Pawn Tomorrow, 2014
What could you exchange at a pawnshop in the future, and what would it be worth? As a way to explore future needs, exchanges and value systems, The Extrapolation Factory developed Pawn Tomorrow, a multi-staged project that attempted to construct a feedback loop for impacting the future, linking researchers & technologists, the public, and expert futurists.
The project consisted of three phases:
- a forum for democratized futures projections
- a discussion series with a group of expert futurists
- and an online marketplace for reflecting speculative concepts back to the world
In the first phase of Pawn Tomorrow, we installed a speculative pawn shop on the 5th floor of the Museum of Arts and Design. Visitors to the museum were invited to make pawn shop submissions of “items that don’t yet exist” using The Extrapolation Factory’s futures-oriented tools. Submissions were manifested as described, illustrated and prototypes items that were then exhibited in the glass cases of the speculative pawn shop. The installation incorporated prompts for thinking about the future, such as instances of recent and ongoing research, developing technologies and emerging social issues. These prompts, which we refer to as our “instance database” served as starting points to help visitors imagine possible future scenarios, the needs that would arise, and artifacts that would exist because of these needs. Over the course of the exhibition, The Extrapolation Factory ran a regular series of futures fabrication workshops in which submissions were translated into physical representative objects. These objects were then displayed in the pawn shop’s glass cases and on product hooks for the remainder of the exhibition.
Pawn Tomorrow’s second phase commenced upon the close of the ‘brick and mortar’ shop and the exhibition itself. We used the prototyped speculations as starting points for a series of conversations with 11 futures-experts and thought leaders. These interactions ignited dialog about the value of non-expert contributions in futures-visioning circles that are frequently dominated by a small and interconnected group of practitioners. In these conversations, we asked each participant to act as an appraiser of the future objects, and to provide a price and justification for the appraisal of each item. The appraisals added an additional layer of thought to each of the projections, by nuancing the concepts with political, economic and social scenarios that may have given rise to the item, or transpired around the item.
The project’s third phase saw the launch of an online Pawn Tomorrow shop, in which the products and their appraisal stories were posted, and made available for purchase. The objects were available at the prices given by their appraisers, anywhere from $0.48 to $4000, with the profits of each sale going to organizations that might in some way influence each future. In addition to getting the profits from the sale, the recipient organization also got a printed and framed photograph of the object to be shown in their workspace, hopefully serving as a constant reminder of one possible direction that their research could take us in.
ANURA-43
$69
An artificial bio-robotic frog to replace the ecological necessities that have been carried out by an endangered and extinct species.
---
Appraisal by Garry Golden, @garrygolden
Time™ named ANURA-29 ‘Object of the Year’ in 2037 after it helped reestablish balance to some of the world’s most fragile ecosystems. Three years later, excessive use by a eco-hacker group led to a near collapse of the Florida Everglades. Today, ANURA-43 units are cheap and plentiful but useless without the refillable bio-chemical cocktails used by the frog as they roam the ecosystem. This is one of the most heavily regulated products in the market. Today only licensed macro-system engineers can purchase and apply bio-chem cocktails used by ANURA units. Kids still love chasing them around and you can buy more chemically neutral liquid refills for your backyard gardens.
$69
An artificial bio-robotic frog to replace the ecological necessities that have been carried out by an endangered and extinct species.
---
Appraisal by Garry Golden, @garrygolden
Time™ named ANURA-29 ‘Object of the Year’ in 2037 after it helped reestablish balance to some of the world’s most fragile ecosystems. Three years later, excessive use by a eco-hacker group led to a near collapse of the Florida Everglades. Today, ANURA-43 units are cheap and plentiful but useless without the refillable bio-chemical cocktails used by the frog as they roam the ecosystem. This is one of the most heavily regulated products in the market. Today only licensed macro-system engineers can purchase and apply bio-chem cocktails used by ANURA units. Kids still love chasing them around and you can buy more chemically neutral liquid refills for your backyard gardens.
Inspired by:
2013 - Sudden disappearance of whole honeybee hives, known as Colony Collapse Disease (CDD), has devastated global agriculture. To eliminate CCD, researchers have designed and engineered a multi-functional E. coli - ‘Bee. coli’ - aiming to prevent parasite infection, mainly by Nosema ceranae, mediated CCD.
NYMU synthetic biology iGEM team from National Yang Ming University, Taiwan
https://2013.igem.org/Team:NYMU-Taipei/Project/Kill
2012 - Research into creation of a new generation of synthetic organisms could be the way to save some of the natural world's most endangered species, according to conservationists. "One idea is to create a synthetic alga that makes some form of biofuel. Blooms would be highly lucrative and could be harvested. Thus the water would be cleared up from the revenue made from the alga's biofuel."
Professor Paul Freemont of the Centre for Synthetic Biology at Imperial College London
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/apr/07/fungal-disease-conservation-synthetic-biology
2013 - Sudden disappearance of whole honeybee hives, known as Colony Collapse Disease (CDD), has devastated global agriculture. To eliminate CCD, researchers have designed and engineered a multi-functional E. coli - ‘Bee. coli’ - aiming to prevent parasite infection, mainly by Nosema ceranae, mediated CCD.
NYMU synthetic biology iGEM team from National Yang Ming University, Taiwan
https://2013.igem.org/Team:NYMU-Taipei/Project/Kill
2012 - Research into creation of a new generation of synthetic organisms could be the way to save some of the natural world's most endangered species, according to conservationists. "One idea is to create a synthetic alga that makes some form of biofuel. Blooms would be highly lucrative and could be harvested. Thus the water would be cleared up from the revenue made from the alga's biofuel."
Professor Paul Freemont of the Centre for Synthetic Biology at Imperial College London
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/apr/07/fungal-disease-conservation-synthetic-biology
CLEAN GENE MACHINE
$100
Allows people who believe they are targets of genetic terrorism, or are “sterility suicide bombers” themselves, to visualize all the genetic permutations that could result from reproducing with any given mate and to eliminate those which would result in their children being infertile. It essentially enables people to select the best of the many variations of offspring they could have with a particular person (or to select a different mate).
---
Appraised by Bruce Sterling, @bruces
If it's 2050 then I'd suggest pricing everything in a futuristic currency. The "RupeeYuan," maybe
If a genetic device (CLEAN GENE MACHINE) is worth a basic hundred units, then a personality/mental device (MICRO-MIND) oughta be about 175, while a quack rubbish like a crystal drone set (DRONE DETECTION COOKIE DOUGH) is about 19.95 units because its consumers are illiterates.
$100
Allows people who believe they are targets of genetic terrorism, or are “sterility suicide bombers” themselves, to visualize all the genetic permutations that could result from reproducing with any given mate and to eliminate those which would result in their children being infertile. It essentially enables people to select the best of the many variations of offspring they could have with a particular person (or to select a different mate).
---
Appraised by Bruce Sterling, @bruces
If it's 2050 then I'd suggest pricing everything in a futuristic currency. The "RupeeYuan," maybe
If a genetic device (CLEAN GENE MACHINE) is worth a basic hundred units, then a personality/mental device (MICRO-MIND) oughta be about 175, while a quack rubbish like a crystal drone set (DRONE DETECTION COOKIE DOUGH) is about 19.95 units because its consumers are illiterates.
Inspired by:
2012 - A British biotechnology company called Oxitec has developed a method to modify the genetic structure of the male Aedes mosquito. The Aedes mosquito carries dengue, one of the most rapidly spreading viral diseases in the world. The transformation essentially turns it into a mutant capable of destroying its own species.
Oxitec (British biotech company)
https://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/07/09/120709fa_fact_specter
2045 - World population exceeds 9 billion – U.S. Census Bureau https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_future_in_forecasts
2012 - A British biotechnology company called Oxitec has developed a method to modify the genetic structure of the male Aedes mosquito. The Aedes mosquito carries dengue, one of the most rapidly spreading viral diseases in the world. The transformation essentially turns it into a mutant capable of destroying its own species.
Oxitec (British biotech company)
https://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/07/09/120709fa_fact_specter
2045 - World population exceeds 9 billion – U.S. Census Bureau https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_future_in_forecasts
$99
A robotic drone that delivers yogurt to promote health.
---
Appraised by Richard The, @readyletsgo
"I remember growing up in '23 or '24 or so, Dro-Yo Inc. would use these little blue guys to promote their life-extending products. Four at a time, they'd whizz around, play this memorable jingle, and drop yoghurt samples when prompted using the voice interface: "Yo Drop!"
Now you can't find these anywhere anymore, drones this large are so post-future. This is a real rare vintage collector's item."
Inspired by:
2013 - Yovivo Yogurt is a probiotic yogurt which contains, resveratrol, the molecule that links red wine to health benefits such as lowering bad cholesterol, moderating blood sugar levels, and improving circulation. The yogurt is made using molecular cloning, by cutting and pasting the resveratrol gene from the red grape to the yogurt probiotic.
