"What would your older self advise you to do?" - Chatbot simulates future self
What will my life look like in 30 years? An MIT project has developed a chatbot that simulates the older me.
What will my life look like in 30 years? A chatbot from MIT can - possibly - answer this question.
(Image: MIT Media Lab)
What would my future self think? A chatbot developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) should be able to answer this question. The bot is primarily aimed at people between the ages of 18 and 30. The research team wanted to find out whether the chatbot could contribute to a better idea of the future self and what effects this would have on the user's behavior.
The AI bot responds from the perspective of a 60-year-old self. However, the researchers emphasize that the bot cannot predict the future. To ensure that the answers fit the younger person in front of the computer, the Large Language Model (LLM) in the background asks a few questions at the beginning. It asks about goals and personal characteristics, the researchers write on the project's website. The language model processes this input.
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The AI also changes the set profile picture to an older-looking version of the user. The development team's main aim is to help users feel a better connection to the image of their future self. This characteristic is closely linked to people's well-being and mental health.
The team's main aim with the chatbot is to encourage its target group to engage more with long-term considerations about their lives and the decisions they make in them. This assumption is based on research that a close sense of connection with one's own future self has positive effects on people: Those who were able to imagine their future selves well saved more, performed better academically, had better mental health and their perception of their quality of life was also better.
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