Question: What will be the most productive work environment/work flow for biotechnology research in the year 2048?
Outline: some forces at play
1. increased interest in biotechnology
– global climate change (finally taken seriously)
– outrun health/economic issues with increased life expectancy
– resource availability with growing population
– closing gap between digital and tangible– looking to self modification in near future
2. governmental pressure
– solve various crises while limiting energy use
– pressure for sustainability
– drive for recyclability / reusability (population growth)
3. technology
– digitization process in full force–
– look for a way of working that has observable causes/effects/reactions/results
4. global
– permeability of digital knowledge fosters a collective global community– decreasing the barriers between physical boundaries
– increased interest in global scientific collaboration, especially in areas relating to global climate and energy consumption
Scenario:
The year 2048 will see the maturity of several emerging crises: global climate change will finally be taken seriously, natural resources will be strained under crippling population growth, questions of ethics and quality of life will be more abundant than ever as nations try to balance budgets with the health and economic issues with supporting a population with increasing life expectancy. With these matters nearing a perilous tipping point, developments in biotechnology offer a beacon of hope for governments across the globe.
While there is an increased governmental interest in biotechnology research as a potential medium to address these global concerns, there is also an immense amount of pressure for research facilities to act as model institutions of sustainability, recyclability, and reusability. Though the prevalence of digitized data effectively dissolves physical barriers between researchers, fosters collective knowledge, and makes the goal of minimal resource waste realistic, researchers mourn the lose of tangibility, dexterity, and intuitive fluidity in their work flow.