A new chatbot from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is intended to enable communication with oneself from the future. We’ll tell you what’s behind it.
Over the course of our lives, we sometimes change significantly. It often happens that we would have liked to have known the outcome of certain experiences earlier. Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) so they thought about itto what extent we can already communicate with our future self today.
The result is an AI-controlled chatbot that simulates a user’s future self. According to the researchers, this should help promote wise life decisions. The chatbot uses a digitally aged profile picture and generates plausible memories based on the user’s current motivation.
MIT chatbot enables conversations with your future self
The goal of the simulation is to promote long-term thinking and behavior change. The system is intended to motivate users to make decisions that optimize their future well-being and life outcomes. An example shows a student who wants to become a biology teacher.
She then asks the chatbot what was probably the most rewarding moment in her future career. The chatbot, posing as a retired teacher in Boston, then recalls how she helped a student get better grades.
Users must first answer questions about themselves, their friends and family, and their future life goals. The AI then requires a portrait image, from which a digitally aged version is then created. The system then feeds the answers into a large language model that generates synthetic memories for the simulated older self.
The system has already helped 344 people with problems
The system is based on ChatGPT 3.5. One member of the project reports that a session with his future self provided valuable insight into his life. Because the system reminded him that his parents won’t be there forever. This helped him spend quality time with them.
According to a preliminary scientific publication, conversations with the chatbot led to less anxiety and a stronger connection with their future selves in 344 volunteers. This stronger connection is intended to promote better life decisions. This includes focusing on specific goals, exercising regularly, eating healthy and saving money.
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