Meckin Robert, Balmer Andrew
The University of Manchester, UK.
Public Underst Sci. 2019 Apr;28(3):290-304. doi: 10.1177/0963662518808694. Epub 2018 Oct 25.
Public involvement in technological anticipation is a common feature of contemporary sociotechnical innovation. However, most engagements abstract sociotechnical futures, rather than situating them in the everyday practices in which people are routinely engaged. Recent developments in synthetic biology have established the potential for 'drop in' replacements for ingredients in consumer products, particularly in flavour and fragrance markets. This article explains how a sensory methodology can be used to explore citizens' everyday experiences and how these can be used to ground anticipation of possible sociotechnical futures. The article uses a socio-historical approach to analyse and compare two practice domains - caring for families and hygiene and personal care - to show how biosynthetic futures can disrupt existing relations between people, objects and ideas. The implications for conceptualising publics in synthetic biology and for approaches to public engagement and participation are discussed more broadly.
公众参与技术预见是当代社会技术创新的一个共同特征。然而，大多数参与活动都抽象地看待社会技术的未来，而不是将其置于人们日常参与的实践之中。合成生物学的最新发展已为消费品成分的“直接替代”创造了潜力，尤其是在香料和香精市场。本文解释了如何运用一种感官方法来探索公民的日常体验，以及如何利用这些体验来为对可能的社会技术未来的预见提供依据。本文采用社会历史方法来分析和比较两个实践领域——家庭护理以及卫生与个人护理——以展示生物合成的未来如何可能扰乱人与物及观念之间的现有关系。文中更广泛地讨论了合成生物学中公众概念化以及公众参与和介入方法的相关影响。