Biochemistry Researchers from UCSF, Yale, and Princeton
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/yovivo-probiotic-yogurt-advancing-access-to-better-health-for-all
2020 - Robotic aerial drones will be the must-have weapon for air forces across the globe. - Teal Group market study in The Washington Post, July 4, 2011, The Futurist Magazine, Jan-Feb 2012
2013 - Yovivo Yogurt is a probiotic yogurt which contains, resveratrol, the molecule that links red wine to health benefits such as lowering bad cholesterol, moderating blood sugar levels, and improving circulation. The yogurt is made using molecular cloning, by cutting and pasting the resveratrol gene from the red grape to the yogurt probiotic.
Biochemistry Researchers from UCSF, Yale, and Princeton
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/yovivo-probiotic-yogurt-advancing-access-to-better-health-for-all
2020 - Robotic aerial drones will be the must-have weapon for air forces across the globe. - Teal Group market study in The Washington Post, July 4, 2011, The Futurist Magazine, Jan-Feb 2012
DRONE DETECTION COOKIE DOUGH
$19.95
You eat it and it projects a magical biosphere - deflecting drones via spider web technology and quartz crystals.
---
Appraised by Bruce Sterling, @bruces
If it's 2050 then I'd suggest pricing everything in a futuristic currency. The "RupeeYuan," maybe
If a genetic device (CLEAN GENE MACHINE) is worth a basic hundred units, then a personality/mental device (MICRO-MIND) oughta be about 175, while a quack rubbish like a crystal drone set (DRONE DETECTION COOKIE DOUGH) is about 19.95 units because its consumers are illiterates.
$19.95
You eat it and it projects a magical biosphere - deflecting drones via spider web technology and quartz crystals.
---
Appraised by Bruce Sterling, @bruces
If it's 2050 then I'd suggest pricing everything in a futuristic currency. The "RupeeYuan," maybe
If a genetic device (CLEAN GENE MACHINE) is worth a basic hundred units, then a personality/mental device (MICRO-MIND) oughta be about 175, while a quack rubbish like a crystal drone set (DRONE DETECTION COOKIE DOUGH) is about 19.95 units because its consumers are illiterates.
Inspired by:
2020 - Robotic aerial drones will be the must-have weapon for air forces across the globe. - Teal Group market study in The Washington Post, July 4, 2011, The Futurist Magazine, Jan-Feb 2012
2020 - Robotic aerial drones will be the must-have weapon for air forces across the globe. - Teal Group market study in The Washington Post, July 4, 2011, The Futurist Magazine, Jan-Feb 2012
GOLD OYSTER
$24.99
A floating device to filter and extract gold particles from marine sea water.
---
Appraisal by Christina Agapakis, @thisischristina
Medieval alchemists sought the philosopher's stone--a substance that could transform ordinary materials into gold. Today, microbiologists know that several species of bacteria can transmute dissolved gold-containing molecules in seawater into solid gold. Put the Gold Oyster in seawater and watch a "pearl" of gold* nanoparticles grow!
*Visible gold particles not guaranteed. For novelty use only."
$24.99
A floating device to filter and extract gold particles from marine sea water.
---
Appraisal by Christina Agapakis, @thisischristina
Medieval alchemists sought the philosopher's stone--a substance that could transform ordinary materials into gold. Today, microbiologists know that several species of bacteria can transmute dissolved gold-containing molecules in seawater into solid gold. Put the Gold Oyster in seawater and watch a "pearl" of gold* nanoparticles grow!
*Visible gold particles not guaranteed. For novelty use only."
Inspired by:
2012 - Marine water is one of the richest sources of gold in the nature. Scientist started exploring marine bacteria as nanofactories for Gold Nanoparticle biosynthesis.
CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology, India
http://www.microbialcellfactories.com/content/11/1/86
2012 - Marine water is one of the richest sources of gold in the nature. Scientist started exploring marine bacteria as nanofactories for Gold Nanoparticle biosynthesis.
CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology, India
http://www.microbialcellfactories.com/content/11/1/86
NEXT CHOICE INHERIT
$39.99
The need will be to examine the gene sequencing in embryos and implant only those embryos that do not exhibit genetic predispositions to diseases.
This contraception device receives embryos on one end, analyzes and processes only those embryos that do not have harmful genes. This will end inherited diseases in the family’s new generation.
Appraised by Nicola Twilley, @nicolatwilley
"I consulted Sharper Image as my pricing guide, on the assumption that this is a consumer-level good. My thinking was that Tele-squito should cost a little more, as it ostensibly has a business purpose, where as Next Choice Inherit strikes me as something that high-end health insurance will probably pay for, so that would be the co-pay."
$39.99
The need will be to examine the gene sequencing in embryos and implant only those embryos that do not exhibit genetic predispositions to diseases.
This contraception device receives embryos on one end, analyzes and processes only those embryos that do not have harmful genes. This will end inherited diseases in the family’s new generation.
Appraised by Nicola Twilley, @nicolatwilley
"I consulted Sharper Image as my pricing guide, on the assumption that this is a consumer-level good. My thinking was that Tele-squito should cost a little more, as it ostensibly has a business purpose, where as Next Choice Inherit strikes me as something that high-end health insurance will probably pay for, so that would be the co-pay."
Inspired by:
2015-2019 genome sequencing industries continue to show growth - Ray Kurzweil
https://www.amazon.com/Singularity-Near-Humans-Transcend-Biology/dp/0143037889/
2030 – Newborn child in developed country has life expectancy of 130 years https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_future_in_forecast
2015-2019 genome sequencing industries continue to show growth - Ray Kurzweil
https://www.amazon.com/Singularity-Near-Humans-Transcend-Biology/dp/0143037889/
2030 – Newborn child in developed country has life expectancy of 130 years https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_future_in_forecast
SPACECRETE
$112
Using astronaut waste and microbes to cement together fine rocky materials could prove a sustainable building material on spacecrafts, especially when paired with 3D printing technology.
--
Appraisal by Claire Evans, @theuniverse
"It takes about two dozen Spacrecrete Units to cobble together enough MicroMatter to make a mug. Impressive to drink your morning coffee substitute out of a material which theoretically emerged from nothing, but prohibitive for larger building projects. State underwriting to purchase Spacrecrete Units in bulk, for swarm construction in interstellar space, fell through after concerns that their combined weight on spacecrafts would consume prohibitive amounts of fuel. They have since become highly prized on Earth by microsculptors and niche crafts enthusiasts interested in biodegradable components for their wetware assemblages."
$112
Using astronaut waste and microbes to cement together fine rocky materials could prove a sustainable building material on spacecrafts, especially when paired with 3D printing technology.
--
Appraisal by Claire Evans, @theuniverse
"It takes about two dozen Spacrecrete Units to cobble together enough MicroMatter to make a mug. Impressive to drink your morning coffee substitute out of a material which theoretically emerged from nothing, but prohibitive for larger building projects. State underwriting to purchase Spacrecrete Units in bulk, for swarm construction in interstellar space, fell through after concerns that their combined weight on spacecrafts would consume prohibitive amounts of fuel. They have since become highly prized on Earth by microsculptors and niche crafts enthusiasts interested in biodegradable components for their wetware assemblages."
Inspired by:
2011 - Students from Brown University and Stanford University showed how inserting genetic machinery from E. coli makes Anabaena excrete more of its energy as sugar. The team also showed that they could support colonies of other bacteria on the sugar. In theory, such microbial colonies could make oil, plastics or fuel for astronauts.
Brown-Stanford iGEM team
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21628855.100-build-a-mars-base-with-a-box-of-engineered-bugs.html
2006 - Nanotechnology will enable "nanofabricators" to create human-scale objects on an atom-by-atom basis. Home appliances using this technology could serve as 3-D printers - downloading products from the web and literally building them from scratch. Physical items would each have their own code or algorithm that would program the machine to create them.
Dr. K. Eric Drexler
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Spr5PWiuRaY
2011 - Students from Brown University and Stanford University showed how inserting genetic machinery from E. coli makes Anabaena excrete more of its energy as sugar. The team also showed that they could support colonies of other bacteria on the sugar. In theory, such microbial colonies could make oil, plastics or fuel for astronauts.
Brown-Stanford iGEM team
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21628855.100-build-a-mars-base-with-a-box-of-engineered-bugs.html
2006 - Nanotechnology will enable "nanofabricators" to create human-scale objects on an atom-by-atom basis. Home appliances using this technology could serve as 3-D printers - downloading products from the web and literally building them from scratch. Physical items would each have their own code or algorithm that would program the machine to create them.
