Baby Builder
A playful exploration of genetic engineering
Self-initiated
Year of project: 2019 - 2020
Application developer: Timon Nap
Partners: Erasmus Medisch Centrum - UMC Utrecht - Universiteit Utrecht - HKU
Media: Trouw - New Scientist - AD - DUIC - De Stentor - De Gelderlander - Stichting Toekomstbeeld der Techniek
Selection of exhibitions: Dutch Design Week 2020 & 2021 - Museum de Fundatie - Ars Electronica
Press kit
The Baby Builder has been nominated for the Young Talent Award at the Dutch Design Week 2020.
About the Baby Builder
The impact of technology on our lives is increasing. Artificial intelligence, genetic engineering and nanotechnology are examples of emerging technologies predicted to drastically change our lives. This offers great opportunities, but also entails challenges.
For me, art and design are powerful tools to bring technologies alive that do not exist today and to make them concrete and tangible so you can really feel and experience the impact of them. I believe that we as a society should talk more often about the implications of technology. We should strive for a technology-critical society. The Baby Builder aims to provoke, raise awareness and spark debate about the implications of emerging technologies, in particular genetic engineering, before these become part of our reality. I think this is important in order to aim for the most humane and desirable outcome.
The Baby Builder is an interactive installation in which you can design your own child through genetic engineering. Prevent nasty genetic diseases, increase intelligence and while you’re at it, make your child extra social and empathetic right away. And how about modifying the skin tone or the sexual preferences? Some people might like this speculative scenario, others might not. Whatever your point of view may be, the Baby Builder challenges the audience to confront the ethical, societal and moral questions raised by the development of genetic engineering. Is this a future you want and where do you draw the line?
The Baby Builder is developed in close collaboration with scientists and researchers. For example, researchers of the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam use the results of the Baby Builder to better understand the public opinion of society.
Photo: Museum de Fundatie
Photo: Dutch Design Week 2021, © Roy te Lintelo
Photo: Dutch Design Week 2021, © Edwin Smits
“The Baby Builder has made me aware of the importance of public debate on genetic engineering and all its ethical challenges. I never thought I would genetically modify my child, but in the end I did.”
Photo: Ars Electronica 2020
Photo: Ars Electronica 2020
Research of data
With the gathering of data, I help researchers and scientists to gain new insights on what society thinks of genetic engineering and the choices that are made. The goal here is to listen to what society has to say and use this in the development of genetic engineering.
Below are three example figures based on the data of five exhibitions (N=973). The data of visitors who stated that they didn’t want to share their results or that they would’ve made other decisions in real life (e.g., they used the Baby Builder as if it were a game), have been filtered out (1.722 in total). Do you have questions regarding the research results or are you curious about the rest of the data? Please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Last update: 02-12-2021.
“These statistics are valuable because they show how people’s actions and choices on the Baby Builder make them feel. Experiencing and doing helps people more than just imagining. This helps to form opinions and to make us more aware of germline editing and it’s social and ethical implications.”