Imagine synthetic bacterial supplements that could regulate the gut microbiome, controlled via Bluetooth to treat conditions from irritable bowel syndrome to depression. What could go wrong?
Annaliese Meyer, a PhD candidate studying chemical oceanography in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program, won MIT’s 2025 Envisioning the Future of Computing Prize. Her winning entry, originally titled “(Pre/Sub)scribe,” is a work of speculative fiction exploring the development of synthetic bacterial supplements to treat the many conditions linked to an imbalance of microbes in the gastrointestinal tract, including irritable bowel syndrome, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, and depression.
The annual competition is cosponsored by the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences and the Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing (SERC) initiative at the Schwarzman College of Computing. You can also find the entries of the runners-up, grad students Martin Staadecker and Juan Santoyo, here.
Her coffee cup was bright orange, glittery, and patterned with cats. Insofar as a mug can be loud, this one bordered on screaming. This was on purpose. Several drops of hot coffee escaped over the rim as she placed it on the boardroom table with shaky hands. This, too, was on purpose. Men, especially the sort of men who decide to become venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, tended to respond best when she appeared just a little nervous. Bashful, with a hint of quirkiness. It was a fine line; pushing it too far meant no investors and a high likelihood of someone following her to the parking lot to ask for her number.
