Biohacking
Design Futures/Fiction
The practice of DIY biology and genetic engineering, often within the context of speculative design. Biohacking explores the potential for individuals to modify and enhance their own biology using accessible technologies.
In practice
In the intersection of design, technology, and biology, biohacking involves the DIY (Do It Yourself) modification of biological systems, often with a focus on personal enhancement or experimentation. Designers and enthusiasts in the biohacking community may explore genetic modifications, implantable devices, and other interventions to push the boundaries of human capabilities, raising ethical questions about the intersection of design, biology, and personal autonomy in the context of emerging technologies.
Questions
What is Biohacking?
Biohacking is the practice of altering biology deliberately, from diet and sleep protocols through to implants and gene editing, usually outside institutional research.
Why do you use Biohacking?
It pushes at what counts as a medical device and who is allowed to modify a body, which makes it a useful provocation for anyone designing wearables or health products.
How do you use/apply Biohacking?
Ranges from measurement and self-experiment at one end to surgical implants at the other, with a steep gradient of risk and almost no oversight.
When do you use Biohacking?
As a research lens whenever you are designing something that measures or intervenes in a body.
Who uses Biohacking?
A community of self-experimenters, and increasingly a reference point for speculative and critical designers.