Dr. K. Eric Drexler
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Spr5PWiuRaY
TELE-SQUITO
$89.99
A mosquito bootleg device
Capture mosquitos and extract proprietary genes - implant into other mosquitos for fun and business.
---
Appraised by Nicola Twilley, @nicolatwilley
"I consulted Sharper Image as my pricing guide, on the assumption that this is a consumer-level good. My thinking was that Tele-squito should cost a little more, as it ostensibly has a business purpose, where as Next Choice Inherit strikes me as something that high-end health insurance will probably pay for, so that would be the co-pay."
$89.99
A mosquito bootleg device
Capture mosquitos and extract proprietary genes - implant into other mosquitos for fun and business.
---
Appraised by Nicola Twilley, @nicolatwilley
"I consulted Sharper Image as my pricing guide, on the assumption that this is a consumer-level good. My thinking was that Tele-squito should cost a little more, as it ostensibly has a business purpose, where as Next Choice Inherit strikes me as something that high-end health insurance will probably pay for, so that would be the co-pay."
Inspired by:
2012 - A British biotechnology company called Oxitec has developed a method to modify the genetic structure of the male Aedes mosquito. The Aedes mosquito carries dengue, one of the most rapidly spreading viral diseases in the world. The transformation essentially turns it into a mutant capable of destroying its own species.
Oxitec (British biotech company)
https://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/07/09/120709fa_fact_specter
2012 - High costs for GM crop seeds are driving up black market prices in India, leading to a profusion of bootlegged seeds illegally marketed as genetically modified products.
Vivekananda Nemana, NYTimes
https://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/16/in-india-gm-crops-come-at-a-high-price/?_r=0
2012 - A British biotechnology company called Oxitec has developed a method to modify the genetic structure of the male Aedes mosquito. The Aedes mosquito carries dengue, one of the most rapidly spreading viral diseases in the world. The transformation essentially turns it into a mutant capable of destroying its own species.
Oxitec (British biotech company)
https://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/07/09/120709fa_fact_specter
2012 - High costs for GM crop seeds are driving up black market prices in India, leading to a profusion of bootlegged seeds illegally marketed as genetically modified products.
Vivekananda Nemana, NYTimes
https://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/16/in-india-gm-crops-come-at-a-high-price/?_r=0
THE CRITTER ORCHESTRA
$192
A device that allows the user to compose and assign new sounds to small critters (insects, find frogs, reptiles, etc.) These animals can be deliberately programmed to produce your tunes. Warning: Some places will sell this as a toy. Be careful.
---
Appraised by Yasaman Sheri, @yeahsnos
The Critter Orchestra was a product popularized in the 2030s. In the next few years it's popularity fell when cheaper and better versions of Sensi Inc. products became available for purchase. In 2050, it made a come back when speculative stories about a secret Sensi Laboratory went viral in the media. The product was re-manufactured as the strong brand identity created a demand for the nostalgic ones who played with it in the 30s.
This Critter Orchestra in particular is one of the original ones manufactured in the 30s and is available at a price for only $192.00. Consider investing in this legendary object, as in the coming years the price will go high when it becomes truly antique and the Lab secrets are revealed!
Price in 2050 - $192
Story of Critter Orchestra
(The really long version):
Since the 1900s scientists and designers had been engaged in developing the tools of synthetic biology and probing ways in which we could move towards a better future. As various research Laboratories continued to look for solutions for long standing problems with this new technology, a chain of mysterious events set in motion in the early 2030s that changed life for all time to come.
By 2034 programming life had become cheap and acceptable globally. Citizens could now easily program behaviors in other living things with easy-to-use bio-interfacing tools and basic parts that could be used to build complex systems. a handful of new companies were born with novel ways of doing things, while old legacy corporations like P&G, Tyson foods, Intel, Google and Microsoft continued to expand product portfolio to include biological technologies.
Among the dozens of leading corporations in the industry was the new start-up-esque manufacturing company called Sensi. With their award winning and revolutionary sense-based products that changed the various "outputs" in plants and animals, they were able to become extremely popular among children and sought after by powerful people. The company's success began with a product called the "Singing Plants" which was a tool for kids to assign a sound to plants and later versions included other living things such as the "Critter Orchestra" and "Kitty Talk". The company's goal was to expand their product line to leverage all 5 senses, better reflecting their brand as "Sensi".
Soon the company offered sensors and "making-kits" allowing users to alter various organisms' not only sound but also their taste, shape, behavior, color, odor, texture and much more. For instance remember the "Worm de la Chef" toolkit? It is almost nostalgic to think of.
These "sense" kits worked out well for the company as their success was from the strategic decision to make a kit of parts inspired by lego, targeting children to build their dream pets. However in 2037 one of the co-founders had the idea to take the business in a different direction; she wanted Sensi to be the world leading company in perception and sense.
She created a Laboratory in a remote place, hiring the smartest and the most talented people to build upon Sensi technology to alter behavior of more complex organisms like humans. She thought that if she can do this with her team of designers and scientists, they could create an open platform for changing individual's sensory input and output with similar plug and play tools that had helped succeed Sensi in the early days.
The platform would be social and each individual would be able to control their own output and input to whatever degree they felt comfortable. Some considered this to be a scary tool that would encourage manipulation, but the co-founder believed that by helping humans create alternate realities by tuning whats coming in, and whats going out, they could have the ability to break their bodily limitations. She saw it as a creative tool, something artists can paint their world with. Everyone was an artists with Sensi.
In 2049, however, the co-founder's unconscious body was found close to the Laboratory and shortly after the media was overtaken by speculation regarding the cause of her death.
Many believe that it was a political move by a competitor, others think it was due to the stress of running such a large project in such times. Some believe that the team at the Lab began testing the technology on themselves and had "unsafe" and unwanted results or because she had began altering her own self so much that she no longer wanted to live in the "current" world. Still others believe that its due to Sensi struggling with making revenue from the time the Lab was launched, considering the billions of dollars poured in to running the research.
But in any case, the incident created a lot of negative press, and a new CEO took over who had some thoughts on how he must run the company in order to save the legacy of Sensi. He shut down the research facility (which we still don't know the details of what happened) and he brought back the original Sensi-kits as a vintage and nostalgic tool, considering its strong brand identity, to kickstart the company in a direction that would forever be remembered for making fun tools to orchestrate various sensing-designs on critters and plants.
The Critter Orchestra is the 3rd edition of the _s_o_u_n_d_ Sensi devices that is very quickly becoming popularized among the generation who grew up with them in the 2030s. If you find this Critter Orchestra manufactured in the 2030s in a pawn shop, you should consider purchasing it as it's price will be going quite high in the coming years when this object becomes a historical anomaly and an antique!
$192
A device that allows the user to compose and assign new sounds to small critters (insects, find frogs, reptiles, etc.) These animals can be deliberately programmed to produce your tunes. Warning: Some places will sell this as a toy. Be careful.
---
Appraised by Yasaman Sheri, @yeahsnos
The Critter Orchestra was a product popularized in the 2030s. In the next few years it's popularity fell when cheaper and better versions of Sensi Inc. products became available for purchase. In 2050, it made a come back when speculative stories about a secret Sensi Laboratory went viral in the media. The product was re-manufactured as the strong brand identity created a demand for the nostalgic ones who played with it in the 30s.
This Critter Orchestra in particular is one of the original ones manufactured in the 30s and is available at a price for only $192.00. Consider investing in this legendary object, as in the coming years the price will go high when it becomes truly antique and the Lab secrets are revealed!
Price in 2050 - $192
Story of Critter Orchestra
(The really long version):
Since the 1900s scientists and designers had been engaged in developing the tools of synthetic biology and probing ways in which we could move towards a better future. As various research Laboratories continued to look for solutions for long standing problems with this new technology, a chain of mysterious events set in motion in the early 2030s that changed life for all time to come.
By 2034 programming life had become cheap and acceptable globally. Citizens could now easily program behaviors in other living things with easy-to-use bio-interfacing tools and basic parts that could be used to build complex systems. a handful of new companies were born with novel ways of doing things, while old legacy corporations like P&G, Tyson foods, Intel, Google and Microsoft continued to expand product portfolio to include biological technologies.
Among the dozens of leading corporations in the industry was the new start-up-esque manufacturing company called Sensi. With their award winning and revolutionary sense-based products that changed the various "outputs" in plants and animals, they were able to become extremely popular among children and sought after by powerful people. The company's success began with a product called the "Singing Plants" which was a tool for kids to assign a sound to plants and later versions included other living things such as the "Critter Orchestra" and "Kitty Talk". The company's goal was to expand their product line to leverage all 5 senses, better reflecting their brand as "Sensi".
Soon the company offered sensors and "making-kits" allowing users to alter various organisms' not only sound but also their taste, shape, behavior, color, odor, texture and much more. For instance remember the "Worm de la Chef" toolkit? It is almost nostalgic to think of.
