Notes
Grow something people want
Many enthusiasts have long asked: How can we make synbio more mainstream? Sexier, as popular as an iPhone or ChatGPT.
I believe that the question on how make synbio more interesting to people in other fields is biased.
All we need to remember is two things:
This is not about synbio
People already care
You will never be able to make my 40-year-old aunt drop her jaw at a computer in the same way that a CS nerd does. Have you asked her about her yoga Instagram account though?
We haven’t yet engineered a biological device or app whose applications are as broad as those of a computer or social media. But something every synthetic biologist could benefit from is common touch.
Understand what people want.
Ask Grace the economist how precision fermentation could put near-shoring on steroids.
Show Sam the farmer GMOs that help keep production going amidst increasing droughts.
Bring Toby the musician into a creative experience using electrical signals from living things.
Share ideas with Anna the urban planner about biophilic design that makes people’s lives better.
Don’t expect Larry the congressman to care about your new bio shiny thingy that will save the world in 20 years if you succeed.
People will never care about synbio itself in the same way no one gives a f*ck about computer science for its own sake.
Longevity folks (aka billionaires who want to live forever) know this and the dollars coming out of their wallets speak for themselves. Similar thing with big techs seeking training data for their models or vegans who want something more than soy.
It’s not about making it sexy. It’s about making it relevant. We all care too much about ourselves already so why don’t you grow something people want?