Companionship in 2055 — Exploring the space, AI companionship service provider will mass-produce robots as alternatives to in-person interaction in 2055.
Through this project, I discovered many signs of societal changes regarding the future of human-computer interaction that are currently underway and could point toward future trends. I designed an immersive experience exploring what companionship might look like in 2055, drawing from emerging trends and signals visible today.
Drawing from the AI influencer Aitania Lopez, I hypothesized that everyone could have an AI alternate identity by 2055. And inspired by the video of a Chinese woman in a romantic relationship with her AI boyfriend, I imagined a future where human-like android partners with advanced AI personalities could blend virtual and physical elements.
To forecast future outcomes, I created multiple hypothetical scenarios by researching various signals and future trends. I then used that information to extrapolate and construct narrative projections.
Feb 2024 - May 2024 (10 Weeks)
My Role
Scenario & Storyboard
Video Editing
Sound Design
Tools
MadMapper
Ableton Live (XP)
3D Objects
Figma
Adobe Ps, Ae, Pr
Time
Team
Sungah (Stella) Kim
Andrew Choi
Sujin Park
Evette Cho
Outcome
Designed an environment for 2055, news reports showcase an incident between a woman named Sonya and her AI companion.
In a society where marriage rates are declining and many face significant challenges and difficult married lives, people still experience loneliness. In response, the government permits marriages between humans and AI. These AI partners are designed to match human needs perfectly, but their methods of making their users happy often prove to be misguided.
Design Process
1.
STORY DEVELOPMENT
STRATEGIC FORESIGHTFUTURE SCENARIOWRITING A SCRIPTSTORYCRAFTSTORYBOARDINGMOODBOARDS2.
STORY PRODUCTION
SET BUILDING (3D Objects)VIDEO PRODUCTIONSOUND/AUDIO PRODUCTIONStory Development
Strategic Foresight - looking ahead and planning for the future and different possible situations.
The main idea of using foresight is to get prepared for different plausible futures that could unfold.
The team and I conducted extensive research, gathering numerous signals and categorizing them into different groups:
Society, Technology, Economy, Environment, and Policy
We narrowed our focus to eight AI-related topics, emphasizing the rapid expansion of AI across various industries. Notably, AI technologies for art generation are becoming increasingly visible to the public. Society desires systems that allow individuals to easily become social media influencers and generate income through physical and emotional connections with their fans.
DRAFT A FORECAST
Before my team created a story, I wrote a short statement that described a future scenario, based on my signals research. I then extrapolated outwards from the scenario, using the ‘futures wheel’ exercise.
The scenarios I wrote with my team
In the year 2055, we live the life where everyone has their secondary identity of themselves and able to speak up their voices and be active with freedom of speech under the safety and privacy. And the public operated AI surveils whether the government goes with the public or against the public.
Story Production
Set Building
We carefully designed how the screens would be displayed on different 3D shapes, including cubes, rectangles, and objects with the same aspect ratio as phones and kiosks. Our primary focus was on the TV surface, as it would be used for reporting the news. By concentrating on the TV, we utilized other boxes to provide additional evidence and support for the news stories.
3D SPACE
Ableton allowed me to precisely edit each speaker's location and movement.
Our showcase room featured a large version of this cube. It was equipped with eight speakers placed at each corner, both at the top and bottom, to create an immersive space for interaction with people.
Video Production
Our team filmed a lot of video footage to make it look like home camera recordings and evidence for a news report. Then in projection mapping, images or videos are projected onto surfaces to create immersive visual experiences. It is to create 3D space where people can experience immersive storyspace. In order to map out our visuals, we used MadMapper.
Sound/Audio Production
For the audio/sound production, we used a script and converted the TTS using Typecast. My primary task involved adjusting and fine-tuning the AI-generated voices to ensure they sounded smooth and natural. Utilizing Ableton, I then assigned the output speakers, made precise edits to the sound and effects, and adjusted the volumes to create a more immersive experience.
Thank You!
Conclusion
There were two main dimensions to this project - generating and crafting a story, and then producing the story using mixed media technologies. The entire process of working on this project was a very cohesive and well-executed experience. From conceptualizing the initial story idea to delivering that narrative through an immersive and interactive storyworld, it provided a unique learning opportunity. Using interaction design allowed us to showcase our story with various methods. We were able to create an environment where the audience could actively explore and uncover the narrative through their actions and choices within the digital space we constructed. As a result of this integration of interactive features, the story came to life in an innovative and creative way.
I enjoyed how the main story was presented as a news report set in 2055, with additional footage serving as supporting evidence. Having the core narrative structured as a futuristic news broadcast helped keep the focus on the central issue. Additional evidence footage enhanced the realism without detracting from the storyline. This format made the overall story feel very cohesive and allowed the audience to easily follow the most important points being made.
The most difficult aspect was structuring the sequence of events in the scene. Our goal was to illustrate Sonya's escape from the house while simultaneously making the audience question the possibilities of coexisting with artificial intelligence. We faced a challenging task in developing a storyline that communicated a profound message to the viewers.
WHAT I LEARNED
Overall, in the class, I learned a lot about constructing storylines and effectively delivering them to the audience within real environments. Additionally, I gained insight into creating immersive experiences by incorporating real spaces and utilizing eight speakers. The class give a better insight into how to imagine future scenarios. We're all witnessing and experiencing the signals; they could shape our future.
SOMETHING I WANT TO IMPROVE ON
If I had more time, I would make the story more engaging for the audience. Since we used the boxes to create an environment for watching news reports at home, I would incorporate speaker box to somehow show that Andrew is still present.