Week 6

Our client, Brett, visited us on Monday. We had an excellent brainstorm session, complete with pizza. We started out by discussing what excites us the most about the future of technology, and then we talked about each of the modules in our current design, and talked about the pros and cons of each of them. We decided on pursuing the Designer Babies module, as it excited us more than the diagnosis and consultation module.

We introduced some additional features to the Designer Babies modules –

1. More than 2 parents – Guest has the option of adding more than 2 parents for their babies. They can pick a parent from their friend Reproductive circle on a social network, they can choose Celebrity genes, or even Other species genetic traits.

2. Some amount will be given initially, which the guest is allowed to spend on the different genes, physical attributes and advanced features. We are thinking of keeping it at 5000 credits. We do not want to use a specific currency at this stage.

3. Gene mixer – This is the crux of the experience. Here the guest will be able to select the genetic attribute that they want to include in their baby’s genetic mix, from the parents they have chosen. We will be limiting the genetic attributes to 10 pairs – 1 pair for gender, 3 pairs for health related information, 3 pairs for physical attributes and 3 for mental capacity and talents.The different attributes are represented by different shapes. Based on the inherent randomness of genetics, only 1 set out of the pair will be dominant and expressed.

4. Preview of your Child – After, the gene mixer, we show a preview of your child. This will be a 3D model.

5. Physical attributes – Considering the randomness, we provide the option to change some physical attributes like height, body type and skin pigmentation. This will be reflected in the 3D model.

6. Advanced features or Add-ons – We also provide some additional options to improve the life of the baby in the future such as 50% increase in I.Q. and 25% increase in Longevity. However, there is a price tag associated with it.

7. Gestation options – We then provide the guest with different gestation options. The guest can use their own womb, rent a womb or use AutoWomb (an external incubator) for gestation.

8. Showcase – Once the guest has completed the process, they can browse through the different babies that have been created previously.

9. Feedback – After this, the guest is prompted to provide a 30 second video feedback about what they think about the experience and the future of medical technology in the future.

In this experience, we do not want to take a stand on the possible future. We will be presenting the advances in the technology as a commercially available product that will be widely used in the future, and invite the guest to think and have a conversation about the future presented here. We want the guests to think about the ethical and moral implications of the technology showcased here.

Based on this design, we will building a mockup to better understand the overall flow of the experience by playtesting it.