Future of Children Explored: Genetically Modified, Artificially Created or Non-Existent

@2013, ICE, All rights reserved
“Children Of The Future..”
Think again!
Source: http://www.peggyomara.com/2013/10/02/genetically-modified-babies/

What if, in the future…
•“we”go on to live for a long time, and become our own future? There are no children?
•we forgetwhat a “child”is?
•children are no longer ‘born’but manufactured? A child becomes a technological marvel?
•all the beauty inside (and outside) can be fabricated, can be artificially modified,and can be quantified?

Explore the future of children
A future with no children!
Why is it a possibility?
What current trends might lead to this future scenario?
Will the family survive the revolution?
If there are children in the future
Where will they come from?
What will they look like?
Who will be their friends?
What will be their interests, skills and capabilities?
What will our population pyramids look like?
How will we take care of children in the future?
Your opinions

A future with no children…
Source: http://imgkid.com/family-walking-on-the-beach.shtml

The Trend
Source: http://janettessage.blogspot.in/2011/07/are-these-trends-good.html

“In the past, married couples in America had two choices: Have a child like everybody else or be shunned (or, worse, pitied) by the community. But today, regardless of where you live, you can connect with thousands of others who feel the same way.”
-The no baby boom,
Details. http://www.details.com/culture-trends/critical-eye/201104/no-baby-boom-non-breeders

Why is it on the rise?
Changing social norms
•Having a child used to be an important factor in the success of a marriage. This is not an important factor any more.
No time
•In this fast paced world potential parents weigh the different options they can spend their time on, instead of on parenting.

The choices couples are making:
Sleep, friends, money, travel, exercise, hobbies, sex, spontaneity, free time, nightlife, luxury…
Having a baby
v/s
Source: http://www.details.com/culture-trends/critical-eye/201104/no-baby-boom-non-breeders

Replaceable friends
•Once your old friends start having children you see them less and less. In the new digital age, old friends are easily replaceable with FB friends, like-minded people in virtual meet-ups and meeting the growing number of no-baby people.
Regret among breeders
•In a 2003 survey of more than 20,000 parents that Dr. Phil conducted for his show, 40 percent reported that they wouldn't have had kids if they'd realized the difficulties of raising a family.

Uncle or Dad
Whom do you want to be?
People prefer being an uncle rather than a dad.
Image source: http://barneyrobin.livejournal.com/571066.html

No fear of old age
•People used to worry about the fact that there would be no one to take care of them in their old age. Now, people don’t even think of getting old. With technology assisting them to live longer, live stronger and live independently, people don’t want children anymore. http://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/mar/26/third- babies-2012-live-100
•Training programs that help old people gain independence and ability to do day-to-day tasks are on the rise. http://sentiencept.com.au/programmes-services/living-longer- living-stronger/
DINK –Double Income No Kids
•With both the partners becoming earning members of the family, even if one partner has to sit back because of a child, it’s seen as a loss in family economy.
•A survey done by Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences showed that the biggest reasons for couples to choose DINK lifestyle were that having a baby would consume energy, affect working quality, reduce economic power and upset the romantic world of a couple. Source: http://www.china.org.cn/english/NM-e/60094.htm
Image Source: http://sentiencept.com.au/programmes- services/living-longer-living-stronger/
Image Source: http://www.pinterest.com/hcbishop/no-kids- no-worries/

Source: http://blog.mothersafe.or.kr/1478?category=10
If there will be babies, where will they come from?

Surrogate Mothers
Commercial surrogacy, made legal in India in 2002 and popular among Indian and foreign couples who are unable to conceive, has provided a lucrative source of income for some women acting as surrogate mothers despite local stigmas and ethical debates.
Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/in-india-a-rise- in-surrogate-births-for-west/2013/07/26/920cb5f8-efde-11e2- 8c36-0e868255a989_story.html

