Could AI Allow You To Get Advice From Your Future Self?
One startup company is touting the potential of its new platform.
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Subscribe for free to get more stories like this directly to your inboxAt this point in the proliferation of artificial intelligence, there seems to be no limit to the potential — whether good, bad, or indifferent — that this powerful technology will soon possess. In the meantime, a number of intriguing AI applications are fighting for the public’s attention, such as a research project that resulted in a program now known as Future You.
A distinguished team
At first glance, it might be easy to dismiss the concept as just the latest AI fad, but there were some intellectual heavy-hitters responsible for this project’s success. Researchers from universities including Harvard, MIT, and UCLA, worked alongside Thai tech firm KBTG on the interface, which allows users to create a digital version of themselves as older adults.
Proponents say platforms like Future You could provide the benefits of analyzing and discussing your life while receiving feedback from your AI-powered “future self.”
Of course, there are always concerns about the reliability and/or biases of AI platforms, so Future You users should take all appropriate precautions before changing their lives in response to a chatbot’s advice. But it could prove to be one way technology can provide humans with new ways to resolve complex issues.
Future self-continuity
The researchers behind Future You cited a desire to use AI as a conduit for people to achieve greater “future self-continuity,” which is a reflection of a person’s perceived relationship with his or her future self.
They also cited evidence suggesting that thinking about your life from the perspective of your future self can result in more positive “long-term thinking, academic performance, financial savings, and mental health and wellbeing.”
Instead of seeking advice from elders a generation or more removed from your own, AI might soon allow you to ask an older, wiser (albeit not real) version of yourself.
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