These "sense" kits worked out well for the company as their success was from the strategic decision to make a kit of parts inspired by lego, targeting children to build their dream pets. However in 2037 one of the co-founders had the idea to take the business in a different direction; she wanted Sensi to be the world leading company in perception and sense.
She created a Laboratory in a remote place, hiring the smartest and the most talented people to build upon Sensi technology to alter behavior of more complex organisms like humans. She thought that if she can do this with her team of designers and scientists, they could create an open platform for changing individual's sensory input and output with similar plug and play tools that had helped succeed Sensi in the early days.
The platform would be social and each individual would be able to control their own output and input to whatever degree they felt comfortable. Some considered this to be a scary tool that would encourage manipulation, but the co-founder believed that by helping humans create alternate realities by tuning whats coming in, and whats going out, they could have the ability to break their bodily limitations. She saw it as a creative tool, something artists can paint their world with. Everyone was an artists with Sensi.
In 2049, however, the co-founder's unconscious body was found close to the Laboratory and shortly after the media was overtaken by speculation regarding the cause of her death.
Many believe that it was a political move by a competitor, others think it was due to the stress of running such a large project in such times. Some believe that the team at the Lab began testing the technology on themselves and had "unsafe" and unwanted results or because she had began altering her own self so much that she no longer wanted to live in the "current" world. Still others believe that its due to Sensi struggling with making revenue from the time the Lab was launched, considering the billions of dollars poured in to running the research.
But in any case, the incident created a lot of negative press, and a new CEO took over who had some thoughts on how he must run the company in order to save the legacy of Sensi. He shut down the research facility (which we still don't know the details of what happened) and he brought back the original Sensi-kits as a vintage and nostalgic tool, considering its strong brand identity, to kickstart the company in a direction that would forever be remembered for making fun tools to orchestrate various sensing-designs on critters and plants.
The Critter Orchestra is the 3rd edition of the _s_o_u_n_d_ Sensi devices that is very quickly becoming popularized among the generation who grew up with them in the 2030s. If you find this Critter Orchestra manufactured in the 2030s in a pawn shop, you should consider purchasing it as it's price will be going quite high in the coming years when this object becomes a historical anomaly and an antique!
Inspired by:
2035 - Synthetic Biology - the creation of life from nonliving chemicals designed on a computer - could produce thousands of synthetic genomes and life-forms not yet imagined. - Jerome C. Glenn, director of Millennium Project in Moving from Vision to Action
2011 - The protozoa Toxoplasma gondii has been found to cause personality changes - making men more jealous and likely to break rules, while women become more cheerful and warmhearted. T. gondii reproduces in cats’ guts, and therefore can be spread by contact such as cleaning a litter box.
Kevin Lafferty from the University of California, Santa Barbara
https://www.nextnature.net/2011/02/the-cat-parasite-that-sells-motorcycles/
2035 - Synthetic Biology - the creation of life from nonliving chemicals designed on a computer - could produce thousands of synthetic genomes and life-forms not yet imagined. - Jerome C. Glenn, director of Millennium Project in Moving from Vision to Action
2011 - The protozoa Toxoplasma gondii has been found to cause personality changes - making men more jealous and likely to break rules, while women become more cheerful and warmhearted. T. gondii reproduces in cats’ guts, and therefore can be spread by contact such as cleaning a litter box.
Kevin Lafferty from the University of California, Santa Barbara
https://www.nextnature.net/2011/02/the-cat-parasite-that-sells-motorcycles/
VIRTUSENS
$35
A virtual recording of your memories, distinguishing your memories of reality vs. your virtual memories. The device was created for the retaining of familial ties amidst the barrier of time. It exists in complement to a software that saves the new crew members family personalities and allow for some semblance of physical interaction in a virtual realm.
Due to the need for efficiency, it is a very small object directly connected to the memory section of the brain. The actual storage of the device is at the groove of the neck. It spreads out in a branch like format so that it can trigger the senses when reconstructing a memory.
---
Appraisal by Jess Charlesworth, @jessginger
"Once Neuroenhancers and any kind of mind reading device gonna become so default and everyone gonna have those. The promises of the brand that release them will be inherently different. The idea that you can replace someone’s memory. If you bought that from someone else device can be incredibly interesting if you see it in a Pawn shop context. Will it be embarrassing or even a more desirable collectors object.
The Virtusens will be the standard for survival kits for any space traveller along with a blanket and a gun."
$35
A virtual recording of your memories, distinguishing your memories of reality vs. your virtual memories. The device was created for the retaining of familial ties amidst the barrier of time. It exists in complement to a software that saves the new crew members family personalities and allow for some semblance of physical interaction in a virtual realm.
Due to the need for efficiency, it is a very small object directly connected to the memory section of the brain. The actual storage of the device is at the groove of the neck. It spreads out in a branch like format so that it can trigger the senses when reconstructing a memory.
---
Appraisal by Jess Charlesworth, @jessginger
"Once Neuroenhancers and any kind of mind reading device gonna become so default and everyone gonna have those. The promises of the brand that release them will be inherently different. The idea that you can replace someone’s memory. If you bought that from someone else device can be incredibly interesting if you see it in a Pawn shop context. Will it be embarrassing or even a more desirable collectors object.
The Virtusens will be the standard for survival kits for any space traveller along with a blanket and a gun."
Inspired by:
2020 - A spaceship will be built that is capable of carrying human crews to other planets. NASA’s Nautilus-x would take the International Space Station and outfit it with artificial-gravity, supply storage, and hangars for landing vehicles. The whole project could be completed for $4 billion. - NASA’s Technology Applications Assessment Team in January 2011 http://futuristicnews.com/nautilus-x-in-space-vehicle-concept-for-cis-lunar-and-deep-space-missions
2021 - Our digital experience of reality will make the connection points between communities more visible and malleable—and new persuasive technologies will challenge the long-standing divisions between us and them. —Rachel Hatch https://www.iftf.org/our-work/global-landscape/ten-year-forecast
2020 - A spaceship will be built that is capable of carrying human crews to other planets. NASA’s Nautilus-x would take the International Space Station and outfit it with artificial-gravity, supply storage, and hangars for landing vehicles. The whole project could be completed for $4 billion. - NASA’s Technology Applications Assessment Team in January 2011 http://futuristicnews.com/nautilus-x-in-space-vehicle-concept-for-cis-lunar-and-deep-space-missions
2021 - Our digital experience of reality will make the connection points between communities more visible and malleable—and new persuasive technologies will challenge the long-standing divisions between us and them. —Rachel Hatch https://www.iftf.org/our-work/global-landscape/ten-year-forecast
WATTEXCHANGE
$200
In an effort to reduce debt, the government has issued alternative energy carbon credit calculators to individuals to allow them to contribute to the offset of national debt by selling incremental credits to foreign creditors.
A stream of information about the use of energy eligible for transfer debt offset credit is assessed by the calculator in real time. The tally is redeemable at kiosks through meter readers.
--
Appraised by Jake Dunagan, Retired Futurist, @dunagan23
“If it's worth anything, it would have to be a collector's item. It's interesting to pay off our national debt as individuals. Otherwise it might have tanked, and then became a collector's item, like the Studebaker.
Reminds me of a dream catcher for energy, collecting electromagnetic waves. It could be a maker’s item that is much more accurate than the government issued one. It gets you .001 % benefit, so if there's enough exchange, you’re making a profit.
If it's a black market thing, it's scamming the system and syphoning off money.
Maybe in 2050, the discontinued metal change would be rare and collectable, and their composite makes this device more valuable. The device only works with super-rare 2020 coins. You get this starter kit and then you have to find the rare coins that can make this thing operate. The device is practically free, but the coins are the valuable part.”
Price in 2050 - $200 (device is $10 but comes with 4 rare coins so sells for a total of $200)
$200
In an effort to reduce debt, the government has issued alternative energy carbon credit calculators to individuals to allow them to contribute to the offset of national debt by selling incremental credits to foreign creditors.
A stream of information about the use of energy eligible for transfer debt offset credit is assessed by the calculator in real time. The tally is redeemable at kiosks through meter readers.
--
Appraised by Jake Dunagan, Retired Futurist, @dunagan23
“If it's worth anything, it would have to be a collector's item. It's interesting to pay off our national debt as individuals. Otherwise it might have tanked, and then became a collector's item, like the Studebaker.
Reminds me of a dream catcher for energy, collecting electromagnetic waves. It could be a maker’s item that is much more accurate than the government issued one. It gets you .001 % benefit, so if there's enough exchange, you’re making a profit.
If it's a black market thing, it's scamming the system and syphoning off money.
Maybe in 2050, the discontinued metal change would be rare and collectable, and their composite makes this device more valuable. The device only works with super-rare 2020 coins. You get this starter kit and then you have to find the rare coins that can make this thing operate. The device is practically free, but the coins are the valuable part.”
