深入研究就會發(fā)現(xiàn)，設(shè)計(jì)師的目標(biāo)是解決問題，而從定義就能看出，技術(shù)就是一系列解決問題的工具。

為什么要一邊恐懼一邊歡迎新興技術(shù)呢？

不久前在新加坡召開的《財(cái)富》頭腦風(fēng)暴設(shè)計(jì)大會上，設(shè)計(jì)師們討論了這個(gè)悖論。

“想象一下使用這些媒介后世界會是什么樣子，很不可思議?！?斯坦福大學(xué)設(shè)計(jì)學(xué)院的執(zhí)行董事莎拉·斯坦·格林伯格表示。她推動(dòng)了一場討論，嘉賓包括Impossible Foods的高級香料科學(xué)家勞拉·克里曼、Vantage Point的創(chuàng)始人及首席執(zhí)行官摩根·默瑟和斯坦福大學(xué)設(shè)計(jì)學(xué)院高管培訓(xùn)項(xiàng)目學(xué)習(xí)經(jīng)驗(yàn)設(shè)計(jì)的負(fù)責(zé)人凱瑟琳·塞戈維亞。

專家們一致認(rèn)為，虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)、人工智能與合成生物學(xué)等技術(shù)一方面讓人困惑，另一方面也能激發(fā)靈感。

各種新技術(shù)讓很多人困惑，因?yàn)楹苌儆腥苏嬲私馊绾问褂??！凹夹g(shù)越來越容易使用，但精通各種技術(shù)的多元化設(shè)計(jì)師群體并未形成。”格林伯格表示。

不過，積極運(yùn)用新興技術(shù)的設(shè)計(jì)師們表示，可以幫忙解決曾經(jīng)看似無法克服的問題和挑戰(zhàn)。

比如拯救地球環(huán)境的種種努力?？死锫赋觯瑲夂蜃兓蜕鷳B(tài)破壞的重要因素之一是人類熱愛肉食。肉類生產(chǎn)是資源密集型產(chǎn)業(yè)，消耗了地球上30%的淡水，導(dǎo)致了全球15%的溫室氣體排放。

“人們喜歡吃肉，強(qiáng)制移風(fēng)易俗行不通?！笨死锫f，他的公司位于加州，主要生產(chǎn)肉類和乳制品的植物替代品。

克里曼說，她和團(tuán)隊(duì)進(jìn)行了深入研究，找出肉類口感的“秘密來源”，發(fā)現(xiàn)是一種叫血紅素的化合物。她們公司利用合成生物學(xué)手段從植物中提取血紅素后大規(guī)模生產(chǎn)，開發(fā)肉類替代品，她表示替代品幾乎可以滿足所有人的味蕾。

“我們沒有重新設(shè)計(jì)最終的產(chǎn)品，只是重新設(shè)計(jì)了制造產(chǎn)品的工藝?！彼f?！爱a(chǎn)品是由植物直接制成的肉，可以說省略了‘中間有牛參與的部分’。”

從米其林星級餐廳到快餐連鎖店，全世界6000多家餐館都在供應(yīng)植物肉制品。不久前，新加坡的7家餐廳也開始供應(yīng)。

按照默瑟的說法，虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)可以讓人類更聰明。她在洛杉磯的設(shè)計(jì)咨詢公司就在研究該項(xiàng)技術(shù)。她說，研究表明虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)訓(xùn)練能提升75%的知識留存率?？梢酝ㄟ^多種方式利用該項(xiàng)優(yōu)勢。

想象準(zhǔn)備演講的場景。演講者要練習(xí)排練，還要記住表現(xiàn)最好的細(xì)節(jié)。聽起來挺順利，但等到真正發(fā)表演講面對真正的觀眾時(shí)，還是會緊張。通過虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)，演講者可以在真實(shí)觀眾面前排練。真正演講時(shí)便輕車熟路。

“身臨其境的媒介非常真實(shí)，非常有力，也非常有影響力。”默瑟表示。

怎么看算法？斯坦福大學(xué)的塞戈維亞說，近年來批評聲音不少，但算法只是工具，不管產(chǎn)生的結(jié)果有用還是令人恐懼，最后都要看創(chuàng)建算法的設(shè)計(jì)師。

談到新興技術(shù)時(shí)，設(shè)計(jì)者們都同意造出好產(chǎn)品的可能性很大。格林伯格補(bǔ)充說，為了真正實(shí)現(xiàn)，設(shè)計(jì)師應(yīng)該考慮想要生活的世界什么樣，以及不愿生活的世界什么樣。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：馮豐

審校：夏林

When you get down to it, designers aim to solve problems, and technology is, by definition, a series of tools to do just that.

So why we do we fear and embrace emerging tech with equal measure?

Designers convened at Fortune’s Brainstorm Design conference in Singapore recently to discuss the paradox.

“It’s amazing to think what the world might look like when you apply these mediums,’’ said Sarah Stein Greenberg, executive director of the Stanford University d.school, who facilitated a discussion that included Laura Kliman, senior flavor scientist at Impossible Foods; Morgan Mercer, founder and CEO of Vantage Point; and Kathryn Segovia, head of learning experience design in the executive education program at Stanford’s d.school.

Technologies like virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and synthetic biology can both confound and inspire, the panelists agreed.

These technologies confound many of us because few of us truly understand or know who to use them. “They are becoming more accessible, but there is not yet a diverse community of designers” fluent in these technologies, Greenberg said.

But the designers who employ emerging technologies today have begun to show us that they can help solve problems and challenges that once seemed insurmountable.

Consider the effort to save the planet’s environment. One of the most significant contributors to climate change and ecological destruction is our appetite for meat, Kliman noted. Meat production is enormously resource intensive, using 30% of all the fresh water available on the planet and producing 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

“People love meat. Asking them to change their behavior isn’t going work,’’ said Kliman, whose California employer makes plant-based substitutes for meat and dairy products.

Kliman said she and her team conducted deep research to identify the “secret source” of what gives meat its flavor, and found it is a compound named Heme. Using synthetic biology, her company extracted Heme from plant sources, produced it at scale and developed meat substitutes that she said can satisfy just about anyone’s taste buds.

“We are not redesigning the final product. We are redesigning the process to make that product,” she said. “It is meat made directly from plants. I like say we cut out the ‘middle cow.’”

Her plant-based meats are now being served in over 6,000 restaurants worldwide from Michelin-starred bistros to fast food chains. And on Wednesday, seven restaurants in Singapore began serving them, too.

And then there’s virtual reality—which can make all of us smarter, according to Mercer. Her Los Angeles design consultancy works with the technology. Studies show that virtual reality training can increase retention of knowledge by 75%, she said. That benefit can be applied in a number of ways.

Imagine someone preparing to give a speech. They practice, rehearse, and memorize the best parts. It all sounds smooth until they actually deliver the speech and become nervous in front of a real audience. With virtual reality, a speaker can rehearse in front of what looks and feels like a real audience. Delivering the real speech then becomes a piece of cake.

“Immersive mediums are so real, so impactful, so influential,’’ Mercer said.

And what about algorithms? They’ve gotten a bad rap in recent years, said Stanford’s Segovia. But they’re just tools—whether they produce results that are useful or terrifying depends on the designer who creates them.

When it comes to emerging technologies, the possibilities for producing good are great, the designers agreed. To achieve that, Greenberg added, designers must think about the world they want to live in, and the one they don’t.