Biobiased: A Speculative News App for Synthetic Biology

Abstract

BioBiased is a mobile application that uses the format of fictive news to promote reflection over synthetic biology. The app introduces interested citizens to the benefits and risks of synthetic biology, the different application contexts in which synthetic biology might be deployed, and the different views and perspectives that may affect our responses to it. The work is motivated by an interest to exploit relevant HCI methods, namely design fiction and speculative design, to promote engagement with emerging technologies. Our work contributes a concrete digital artifact with a societally relevant purpose as well as a flexible framework to operationalize speculation in other emerging technologies too.