Price in 2050 - $200 (device is $10 but comes with 4 rare coins so sells for a total of $200)
Inspired by:
2015 U.S debt to rise to $19.6 trillion by 2015, University of Maryland Professor Carmen Reinhart https://www.reuters.com/article/2010/06/08/usa-treasury-debt-idUSN088462520100608
2023 – Alternatives to carbon-based fuels provide 30% of all energy used worldwide – TechCast https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_future_in_forecasts
2015 U.S debt to rise to $19.6 trillion by 2015, University of Maryland Professor Carmen Reinhart https://www.reuters.com/article/2010/06/08/usa-treasury-debt-idUSN088462520100608
2023 – Alternatives to carbon-based fuels provide 30% of all energy used worldwide – TechCast https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_future_in_forecasts
NIGHTMARE FUEL
$35
This invention will be able to replace someone's memories with bad memories/nightmares. Every time this happens, you retrieve it's energy source, "Nightmare Fuel" which fuels the machine and makes the nightmares stronger.
This invention requires a rapidly renewable energy source.
---
Appraisal by Stuart Candy, https://futuryst.blogspot.com/
Pretty serious piece of gear, this. True, their EROI's completely biebered, but wow, the stories I've heard - these puppies can do a lot of damage. The thing is that not many people actually want to amp their own nightmares - and amping others' thoughts without consent is, of course, the stuff Schedule A neurocrimes are made of.
Theoretically this could find a legit and licenced buyer among certain religious groups, or, like, a therapist from the whatever-doesn't-kill-you school. But every transaction we do here is wired through the Pawnbrokers' Ethics Code, and if you're not in the system already this'd trip more red tape than either of us'd care to deal with. So here, either we can sell it to you defunctioned, or if you're interested I have a first rate neurotech guy, and for a small fee he could convert over to a fantastic HDME. You never used one? Oh you're in for a treat, my friend.
$35 (defunctioned) / $535 (mod to Happy Dream Memory Enhancer)
$35
This invention will be able to replace someone's memories with bad memories/nightmares. Every time this happens, you retrieve it's energy source, "Nightmare Fuel" which fuels the machine and makes the nightmares stronger.
This invention requires a rapidly renewable energy source.
---
Appraisal by Stuart Candy, https://futuryst.blogspot.com/
Pretty serious piece of gear, this. True, their EROI's completely biebered, but wow, the stories I've heard - these puppies can do a lot of damage. The thing is that not many people actually want to amp their own nightmares - and amping others' thoughts without consent is, of course, the stuff Schedule A neurocrimes are made of.
Theoretically this could find a legit and licenced buyer among certain religious groups, or, like, a therapist from the whatever-doesn't-kill-you school. But every transaction we do here is wired through the Pawnbrokers' Ethics Code, and if you're not in the system already this'd trip more red tape than either of us'd care to deal with. So here, either we can sell it to you defunctioned, or if you're interested I have a first rate neurotech guy, and for a small fee he could convert over to a fantastic HDME. You never used one? Oh you're in for a treat, my friend.
$35 (defunctioned) / $535 (mod to Happy Dream Memory Enhancer)
Inspired by:
2013 - Scientists at MIT have identified a gene that plays a critical role in "memory extinction," the process by which old memories are replaced by new ones. This development could one day lead to pharmaceuticals for forgetting bad memories.
Andrii Rudenko, MIT
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/20/gene-forget-bad-memories-found-by-scientists_n_3957354.html
2035 - Synthetic Biology - the creation of life from nonliving chemicals designed on a computer - could produce thousands of synthetic genomes and life-forms not yet imagined. - Jerome C. Glenn, director of Millennium Project in Moving from Vision to Action
2013 - Scientists at MIT have identified a gene that plays a critical role in "memory extinction," the process by which old memories are replaced by new ones. This development could one day lead to pharmaceuticals for forgetting bad memories.
Andrii Rudenko, MIT
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/20/gene-forget-bad-memories-found-by-scientists_n_3957354.html
2035 - Synthetic Biology - the creation of life from nonliving chemicals designed on a computer - could produce thousands of synthetic genomes and life-forms not yet imagined. - Jerome C. Glenn, director of Millennium Project in Moving from Vision to Action
ETHX OVERWRITE
$99
In the future, we will increasingly rely on non-human decision-making devices to provide rational, emotion free decisions to complex ethical decision making. We will harness the clean, focussed thought patterns of insects.
This device is a rare chip-tuning add-on developed in Hunts Point, Bronx. The insect overwrites the decision making processes in robotic cars, like the factory predefined algorithms deciding which party will die in the unlikely case of an unavoidable fatal accident.
Only compatible with Tesla Xs, 2040 onwards models.
---
Appraisal by Christina Agapakis, @thisischristina
"Don't let Tesla make ethical choices for you! Neuronal firing in the embedded insect will free you* from feelings of guilt in the event of an accident.
*Ethx Overwrite will not free you from legal responsibility. Check with your car's user agreement before installing Ethx Overwrite, as tampering with the car's algorithms may void the warranty. By installing Ethx Overwrite in your car you agree to all the product terms and conditions and release Ethx Overwrite from any and all liability in the event of any adverse effects."
$99
In the future, we will increasingly rely on non-human decision-making devices to provide rational, emotion free decisions to complex ethical decision making. We will harness the clean, focussed thought patterns of insects.
This device is a rare chip-tuning add-on developed in Hunts Point, Bronx. The insect overwrites the decision making processes in robotic cars, like the factory predefined algorithms deciding which party will die in the unlikely case of an unavoidable fatal accident.
Only compatible with Tesla Xs, 2040 onwards models.
---
Appraisal by Christina Agapakis, @thisischristina
"Don't let Tesla make ethical choices for you! Neuronal firing in the embedded insect will free you* from feelings of guilt in the event of an accident.
*Ethx Overwrite will not free you from legal responsibility. Check with your car's user agreement before installing Ethx Overwrite, as tampering with the car's algorithms may void the warranty. By installing Ethx Overwrite in your car you agree to all the product terms and conditions and release Ethx Overwrite from any and all liability in the event of any adverse effects."
Inspired by:
Scientists have created artificial genetic material that can store information and evolve over generations in a similar way to DNA – a feat expected to drive research in medicine and biotechnology, and shed light on how molecules first replicated and assembled into life billions of years ago.
Ultimately, the creation of alternatives to DNA could enable scientists to make novel forms of life in the laboratory - MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, in Cambridge
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/apr/19/dna-alternative-xnas-science-genetics
The specific mix of microbes in our guts might help determine what kinds of brains we have — how our brain circuits develop and how they're wired. Of course, this doesn't mean that the microbes are causing changes in brain structure, or in behavior. But other researchers have been trying to figure out a possible connection by looking at gut microbes in mice. There they've found changes in both brain chemistry and behavior. One experiment involved replacing the gut bacteria of anxious mice with bacteria from fearless mice. - Stephen Collins of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario
https://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/11/18/244526773/gut-bacteria-might-guide-the-workings-of-our-minds
Scientists have created artificial genetic material that can store information and evolve over generations in a similar way to DNA – a feat expected to drive research in medicine and biotechnology, and shed light on how molecules first replicated and assembled into life billions of years ago.
Ultimately, the creation of alternatives to DNA could enable scientists to make novel forms of life in the laboratory - MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, in Cambridge
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/apr/19/dna-alternative-xnas-science-genetics
The specific mix of microbes in our guts might help determine what kinds of brains we have — how our brain circuits develop and how they're wired. Of course, this doesn't mean that the microbes are causing changes in brain structure, or in behavior. But other researchers have been trying to figure out a possible connection by looking at gut microbes in mice. There they've found changes in both brain chemistry and behavior. One experiment involved replacing the gut bacteria of anxious mice with bacteria from fearless mice. - Stephen Collins of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario
https://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/11/18/244526773/gut-bacteria-might-guide-the-workings-of-our-minds
EXO-LIFE
$24
A small machine that creates new organisms to test the capacity on sustaining life in new environments on exoplanets and space stations.
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Appraisal by Scott Smith, Strangeist pvt. ltd, specialist purveyors of science and technology disaster collectibles, Navi Mumbai @changeist
"This one’s interesting. I’ve seen grainy pictures on Tumblwall but never one up close. Where were you on 23 March, 2034? You may remember seeing the GIFs, a fiery burst followed by shards of silver, all under the red haze of a Martian dawn. That was the moment Mittal Space’s TEF-2 was destroyed by crew members in due to contamination of the TEF during pre-checks for human use. Mittal had deployed one of the original Exo-Life units, from an initial run of seven, to pre-test habitability of the TEF ground stations prior to launch of human colonists to the Red Planet in late 2033. The Exo unit in question not only failed, but brought its own contaminants to the TEF, a fact not discovered until the crew contracted a particularly unsavory variant of Legionnaires. Hence the quick move to a quarantine unit and an emergency burndown for the main unit. The design was abandoned due to faults in machining that gave bacteria a tiny place to ride along. A ₹73 billion mistake, that.
