Chat with Your Future Self: AI Brings Your Future to You

TL;DR:

• Future You is an AI-powered platform that lets users chat with a personalised version of their future selves.
• A study involving 344 participants showed that interacting with Future You reduced anxiety and strengthened the connection to future selves.
• The platform aims to enhance future self-continuity, improving long-term thinking, academic performance, and mental health.

Imagine Yourself 30 Years in the Future…

How vividly can you imagine your future self? Inspired by studies showing how increased “future self-continuity” can positively influence saving behaviour, academic performance, mental health, and subjective quality of life, our interactive, web-based chat platform seeks to help users develop more long-term thinking and behaviour by strengthening their relationship with a relatable yet virtual version of their future selves. The conversation with the future self is generated in real-time via a large language model that has been personalised based on a pre-intervention survey assessing user future goals and personal qualities. Have a chat with your future self!

How It Works

Future You is a web-based platform that lets you chat with a personalised version of your future self. Our system uses advanced AI to create a realistic conversation partner based on information you provide.

Steps to Use Future You

1. Pre-Intervention Survey: Fill out a survey about your future goals and personal qualities.
2. AI Personalisation: The AI uses your survey responses to create a realistic version of your future self.
3. Real-Time Conversation: Chat with your future self in real-time, exploring what your life could be like in the future.

The Research Behind Future You

In our study involving 344 participants, we found that after interacting with their “Future You” character, users experienced reduced anxiety and a stronger connection to their future selves. This research demonstrates how the virtual self can enhance an individual’s sense of future self-continuity and overall wellbeing.

Key Findings

• Reduced Anxiety: Users reported feeling less anxious about the future.
• Stronger Connection: Interacting with Future You helped users feel more connected to their future selves.
• Improved Wellbeing: The platform enhanced users’ sense of future self-continuity, leading to better mental health.

What Happens to My Data?

We anonymise and collect your survey responses and your conversation with your future self for further research to improve Future You. Your data is kept secure and used only for the purpose of enhancing the platform.

How Accurate is Future You?

Future You cannot predict specific details about your future life – rather, it aims to paint a vivid and realistic picture of what your future life could be like. Our goal is to help illuminate future pathways that may otherwise seem ambiguous, uncertain, or unclear.

Why Doesn’t My Future Self Seem Like Me?

The conversation with the future self is generated in real-time via a large language model that has been personalised based on a pre-intervention survey assessing user future goals and personal qualities. Therefore, its responses are largely dependent on both its foundational model and the data collected in the pre-intervention survey. We recommend being as detailed as possible in the initial survey for the best possible experience.

Is This Tool Right for Me?

Future You is an intervention grounded in empirical and theoretical research on the benefits of future self-continuity as it relates to improvements in long-term thinking, academic performance, financial savings, and mental health and wellbeing. The primary goal of this project is to support reflection on future paths.

Benefits of Future You

• Long-Term Thinking: Helps users think more about their future.
• Academic Performance: Encourages better academic outcomes.
• Financial Savings: Promotes better saving habits.
• Mental Health: Improves overall mental wellbeing.

What’s Next for Future You?

Future You is currently looking to make the platform more accessible and to collaborate with institutions to support young people in envisioning their futures.

Prompt: Imagine Your Future Self

Before you start chatting with your future self, take a moment to imagine what your life might be like in 30 years. Think about your goals, dreams, and aspirations. This will help you get the most out of your conversation with Future You.

Prompt: Imagine yourself 30 years from now. What do you see? Where are you living? What are you doing? How do you feel? Write down your thoughts and use them as a starting point for your conversation with Future You.

Comment and Share:

What do you think about the potential of AI in helping us envision our futures? Have you tried Future You? Share your experiences and thoughts in the comments below. Don’t forget to subscribe for updates on AI and AGI developments.

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• To sign up for Future You tap here.