Baby Tourism
•Asian countries like Thailand and India are popular destinations for medical tourists—the primary advantage being the cost differential.
•Foreign nationals also find Asian countries great for “baby” tourism for the same reasons –money. It is easier to find surrogate mothers and the cost of delivering a surrogate baby is also much lower. http://www.theage.com.au/national/australians-flock-to- india-to-find-surrogate-mothers-20130913-2tqbx.html
•The Indian government, for example, allows foreign nationals to bring in frozen embryos and pursue surrogacy, in vitro fertilization (IVF) or any other procedure related to treating infertility. http://www.medicaltourismco.com/medical- tourism/indian-govt-allows-frozen-embryo-import-for- artificial-reproduction/

Co-parenting
•Co-parenting means raising a child without being in a relationship with the child's mother or father.
•CoParents.com is a social media platform aimed at connecting sperm donors, people wishing to become parents, LGBTs wanting to have a child and surrogate mothers. Source: http://www.coparents.com/want-baby.php
Source: http://www.pink-parenting.com/legal-low-down-co- parenting/
Source: http://www.metroparent.com/Metro-Parent/May- 2011/Co-Parenting-Plan/

Plastic babies
•Globally, 20,000 doll makers and collectors have developed life-like replicas of newborns called Reborn Babies. The price of these dolls ranges from $250 to $800, depending on their complexity and level of detail. The most expensive doll, made by artist RomieStrydom, was sold to a collector for 22,000 Euros—or around $30,000.
•Watch a documentary on them - http://www.vice.com/Fringes/reborn-babies Source: http://www.today.com/id/26970782/ns/today- today_news/t/bogus-baby-boom-women-who-collect- lifelike-dolls/#.U9oumlcw2ZJ http://writerjaymaul.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/plastic-baby-doll-d41075.jpg

Ectogenesis: Artificial wombs
•Ectogenesis: raising a fetus outside the human body in an artificial womb.
•“The term ectogenesiswas coined in 1924 by British scientist J.B.S. Haldane. He predicted by 2074 only 30 percent of births would be human births. Science has grown much quicker than he realized, and his take is probably much too conservative. Some futurists like myself (I’m also married to an ObGyn) think ectogenesiswill be here in 20 years, and widely used in 30 years around the world.” Source: http://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/read/artificial- wombs-are-coming-and-the-controversys-already-here http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/pelletier20121113
“In 2030, the prospect of woman’s liberation from the dangers of childbirth will almost certainly become a matter of general realisation. This evolution, the most serious biological departure since the natural separation of living organisms into two sexes, will vitally transform the whole status of women in society.”
-The World in2030 A.D. Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/lab-grown- babies-in-the-year-2030-90909015/#hSl72ZRK0LdEWu7Y.99

Designer babies
•Currently, it is legal to modify the faulty genes in the cells of a grown child or an adult to cure diseases like cystic fibrosis -this is called body cell gene therapy.
•Consumer genomics company 23andMe patented a system for helping prospective parents choose the traits of their offspring, from disease risk to hair color.
•One day parents will have the option of modifying their unborn children, in order to spare offspring from disease or, conceivably, make them tall, well muscled, intelligent or otherwise blessed with desirable traits. Source:http://www.livescience.com/27206-genetic- engineering-babies-debate.html
•Designer babies is a term used by journalists to describe this scenario. http://www.bionetonline.org/english/content/db_cont1.htm
Source: http://smg.photobucket.com/user/mrbrusky/media/Art/DesignerBabiesPosterA3Large.jpg.html
Source: http://designerbabiesethics.wordpress.com/

Designer babies -Will it lead to the
resurgence of Eugenics?
•Eugenics comes from the Greek roots for “good” and "generation" or "origin" and was first used to refer to the "science" of heredity and good breeding in about 1883. (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/dh23eu.html )
•Eugenics was at the center of Nazi ideology. Nazi eugenics were Nazi Germany's racially based social policies that focused on the improvement of the Aryan race or Germanic “Ubermenschen” master race. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_eugenics )
•Eugenics was the racist pseudoscience determined to wipe away all human beings deemed “unfit,” preserving only those who conformed to a Nordic stereotype. (http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/1796#sthash.ymXdsqLG.dpuf )
•Between the turn of the 20th century and entry into World War II, America engaged in its own experiment in “racial hygiene.” States prohibited marriage between the “fit” and “unfit,” often defining the latter category very broadly. They forcibly sterilized tens of thousands of people with the Supreme Court’s blessing. (http://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/america-must- acknowledge-its-own-eugenics-problem )
Source: http://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/america-must- acknowledge-its-own-eugenics-problem
•Will the Designer Baby become a tool in the hands of those who believe in Eugenics?
•How can we safeguard against that?
•How is one different from the other?