This little Exo isn’t one of the original seven used by Mittal, but a replica fabricated for news coverage, a faux-Exo, if you will. But, still interesting as it was one of the first replicas you could download as a collectible and print at home as a disaster keepsake.
The market for science and tech disaster collectibles has weakened in the last decade as it’s been flooded with items, which is why we’ve moved more into quantum computing disaster collectibles as an emerging market. Still, given this replica’s own connection to the main story, my associates and I would peg the value at around ₹15,000 for a connoisseur Indian collector, or probably around $24 North American."
$24
A small machine that creates new organisms to test the capacity on sustaining life in new environments on exoplanets and space stations.
--
Appraisal by Scott Smith, Strangeist pvt. ltd, specialist purveyors of science and technology disaster collectibles, Navi Mumbai @changeist
"This one’s interesting. I’ve seen grainy pictures on Tumblwall but never one up close. Where were you on 23 March, 2034? You may remember seeing the GIFs, a fiery burst followed by shards of silver, all under the red haze of a Martian dawn. That was the moment Mittal Space’s TEF-2 was destroyed by crew members in due to contamination of the TEF during pre-checks for human use. Mittal had deployed one of the original Exo-Life units, from an initial run of seven, to pre-test habitability of the TEF ground stations prior to launch of human colonists to the Red Planet in late 2033. The Exo unit in question not only failed, but brought its own contaminants to the TEF, a fact not discovered until the crew contracted a particularly unsavory variant of Legionnaires. Hence the quick move to a quarantine unit and an emergency burndown for the main unit. The design was abandoned due to faults in machining that gave bacteria a tiny place to ride along. A ₹73 billion mistake, that.
This little Exo isn’t one of the original seven used by Mittal, but a replica fabricated for news coverage, a faux-Exo, if you will. But, still interesting as it was one of the first replicas you could download as a collectible and print at home as a disaster keepsake.
The market for science and tech disaster collectibles has weakened in the last decade as it’s been flooded with items, which is why we’ve moved more into quantum computing disaster collectibles as an emerging market. Still, given this replica’s own connection to the main story, my associates and I would peg the value at around ₹15,000 for a connoisseur Indian collector, or probably around $24 North American."
Inspired by:
2035 - Synthetic Biology - the creation of life from nonliving chemicals designed on a computer - could produce thousands of synthetic genomes and life-forms not yet imagined. - Jerome C. Glenn, director of Millennium Project in Moving from Vision to Action
2012
The next time humans set foot on an alien world, they may bring small, lightweight "bug boxes" packed full of engineered microbes that could aid in creation of food, fuel plastics, and building materials.
André Burnier and Brown University research students
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21628855.100-build-a-mars-base-with-a-box-of-engineered-bugs.html
2035 - Synthetic Biology - the creation of life from nonliving chemicals designed on a computer - could produce thousands of synthetic genomes and life-forms not yet imagined. - Jerome C. Glenn, director of Millennium Project in Moving from Vision to Action
2012
The next time humans set foot on an alien world, they may bring small, lightweight "bug boxes" packed full of engineered microbes that could aid in creation of food, fuel plastics, and building materials.
André Burnier and Brown University research students
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21628855.100-build-a-mars-base-with-a-box-of-engineered-bugs.html
MICRO-MIND
$175.00
In the future, people will be capable of going to specific specialists to request microbial supplements to augment and change not just their physique but their personalities. These microbes would be packaged in custom made pills that are crafted specifically for your own needs.
To test for personality pills, there would be a specific simulation test in which you are presented with situations and graded on the results.
--
Appraisal by Bruce Sterling, @bruces
If it's 2050 then I'd suggest pricing everything in a futuristic currency. The "RupeeYuan," maybe
If a genetic device (CLEAN GENE MACHINE) is worth a basic hundred units, then a personality/mental device (MICRO-MIND) oughta be about 175, while a quack rubbish like a crystal drone set (DRONE DETECTION COOKIE DOUGH) is about 19.95 units because its consumers are illiterates.
$175.00
In the future, people will be capable of going to specific specialists to request microbial supplements to augment and change not just their physique but their personalities. These microbes would be packaged in custom made pills that are crafted specifically for your own needs.
To test for personality pills, there would be a specific simulation test in which you are presented with situations and graded on the results.
--
Appraisal by Bruce Sterling, @bruces
If it's 2050 then I'd suggest pricing everything in a futuristic currency. The "RupeeYuan," maybe
If a genetic device (CLEAN GENE MACHINE) is worth a basic hundred units, then a personality/mental device (MICRO-MIND) oughta be about 175, while a quack rubbish like a crystal drone set (DRONE DETECTION COOKIE DOUGH) is about 19.95 units because its consumers are illiterates.
Inspired by:
2013 - The makeup of the human gut bacteria might affect one’s body weight. Scientists are currently working on figuring out which bacteria are responsible for obesity and slimness so that eventually, people can be given pure mixtures of transplanted bacteria.
Dr. Jeffry Gordon, Center for Genome Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/health/gut-bacteria-from-thin-humans-can-slim-mice-down.html
2013 - The specific mix of microbes in our guts might help determine what kinds of brains we have. In studies, anxious mice who were given the gut bacteria of fearless mice became more gregarious, and bold mice became timid when given microbes of anxious ones.
Stephen Collins, Professor in the Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario
https://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/11/18/244526773/gut-bacteria-might-guide-the-workings-of-our-minds
2013 - The makeup of the human gut bacteria might affect one’s body weight. Scientists are currently working on figuring out which bacteria are responsible for obesity and slimness so that eventually, people can be given pure mixtures of transplanted bacteria.
Dr. Jeffry Gordon, Center for Genome Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/health/gut-bacteria-from-thin-humans-can-slim-mice-down.html
2013 - The specific mix of microbes in our guts might help determine what kinds of brains we have. In studies, anxious mice who were given the gut bacteria of fearless mice became more gregarious, and bold mice became timid when given microbes of anxious ones.
Stephen Collins, Professor in the Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario
https://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/11/18/244526773/gut-bacteria-might-guide-the-workings-of-our-minds
DYSON DC99 COBRA
$0.48
Indoor air is saturated with particles like fur hair that can cause allergies and other problems. Living hanging organisms will be able to subsequently digest fur hair and dust particles. They would resemble plants for aesthetic purposes.
---
Appraised by Jess Charlesworth, @jessginger
"I can see the Dyson Cobra to be the cheapest thing ever, similar to those airfresheners we have today. I imagine it would be distributed by someone like S. C. Johnson. You know how some of these air fresheners we have just stink badly. Even though the Dyson Cobra will help improve the air quality in our homes, these could be easily the airfreshener of the future. You’d immediately recognize the smell of the Dyson Cobra when you come to someone’s house."
$0.48
Indoor air is saturated with particles like fur hair that can cause allergies and other problems. Living hanging organisms will be able to subsequently digest fur hair and dust particles. They would resemble plants for aesthetic purposes.
---
Appraised by Jess Charlesworth, @jessginger
"I can see the Dyson Cobra to be the cheapest thing ever, similar to those airfresheners we have today. I imagine it would be distributed by someone like S. C. Johnson. You know how some of these air fresheners we have just stink badly. Even though the Dyson Cobra will help improve the air quality in our homes, these could be easily the airfreshener of the future. You’d immediately recognize the smell of the Dyson Cobra when you come to someone’s house."
Inspired by:
2035 - Synthetic Biology - the creation of life from nonliving chemicals designed on a computer - could produce thousands of synthetic genomes and life-forms not yet imagined. - Jerome C. Glenn, director of Millennium Project in Moving from Vision to Action
2035 - Synthetic Biology - the creation of life from nonliving chemicals designed on a computer - could produce thousands of synthetic genomes and life-forms not yet imagined. - Jerome C. Glenn, director of Millennium Project in Moving from Vision to Action
ARTISAN-IMPACT
$4000.00
ARTISAN-IMPACT - Device that determines how certain foods and supplements will affect your body.
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Appraisal by Jacob Park, Futurist & Principal Sustainability Advisor at Forum for the Future, @jacobpark
Hard to believe something as clunky as a Gen 3 Artisan-Inspect is now worth 1,600 renmupees!*
When DNA barcoders first hit the scene in the late 2020s, they were understandably a big deal. People could finally know for sure what was in their Nutraments and how it would affect their bioholome. Given the new possibilities for personal enhancement, but also the high rate of fraud, everyone wanted to make sure they were getting the right stuff--Nutrament that was real, and optimized for them individually.
