Imagine a face-to-face conversation with the 60-year-old you. What would you talk about? What questions would you ask? I put this to 24-year-old Ricky. In a flash, she answered: “What mistakes can I avoid?” She wanted to know whether she should get into a relationship now or later.
Ricky sought reassurance that her life was on track and that she was making the right choices. A new AI project offers you the chance to receive advice from a digital version of your older self. Credit: Getty Images I put the same scenario to Nate, in his early 50s.
He ventured that, by now, he’d made his major life mistakes. He was curious about “how to manage the competing demands of children, ageing parents, work and a marriage”. “I need some tips on how to cope,” he sighed.
If this “meet the older, wiser you” gig sounds like sci-fi, welcome to the future. Loading Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed an AI–powered chatbot that simulates a person’s older self, complete with a digitally aged profile picture. To make the conversation realistic, the system generates a “synthetic memory” – a unique backstory between the user’s current age and their life down the track.
The chatbot then dispenses the sort of wisdom you’d normally get from a real-world sage. The only difference is that it’s actually a 60-year-old, digital version of you. Preliminary findings are that these discussions reduce anxiety and other negative emotions.
One researcher described several interactions with his projected future self. In one, the chatbot reminded him that his parents were getting on, so he should spend time with them while he could. He concluded: “The session gave me a perspective that is still impactful to me to this day.
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