program under the auspices of ISDEFE (Ingeniería de Sistemas para la Defensa de España, Engineering Systems for the Defence of Spain). Initially defining 40 moonshot-scale challenges in terms of financial, human, economic, and other impacts, we then went on to document the domestic and international initiatives that the government could tap into in order to solve them. In this ongoing project, using Futurity Science Tools (FST), we are cataloging and categorizing thousands of scientific papers, university startups, patents, and other markers of innovation in AI, to help create a platform that will endure for years to come.

Instead of merely adding data to a reflection of your self, it uses cameras, microphones, virtual avatars, and deepfake technology to show you as you are, as you’d like to be, or as you don’t want to become. Conversational AI engages you in dialog with your digital twin, for information, self-motivation, or even cognitive behavioral therapy. At scale, the device could to to psychology what gene sequencing machines did to genomics: turn a largely qualitative field with low reproducibility into a quantitative, predictive science and engineering discipline.

What if you could control another person’s body, making their muscles move at the press of a button, the flex of your arm, or even just a thought? Using off the shelf hardware, we've created a any-to-any neural interface system, whereby nearly any form of digital input (whether that be a mobile phone app an electromyography [EMG sensor], or even a tweet) can be used to cause a human, animal, or insect limb to respond. While currently at a level of accuracy appropriate for parlor tricks and drinking games, in the future this technology could be used for rehabilitation (e.g. helping paraplegics to walk, replacing exoskeletons) or to teach motor skills like playing piano or the best golf swing.

The oral microbiome - the unique cohort of bacteria that live in our mouths - don't just cause cavities and canker sores. Diabetes, obesity, Alzheimers Disease, and many more conditions beyond the mouth and even the digestive system have been found to be related to the balance of good and bad bugs coating our teeth, tongue, and cheeks. What if a combination of dental care, genomics, custom probiotic toothpaste, and even light could help optimize it? The Biome Brush artifact explores the science and user habits that could ensue. Managing the oral microbiome https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6503789/ Controlling microbes with light - optogenetics https://www.genengnews.com/news/optogenetics-shows-how-the-microbiome-affects-longevity/ Smartphone-sized gene sequencer https://nanoporetech.com/products/minion

Like our other senses, it’s possible to create digital experiences for the tongue, by providing carefully controlled electrical impulses. We set out to explore and refine this new neural interface. This project illustrates our iterative prototyping process. 1. Functional prototype Initially, we wanted to test whether electronic taste was even possible, regardless of the aesthetics of the device. We created a plastic pad for the tongue, with jumper wires connected straight to a breadboard and simple circuit. We tested various voltages and waveforms to see whether we could stimulate tastes like salty, sweet, bitter, and umami. 2. Basic design With a few tastes enabled, we turned to the design of form factors that would resemble a real product. For example, we developed easy-to-swap tongue pads with permanent electrodes, so different users and tastes can use the same base unit with batteries and buttons. 3. Exploring aesthetics We built several mockups with “shelf appeal” - designed to look like an actual product that might be sold in stores. Like actual popsicles, bright colors and unique shapes are meant to enhance the taste experience via other senses.

Vaping has transformed how people intake nicotine, offering an alternative to tobacco smoking and an explosion of innovation in flavors, delivery devices, and business models. What if we could do the same with alcohol? We created a device for experiencing fragrant spirits in a new way - even adding fluorescence, holograms, and music - that users describe in equally glowing terms.

Structural Colouring The rainbow iridescence you see on this chocolate requires no additional pigments or ingredients. We create it using the same effect found in oyster shells and butterfly wings, known as structural (as opposed to chemical) coloration. It’s just chocolate! Galantamine Inside, however, we can add exciting ingredients beyond the usual sea salt or mint essence. One is the natural drug galantamine, an extract of the snowdrop flower, which is known to induce lucid dreams and at higher doses, to treat Alzheimers Disease.