Of course, the Artisan-Impact was a manual scanner, and as soon as implants took of in a big way, hand-scanning your food just seemed incredibly dorky and slow. So, like everything else, barcoding went neural--and the Gen 3 was the last manual scanner on the market.
Some people warned about the possibility of neural command-and-control hacks, but they were dismissed as kooks. Nobody took it seriously until the Trouble started in 2041. (Isn't it uncanny how people were obsessed with zombie movies 30 years earlier
It's almost as if they knew.)
Anyway, things looked really bad there for a while until that Sudanese kid came up with the brilliant idea of hacking an old Artisan-Impact for safe passage through the biosphere. Sure, there are some newer, fancier ways of navigating biomatter these days--but at 1.6rmp a repurposed Artisan-Impact is still the best deal out there.
* If US dollars still existed, this would probably be about 85,000--but that's extrapolating from the 2038 exchange rate, so it's impossible to know for sure. Given the massive inflation of the USD from 2018-2038, I think that would have been about $4,000 in 2015 dollars. Expensive, I know, but you're kinda screwed without one so people charge a lot for them.
$4000.00
ARTISAN-IMPACT - Device that determines how certain foods and supplements will affect your body.
---
Appraisal by Jacob Park, Futurist & Principal Sustainability Advisor at Forum for the Future, @jacobpark
Hard to believe something as clunky as a Gen 3 Artisan-Inspect is now worth 1,600 renmupees!*
When DNA barcoders first hit the scene in the late 2020s, they were understandably a big deal. People could finally know for sure what was in their Nutraments and how it would affect their bioholome. Given the new possibilities for personal enhancement, but also the high rate of fraud, everyone wanted to make sure they were getting the right stuff--Nutrament that was real, and optimized for them individually.
Of course, the Artisan-Impact was a manual scanner, and as soon as implants took of in a big way, hand-scanning your food just seemed incredibly dorky and slow. So, like everything else, barcoding went neural--and the Gen 3 was the last manual scanner on the market.
Some people warned about the possibility of neural command-and-control hacks, but they were dismissed as kooks. Nobody took it seriously until the Trouble started in 2041. (Isn't it uncanny how people were obsessed with zombie movies 30 years earlier
It's almost as if they knew.)
Anyway, things looked really bad there for a while until that Sudanese kid came up with the brilliant idea of hacking an old Artisan-Impact for safe passage through the biosphere. Sure, there are some newer, fancier ways of navigating biomatter these days--but at 1.6rmp a repurposed Artisan-Impact is still the best deal out there.
* If US dollars still existed, this would probably be about 85,000--but that's extrapolating from the 2038 exchange rate, so it's impossible to know for sure. Given the massive inflation of the USD from 2018-2038, I think that would have been about $4,000 in 2015 dollars. Expensive, I know, but you're kinda screwed without one so people charge a lot for them.
Inspired by:
Using a test called DNA barcoding, a kind of genetic fingerprinting that has also been used to help uncover labeling fraud in the commercial seafood industry, Canadian researchers tested 44 bottles of popular supplements sold by 12 companies. They found that many were not what they claimed to be, and that pills labeled as popular herbs were often diluted — or replaced entirely — by cheap fillers like soybean, wheat and rice - Steven G. Newmaster, a biology professor and botanical director of the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario at the University of Guelph.
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/05/science/herbal-supplements-are-often-not-what-they-seem.html
Using a test called DNA barcoding, a kind of genetic fingerprinting that has also been used to help uncover labeling fraud in the commercial seafood industry, Canadian researchers tested 44 bottles of popular supplements sold by 12 companies. They found that many were not what they claimed to be, and that pills labeled as popular herbs were often diluted — or replaced entirely — by cheap fillers like soybean, wheat and rice - Steven G. Newmaster, a biology professor and botanical director of the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario at the University of Guelph.
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/05/science/herbal-supplements-are-often-not-what-they-seem.html
DE-EXTINCT GUN
$130
DE-EXTINCT GUN - A gun to protect biodiversity by paralyzing endangered animals with energized air and flashlight and sample their genetic material.
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Appraisal by Stuart Candy, https://futuryst.blogspot.com/
Biomark's first De-Extinct gun, released 2028, was an instantly successful piece of pop-science gear building on their strong line of pocket DNA sequencers. But their foray into the consumer market didn't end well. A contraption designed to stun-freeze unsuspecting animals and extract their DNA turned out to have other irresistible - and less scientific - uses. Thousands of the mass-produced stunguns sold at $14.95 a pop to college pranksters supposedly prepping for biology field trips, while in fact planning to zap and gene-ransom their classmates. An unpleasant campus security incident at Duke in 2032 led to the DEG being classed as a weapon by the World Authority, then swiftly recalled by Biomark. I'm not actually sure about its legal status now, but even if this one's deactivated you wouldn't find one anywhere else for less than $150. A true collectors' item.
$130
DE-EXTINCT GUN - A gun to protect biodiversity by paralyzing endangered animals with energized air and flashlight and sample their genetic material.
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Appraisal by Stuart Candy, https://futuryst.blogspot.com/
Biomark's first De-Extinct gun, released 2028, was an instantly successful piece of pop-science gear building on their strong line of pocket DNA sequencers. But their foray into the consumer market didn't end well. A contraption designed to stun-freeze unsuspecting animals and extract their DNA turned out to have other irresistible - and less scientific - uses. Thousands of the mass-produced stunguns sold at $14.95 a pop to college pranksters supposedly prepping for biology field trips, while in fact planning to zap and gene-ransom their classmates. An unpleasant campus security incident at Duke in 2032 led to the DEG being classed as a weapon by the World Authority, then swiftly recalled by Biomark. I'm not actually sure about its legal status now, but even if this one's deactivated you wouldn't find one anywhere else for less than $150. A true collectors' item.
Inspired by:
2013 - Sudden disappearance of whole honeybee hives, known as Colony Collapse Disease (CDD), has devastated global agriculture. To eliminate CCD, researchers have designed and engineered a multi-functional E. coli - ‘Bee. coli’ - aiming to prevent parasite infection, mainly by Nosema ceranae, mediated CCD.
NYMU synthetic biology iGEM team from National Yang Ming University, Taiwan
https://2013.igem.org/Team:NYMU-Taipei/Project/Kill
2012 - Research into creation of a new generation of synthetic organisms could be the way to save some of the natural world's most endangered species, according to conservationists. "One idea is to create a synthetic alga that makes some form of biofuel. Blooms would be highly lucrative and could be harvested. Thus the water would be cleared up from the revenue made from the alga's biofuel."
Professor Paul Freemont of the Centre for Synthetic Biology at Imperial College London
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/apr/07/fungal-disease-conservation-synthetic-biology
2013 - Sudden disappearance of whole honeybee hives, known as Colony Collapse Disease (CDD), has devastated global agriculture. To eliminate CCD, researchers have designed and engineered a multi-functional E. coli - ‘Bee. coli’ - aiming to prevent parasite infection, mainly by Nosema ceranae, mediated CCD.
NYMU synthetic biology iGEM team from National Yang Ming University, Taiwan
https://2013.igem.org/Team:NYMU-Taipei/Project/Kill
2012 - Research into creation of a new generation of synthetic organisms could be the way to save some of the natural world's most endangered species, according to conservationists. "One idea is to create a synthetic alga that makes some form of biofuel. Blooms would be highly lucrative and could be harvested. Thus the water would be cleared up from the revenue made from the alga's biofuel."
Professor Paul Freemont of the Centre for Synthetic Biology at Imperial College London
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/apr/07/fungal-disease-conservation-synthetic-biology
THIRD EYE
$19.99
THIRD EYE - An ear piece/camera combo that sees words in your environment and reads them to you into the earpiece. Great for vintage media such as books.
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Appraised by Garry Golden, @garrygolden
Third Eye devices are vintage pieces for vintage media. These eye-ear platform devices were hyped in the early 2030s as a ‘Next Big Thing’ but consumer adoption stalled. Most people credit the failure of the iEar Piece for Apple’s bankruptcy in 2034. Big bets on eye-ear platforms could not compete with neuro signal feeds that dominated the marketplace after 2035. Most unsold units were destroyed by producers but enough made it into the markplace that they are still cheap and great gag gifts for friends who love vintage techware.
$19.99
THIRD EYE - An ear piece/camera combo that sees words in your environment and reads them to you into the earpiece. Great for vintage media such as books.
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Appraised by Garry Golden, @garrygolden
Third Eye devices are vintage pieces for vintage media. These eye-ear platform devices were hyped in the early 2030s as a ‘Next Big Thing’ but consumer adoption stalled. Most people credit the failure of the iEar Piece for Apple’s bankruptcy in 2034. Big bets on eye-ear platforms could not compete with neuro signal feeds that dominated the marketplace after 2035. Most unsold units were destroyed by producers but enough made it into the markplace that they are still cheap and great gag gifts for friends who love vintage techware.