What will you choose?
Genetically designed baby
Artificial womb
Surrogate mother
Plastic baby
Natural conception

Will the family survive the revolution?
“Human reproduction has long been a preoccupation of ethicists, scientists and science fiction, from the lab-reared children of Brave New Worldto the artificial uteri shown in The Matrix.And as the recent furor over Facebook and Apple’s proposal to offer to fund the freezing of their female employee’s eggs indicated, we’re far from settled about how emerging reproductive technologies will affect the way we live.” –Source: http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/11/06/future_tense_event_will_the_family_survive_the_revolution_in_ reproductive.html
Will families ever look the same again? As the family sizes have reduced from a joint family to a nuclear family, what will be the next progression?
Will more corporations in the future offer the employee’s the facility of freezing their eggs? Is this another form of “Day care centers” where instead of the babies, the centers look after the employee’s potential future babies?
Source: http://faculty.georgetown.edu/irvinem/theory/Semiotics_and_Communication.html

What will children look like? Who will be their friends? What will be their interests, skills and capabilities?

Just like we use Predictive Analysis to analyze current and historical facts to make predictions about future, we might be able to predict and selectively consent to particular traits in our babies. Does this mean that whatever we visualize as the ideal baby will be the reality of the future?
Example 1:
•MakeMeBabies(http://makemebabies.com/) uses advanced face detection technology to predict what your baby will look like.
Example 2:
•GenePeeksgoes one step further: its software takes the genome sequences of both parents to produce “10,000 simulated pairings” —in other words, 10,000 virtual, hypothetical children. The company’s current test only looks for disease risk, but, as New Scientist points out, its patent is much, much broader. Its technique could screen for any number of traits with a genetic basis, according to the patent, including skin colour, breast size, hair texture, and even eyelash length. Source: http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2014/04/predict-what-your-future-children-look-like-in-virtual-embryos/
Predictive Analysis –We already know how the baby of the future will look like!
Image Source: http://futurebaby.org/

If all the children will be “designed” to perfection, then what will they look like?
Will these intelligently designed babies make friends with the normal human beings? Or will they always complain about the disadvantages of not being “designed”?
Sources: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Technology/Pix/pictures/2008/04/23/Clones460x276.jpg
Intelligent and lookalikes

•Children will view humanoid robots as intelligent, social and moral beings, allowing them to develop substantial and meaningful relationships with the machines, new research suggests.
•Will parents opt to have such humanoid robots as their children?
•What will be the difference between our children and these emotionally intelligent child-like humanoids?
•Sources:
http://www.sott.net/article/243197-Robots-Could-Be- Future-Playmates-for-Kids
http://phys.org/news/2012-04-children-humanoid- robot-emotional-moral.html
Humanoid Robots –Intelligent, Social, Moral Beings
A child interacting with Robovie, a remotely controlled humanoid robot. In the near future, children may view such robots as friends. Source: http://www.sott.net/article/243197-Robots-Could- Be-Future-Playmates-for-Kids

Humanoid Robots –Intelligent, Social, Moral Beings
Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/37527143@N03/6680290835/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Changing skill sets and interests
Source: http://www.designinfographics.com/infographics-images/kids-today-digital-skills-vs-life-skills.png

Generation of addicts
•Will children be more attached to apps, tech devices and robots than human beings?
•Oliver Clark, who runs an addiction counseling service ADT Healthcare in UK, said he gets around 10 calls every day from desperate families, concerned about children as young as 11, who were spending hours on computers, and becoming aggressive when parents tried to intervene.
•Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10425194/Child-internet-addicts-sent-to-4500-a-week- addiction-clinics.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/ 10767878/Infants-unable-to-use-toy-building-blocks- due-to-iPad-addiction.html
Source: http://stuffforparents.com/podcasts/parenting-tech-savvy- child-2/
Source: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/experts-warn- schools-to-brace-for-next-generation-of-tech-savvy-children/story- e6frf7kx-1226448337277?nk=9e24c4de2617663e2ab0c6793d7bc776

