Dancing with Biopunks: Innovation in the Life Science Industry and Science Fiction

Innovation in the life sciences emerges from the tension of science facts, science fiction, societal expectations, and the viability of business models. We apply science fiction for inspiration and reflection of life science innovators in a dialectical way between biopunk and solarpunk. Starting with the dystopian biopunk genre, we exemplify various trends and patterns from a critical perspective on the life sciences, focusing on bioengineering and artificial intelligence. We derive inspirations and conclusions for a responsible innovation process. The outlook into the optimistic solarpunk genre offers more optimism and practical inspiration. We finally advocate science fiction labs in the innovation process of the life science industry to metaphorically bring biopunks and solarpunks to dance.