Inspired by:
2015 - the majority (61%) of internet traffic will be via video - Cisco blogger Thomas Barnett, June 2011, The Futurist Magazine, Jan-Feb 2012
2015 - the majority (61%) of internet traffic will be via video - Cisco blogger Thomas Barnett, June 2011, The Futurist Magazine, Jan-Feb 2012
SEE YOURSELF AS A HUMAN
$5
SEE YOURSELF AS A HUMAN - The US have invested all their money into developing humanoids. They are obedient slaves with subhuman power. With increasing humanoids the US enter their humanoids in the world cup. They demolish every team labeling the games as the most boring in history. The US people should feel happy with the win, but instead they feel ashamed of their abilities. The quest for what it means to be human begins.
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Appraisal by Stuart Candy, https://futuryst.blogspot.com/
You don't need to tell me, I've heard it a million times –nothing shouts "US humanoid trying too hard" quite like one of these "See Yourself as Human" headsup units. Right
With their butt-ugly bright (and unconvincingly patriotic) red-white-blue color schemes.
But look, these are gold to the canny investor. Think about it. After the US-humanoid team won the Cup in '50, remember how attitudes started to change
Fact is you hardly find these for sale new anywhere now. The way things are going, maybe one day the humanoids will simply be accepted, and will be able to accept themselves, for what they are. Imagine how strange these'll seem to us then! It's an heirloom waiting to happen.
I guess we could let this one go for $5.
$5
SEE YOURSELF AS A HUMAN - The US have invested all their money into developing humanoids. They are obedient slaves with subhuman power. With increasing humanoids the US enter their humanoids in the world cup. They demolish every team labeling the games as the most boring in history. The US people should feel happy with the win, but instead they feel ashamed of their abilities. The quest for what it means to be human begins.
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Appraisal by Stuart Candy, https://futuryst.blogspot.com/
You don't need to tell me, I've heard it a million times –nothing shouts "US humanoid trying too hard" quite like one of these "See Yourself as Human" headsup units. Right
With their butt-ugly bright (and unconvincingly patriotic) red-white-blue color schemes.
But look, these are gold to the canny investor. Think about it. After the US-humanoid team won the Cup in '50, remember how attitudes started to change
Fact is you hardly find these for sale new anywhere now. The way things are going, maybe one day the humanoids will simply be accepted, and will be able to accept themselves, for what they are. Imagine how strange these'll seem to us then! It's an heirloom waiting to happen.
I guess we could let this one go for $5.
Inspired by:
2015 U.S debt to rise to $19.6 trillion by 2015, University of Maryland Professor Carmen Reinhart https://www.reuters.com/article/2010/06/08/usa-treasury-debt-idUSN088462520100608
2050 – A team of fully autonomous humanoid robots can win against the human world soccer champion team – RoboCup, objective, https://www.robocup.org/about-robocup/
2015 U.S debt to rise to $19.6 trillion by 2015, University of Maryland Professor Carmen Reinhart https://www.reuters.com/article/2010/06/08/usa-treasury-debt-idUSN088462520100608
2050 – A team of fully autonomous humanoid robots can win against the human world soccer champion team – RoboCup, objective, https://www.robocup.org/about-robocup/
CRYPTOCRICKET
$200
This cricket radio can communicate with programmed insects and can determine if they might embody cryptocurrency. Using genetic engineering as a wallet for storing cryptocurrency in the natural world. The technology was deployed in 2020 and was marketed as a perfect tool to inherit money. With the rise of devices like the cricket radio however it now considered as a non-secure practice.
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Appraisal by E Roon Kang - Designer/researcher - www.eroonkang.com/
In 2050, this is like 30 years old. In 2015, you can buy an X-Y plotter (a device that was popular in 1985) for about $499 so the price would be roughly the same since those time windows are about equal.
In 2050 the price is set to be at $200
$200
This cricket radio can communicate with programmed insects and can determine if they might embody cryptocurrency. Using genetic engineering as a wallet for storing cryptocurrency in the natural world. The technology was deployed in 2020 and was marketed as a perfect tool to inherit money. With the rise of devices like the cricket radio however it now considered as a non-secure practice.
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Appraisal by E Roon Kang - Designer/researcher - www.eroonkang.com/
In 2050, this is like 30 years old. In 2015, you can buy an X-Y plotter (a device that was popular in 1985) for about $499 so the price would be roughly the same since those time windows are about equal.
In 2050 the price is set to be at $200
Inspired by:
2011 - To keep their communications from being intercepted, robots are learning to talk like African cave crickets by speaking through rings of high-pressure air. Such communication would require neither sound nor wireless signals, making the message between them incredibly difficult to intercept. - Monash University, Australia.
2011 - To keep their communications from being intercepted, robots are learning to talk like African cave crickets by speaking through rings of high-pressure air. Such communication would require neither sound nor wireless signals, making the message between them incredibly difficult to intercept. - Monash University, Australia.
$200
The Emoto Converter is a machine by which a person’s memories can be extracted, turned into ‘currency’, assigned a fair market value, and then implanted into another person’s mind as payment for a good or service.
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Appraisal by E Roon Kang - Designer/researcher - www.eroonkang.com/
How often would you do this? Is it a daily thing? Something you’d do during lunch? Maybe it’s a monthly event. It’s a device... The implant and extraction sessions would take about 15 minutes. Maybe it’s a Bladerunner type thing, happening in massage shops. You walk in and they use this device to perform a service. The device itself might be roughly $200 - it’s not a mainframe computer, but rather, you hold it in your hand, and replace it if you need to, though you wouldn’t replace it every day.
The year 2050 price is set to be at $200
Inspired by:
2013 - Scientists at MIT have identified a gene that plays a critical role in "memory extinction," the process by which old memories are replaced by new ones. This development could one day lead to pharmaceuticals for forgetting bad memories. - Andrii Rudenko, MIT
and
2021 - Even as we work to mitigate climate change, we will adapt in thousands of small and local ways to our changing environment—leveraging strategies that range from simple to complex, and from constraining to transformative. - Jamais Cascio
2013 - Scientists at MIT have identified a gene that plays a critical role in "memory extinction," the process by which old memories are replaced by new ones. This development could one day lead to pharmaceuticals for forgetting bad memories. - Andrii Rudenko, MIT
and
2021 - Even as we work to mitigate climate change, we will adapt in thousands of small and local ways to our changing environment—leveraging strategies that range from simple to complex, and from constraining to transformative. - Jamais Cascio
CAMEL PHARM 3000
$130
Farm symbiosis service provides a happy brain-to-brain experience for camels, and in exchange they produce customized pharmaceutical milk to your specified needs.
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Appraisal by E Roon Kang - Designer/researcher - www.eroonkang.com/
Camels are a big deal in Korea in 2015 because of MERS - the virus is circulating via camels. So it might be dangerous to use this in certain cases. That said, it sounds like a very professional object, possibly in the same category as a dental drill, which goes for about $130 used, so in 2050, a price somewhere around there would make sense.
$130
Farm symbiosis service provides a happy brain-to-brain experience for camels, and in exchange they produce customized pharmaceutical milk to your specified needs.
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Appraisal by E Roon Kang - Designer/researcher - www.eroonkang.com/
Camels are a big deal in Korea in 2015 because of MERS - the virus is circulating via camels. So it might be dangerous to use this in certain cases. That said, it sounds like a very professional object, possibly in the same category as a dental drill, which goes for about $130 used, so in 2050, a price somewhere around there would make sense.
Inspired by:
2014 - A group of researchers in Europe have developed what they are calling the first “human brain-to-brain interface,” allowing people to communicate telepathically through the Internet without a surgical implant, bringing us closer to the day when soldiers behind enemy lines exchange information via sensors reading their thoughts. - Carles Grau and Research Team in PLOS ONE journal
2012 - Researchers in Dubai hope to create the first genetically modified camels capable of producing pharmaceutical proteins in their milk,which can then be processed to manufacture cheaper drugs for the region. - Reproductive Biology Laboratory at Dubai's Camel Reproduction Center, in the United Arab Emirates
2014 - A group of researchers in Europe have developed what they are calling the first “human brain-to-brain interface,” allowing people to communicate telepathically through the Internet without a surgical implant, bringing us closer to the day when soldiers behind enemy lines exchange information via sensors reading their thoughts. - Carles Grau and Research Team in PLOS ONE journal
2012 - Researchers in Dubai hope to create the first genetically modified camels capable of producing pharmaceutical proteins in their milk,which can then be processed to manufacture cheaper drugs for the region. - Reproductive Biology Laboratory at Dubai's Camel Reproduction Center, in the United Arab Emirates