Inability to memorize, concentrate and recall
•Will an app be required to inform children on who their parents are?
•“Take a moment to think about the last time you memorized someone's phone number. Was it way back…when, perhaps circa 2001? And when was the last time you were at a dinner party or having a conversation with friends, when you whipped out your smartphone to Google the answer to someone's question? Probably last week.”
•A brain researcher in South Korea says he's found evidence of short term memory loss in young kids who over-use technology, calling it “digital dementia.” There are other studies as well that indicate that we might be losing on our capabilities to memories, concentrate and recall.
•Sources: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/11/technology-changes-memory_n_4414778.htmlhttp://www.wired.com/2010/05/ff_nicholas_carr/ http://www.cbs19.tv/story/22786929/could- technology-be-causing-short-term-memory-loss
Source: http://www.yummymummyclub.ca/life/tech/bridging-the- digital-divide-with-your-tech-savvy-kid

Born with a Digital Footprint
•Children will be born with a digital footprint.
–Who will own this digital footprint?
–Will children of the future have better control over their data?
–What will happen to the privacy and piracy of this data?
•There is an alarming trend of soaring numbers of children being referred for psychiatric help amid pressures from social media, sexting and cyberbullying. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/11209020/Children-left-with-no-escape-from- cyberbullying-MPs-warn.html)
–Will the children evolve with a knowledge to counter cyberbullying?
–Will future children be “programmed” with inbuilt mechanism to fight cyberbullying and piracy?
•Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology- 27501984
Source: http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/young-boy-technology- concept-has-different-media-images-around-his-head- 35403166.jpg

Future population pyramids

Population pyramids -2014
Source: http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/2657?e=berglee_1.0-ch01_s03

Scenario 1: Population pyramid-2100
Age (in years)
200
60
Implications
•Industries around child health care will become non-existent.
•Schools and colleges will have no age restrictions.
•No retirement age.
•Museums will have living people narrating their experiences.
•Only the rich and privileged might be able to have children by buying “seeds” in the market.
•Birthdays will become a thing of the past.
•No generational divides.
If there will be no children and people will live on for much longer, then the population pyramid will have no people for 0 -40 years of age group. The pyramid will look like a bubble moving through time.
40

Scenario 2: Population pyramid-2100
200
30
Implications
•Factories will manufacture in-demand child body parts.
•Retail stores selling child-enhancement solutions will come up.
•Design-Your-Own (DYO) child revolution might take place.
•Child design specialty will be a sought after profession.
•A new service industry to take care of these artificially born babies will be required.|
•For the mobile generation, child care robots will replace day care centers.
•Some of these artificially born babies will always remain babies. In some cases they might be replaced with new “models.” A new industry will develop, to take care of or discard 'old' babies.
60
Artificially born population
In a world where children will be artificially born and people will have fewer and fewer children, the population pyramid will look like a contracting pyramid. The bottom of the pyramid, after the inflection point, will show only artificially born people.
Age (in years)

Evolution of child care and learning
If children continue to exist, then their care and learning
will evolve with the technology trends of today.
Source: http://www.goodrelationslife.co.uk/post/96970998920/seeing-is-believing-the-coming-virtual-reality

Practice caring
•RealCareBaby makes it possible for people to practice caring for an infant http://www.realityworks.com/products/realcarebaby
•Their curriculum includes three sections: Basic Infant Care; Healthy Choices: Relationships, Sexuality and Family Planning ; and Parenting: A Guide to Parenting Skills for Life.
Future scenario:
MOOCs might offer courses for child care. One will be allowed to “own” and have a child only when one would clear such courses.

