Institute For The Future

Artifact from the Future: Give Some Spit, Get a Free Ride

 

You’re immune to impulse buys at check-out, but this one is different—a local ‘stress map’ of San Francisco built from epigenetic measures. Scary stories about epigenetics fill the news these days. Genes can be altered by how we live today: toxins, the environment, even daily stressors. This map will put some hard data behind the experiences of people across the city. You don’t need the free lightrail rides for participating, but free is free.

This initiative represents a step towards a truly therapeutic city. This partnership acknowledges that stress impacts not only our individual bodies, but our collective bodies as communities who share surroundings, creating impacts that will echo through generations. It also fits in with a re-imagining of public health: with more multi-sector collaboration, crowd- sourced participation in research, and individual ownership and donation of data.

This Artifact from the Future is a snapshot of what might emerge if forecasts about the future materialize. It was developed as part of our 2010 Science and Technology Map which explores where emerging technical abilities and scientific perspectives converge to fight illness and build well-being over the next decade.

Like all IFTF’s Artifacts from the Future, this image offers insights into future everyday lives and is intended to give you an immersive look at a possible future change.