Have you ever yearned to travel through the fabric of time and catch a glimpse of the person you will become in years to come? Because of the facility offered by generative AI, you may now.
Scientists at MIT, collaborating with other experts, developed a revolutionary platform allowing individuals to engage in online conversations with an artificial intelligence-driven replica of themselves 10-15 years into the future.
Dubbed as such, the system aims to empower younger individuals in fostering a stronger sense of identification, a psychological concept referring to the emotional connection one makes with their future self.
Research has consistently demonstrated that a robust sense of future self-continuity can have a profoundly positive impact on decision-making, extending from the ability to prioritize long-term financial planning to a focus on achieving academic goals and securing one’s financial security.
Future You harnesses the power of a sophisticated artificial intelligence model, leveraging personal information provided to create an authentic, digital representation of oneself at age 60.
This simulated future self can respond to inquiries about what someone’s life may be like sooner or later, providing recommendations and insights on the path they may follow.
Following an initial study, participants revealed reduced anxiety levels and exhibited enhanced emotional connection to their post-metamorphic selves after engaging with Future You for approximately 30 minutes.
While we may not possess a physical time machine, AI does serve as a virtual gateway to the past, present, and future. According to Pat Pataranutaporn, a doctoral graduate from MIT’s Media Lab, the simulation enables individuals to make more informed decisions by assuming the consequences of their choices, thereby fostering better human-AI interaction.
Pataranutaporn shares authorship with co-lead researchers Kavin Winson from KASIKORN Labs and Peggy Yin, an undergraduate at Harvard College, as well as Auttasak Lapapirojn and Pichayoot Ouppaphan from KASIKORN Labs. The senior authors are Monchai Lertsutthiwong, head of AI analysis for the KASIKORN Enterprise-Know-how Group; Pattie Maes, Germeshausen Professor of Media, Arts, and Sciences at MIT and leader of the Fluid Interfaces group; and Hal Hershfield, professor of psychology at UCLA. The analysis will be introduced at the IEEE Convention on Frontiers in Education.
Exploring the Process of Conceptualizing One’s Future Self One pioneering strategy aimed at fostering a stronger sense of continuity across time was the practice of writing letters to one’s future self. Not long ago, researchers employed a technology to help people envision their potential futures.
Although none of these approaches have been particularly engaging, thereby constraining their potential impact on an individual.
As generative AI technologies and massive language models like ChatGPT emerged, researchers spotted an opportunity to create a simulated future self capable of engaging in ordinary conversations about someone’s specific goals and aspirations.
The system ensures the simulation’s realism. According to Maes, Future You is a more comprehensive concept than what one might envision when simply conjuring up their future selves.
Clients initiate the process by providing thoughtful responses to a series of questions that delve into their current circumstances, highlighting key challenges and setting goals for future success.
Utilizing the provided information, the AI system generates “future self recollections,” serving as a foundation for the persona’s backstory that is drawn upon during interactions with individuals.
The chatbot can engage in discussions about an individual’s career trajectory, offering insights into their future profession and providing advice on overcoming specific challenges. As a direct outcome of the extensive training data, including conversations about individuals’ life journeys, professional endeavors, and both positive and negative experiences, ChatGPT has acquired sophisticated capabilities to understand human narratives.
Individuals interact with the device through introspective reflection on their life and goals, envisioning their future selves, and retrospective analysis of whether the simulation mirrors the person they’re becoming, notes Yin.
You could consider Future You as a narrative search engine. As she speaks, you’re given the chance to revisit and process some of your past experiences, though it’s likely they’ll still evoke strong emotions in this moment.
To help users envision their future selves, the system produces a photorealistic image that age-progresses the individual in question. The chatbot can be programmed to proffer evocative responses that incorporate phrases such as “at my age,” thereby imbuing the simulation with a sense of authenticity, as if it were a precise future iteration of the individual.
The ability to heed advice from a wiser version of oneself, rather than relying solely on a generic AI, can have a more profound positive impact on individuals grappling with uncertain futures, according to Hershfield.
“The platform’s engaging, immersive features provide a tangible foundation, transforming potentially anxiety-provoking thoughts into a productive exercise.”
However, that realism may ultimately backfire if the simulation veers off in an undesirable direction? While acknowledging the limitations of its predictions, Future You warns clients that its forecasts present just one plausible scenario for their future selves, underscoring the importance of individual agency and the need for proactive life changes. Providing alternative responses to the survey prompts generates a significantly distinct conversation.
“This isn’t a prophecy, but rather a possibility,” Pataranutaporn says.
Researchers conducted a study involving 344 individuals to gauge how Future You would fare. Customers engaged with the system for periods ranging from 10 half-hours to more significant intervals, contrasting with those who only interacted with a standardised chatbot or simply completed surveys in isolation.
According to a statistical analysis, individuals who utilized Future You were able to build more effective relationships with their idealized future selves. These customers also indicated significantly reduced anxiety about their futures following these engagements. Customers praised the dialogue for its authenticity, noting that their simulated future selves’ values and beliefs remained consistent throughout.
This groundbreaking approach revolutionizes the field by combining a trusted psychological technique for envisioning future outcomes, the so-called “avatar of the future self,” with cutting-edge artificial intelligence capabilities. Lecturers should focus on developing digital avatars that merge with large language models, suggests Jeremy Bailenson, a renowned professor at Stanford University, not involved in this research.
Building on the findings of their initial study, the researchers refine their methodology to better establish contextual and priming strategies that facilitate in-depth customer conversations, ultimately fostering a more robust sense of future self-continuity.
“We want to inform individuals what matters are worth discussing, rather than asking them to predict the next president.”
To prevent abuse of the system, they are also implementing additional security measures. By envisioning the potential consumer’s future success story, one can imagine an organisation crafting a “future you” scenario where a satisfied customer has achieved a desirable outcome due to their purchase.
Researchers aim to explore specific applications of Future You, potentially empowering individuals to uncover alternative career paths or envision how daily choices can impact climate change mitigation.
They are also collecting insights from the Future You pilot to better understand how users interact with the system.
“We shouldn’t rely on devices for people to become dependent.” Moderate success is hoped for, wherein this expertise fosters a profound insight that enables individuals to perceive themselves and their surroundings from a novel perspective, ultimately facilitating personal growth.
The researchers express their gratitude to Thanawit Prasongpongchai, a designer at KBTG and visiting scientist at the MIT Media Lab, for his invaluable assistance.
