RRI Tool: Techno-Moral Vignettes

Techno-moral vignettes help you gain insight in possible future moral aspects of your biotechnology research by elaborating future scenario’s. The innovations on biotechnology you contribute to today, will make their impact on the world of tomorrow. From the past we know that often such innovative (disruptive) technologies have all sorts of unforeseen consequences. To anticipate and steer your innovations the use of these techno-moral vignettes can help you to explore possible unintended effects of your innovations.

When you would like to explore with scenarios the possible unintended impacts of biotechnology innovations on society.

Here you can find eighteen brief  scenarios, describing possible futures made possible through synthetic biology. You can use these as starting point for moral deliberation, aided by a small number of simple questions that can guide your conversations: what issues are raised in each vignette, and what changes have been effected through the technology at issue.