Wearablesfor newborns
•Sproutlinganklet measures the child’s skin temperature, heart rate and movement, as well as environmental conditions including temperature, humidity and even the amount of light.
•Owlet is a similar device that transmits the data to a parent’s smartphone.
•Intel-promoted MimoBaby Monitor is a cute turtle-faced wearable unit that clips onto the Mimoonesie. The device transmits data to the parent’s smartphone or tablet; and also to a “smart mug” that changes colors based on the baby’s breathing pattern.
Future scenario:
Babies will come with embedded sensory devices that track their vital signs. This data will be transmitted to all surrounding smart devices that will play a role in baby care.
Source: http://thepu.sh/trends/wearables-overworked- parents/
Source: http://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/read/its-a- sproutling-wearable-tech-for-babies-has-come-to-full-term

“Smart” toddlers and adolescents
•AT&T offers the FiLIP, a “wearable locator and voice watch.” The FiLIPfits around the child’s wrist and provides location monitoring, voice calling and direct messaging between the child, parents and up to five trusted contacts. Using the smartphone app, parents can also set up “Safe Zones” to notify them immediately if their child strays from approved areas or track their whereabouts with the FiLIP’sGPS functionality.
•BeLuvvGuardian is a monitor similar to the FiLIP. Guardian goes around a child’s wrist, or is connected to their clothes so parents can pinpoint the whereabouts of their offspring via smartphone.
Future scenario:
Internet of Things will allow creation of safe zones more easily. Unsafe environments will be able to transform and become safe and child friendly, when they detect a child in the vicinity.

RoboTeachers
•Estonia started teaching its first graders to code in 2012.
•VikasGupta, co-founder and CEO of Play-i, took this idea a step further and created Bo and Yana. These are concept robots to teach programming to children as young as five years old. Source: http://thenextweb.com/gadgets/2013/12/06/with-1-4m-in-funding-bo-and-yana-are-robots-on-a- mission-to-teach-kids-as-young-as-five-to-code/
Future scenario:
Robot teachers will track the child’s learning curve and capability. As the child grows, the robot teachers will work out a child-specific learning module and offer it to the child.
Source: http://robohub.org/play-i-want-to-bring-a-robot-to- every-child/
Source: http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/expertise/toymaker- playi-says-children-can-learn-to-code-20140305-hvg9y.html

Play and learn everywhere
•Moffis a smart bangle for kidsthat is being developed by a Japanese company (suchkawaii) on a mission to transform boring everyday objects into toys with sound effects.
•With the Moffapp, children can download various games and sounds that sync to the Moffdevice. If it’s a shooter game, for example, the bracelet makes sounds like lasers. For a baseball game, the bracelet adds the sounds of a bat hitting the ball. The hope is that a child can pick up any object—say, a broomstick—and pretend they’re the next Roger Federer, with the Moffdevice adding sounds and challenges to encourage imaginative play. (http://thepu.sh/trends/wearables-overworked- parents/)
Future scenario:
In sync with the no-waiting generation, play and learning will happen anywhere, anytime depending on the child’s mood and demand. Objects will change shape, textures, colors and sound to enhance play and learning experiences.

Parents become co-players
Parents’ role will change from being just customers of digital devices for their children to being users of those digital devices along with their children.
“During the earliest years, infants and toddlers interact primarily with people. Their interactions with toys are usually in the context of human interaction as well. They need to freely explore, manipulate, and test everything in the environment. Increasingly in today’s world, this includes the exploration of technology tools and interactive media. Children of this age are drawn to push- button switches and controls. Technology tools that infants and toddlers might use must be safe, sturdy, and not easily damaged. If technology is used, it must be in the context of conversation and interactions with an adult.” Source: http://www.naeyc.org/content/technology-and- young-children/infants-and-toddlers
Source: http://learningworksforkids.com/2012/04/5- reasons-why-parents-should-play-video-games-with-their- children/

•If “you” go on to live for a long time, and become your own future generation?
•If there are no children in the future?
•What do you think –should children be ‘born’ or be ‘manufactured’?
•Would you like beauty to be artificially modified and quantified?
What choices are you going to make?
Mail us your opinions on ice@humanfactors.com

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Contactice@humanfactors.comfor any further queries and feedback.
Thank You
This report has been created by the team of Institute of Customer Experience
Apala Lahiri Chavan: apala@humanfactors.com
Ankush Samant:ankush.s@humanfactors.com
Radhika Ramadoss: radhika.r@hunafactors.com
Rasika Wadodkar:rasika.w@humanfactors.com

Future of Children Explored: Genetically Modified, Artificially Created or Non-Existent

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Future of Children Explored: Genetically Modified, Artificially Created or Non-Existent