Have you ever wanted to travel through time to see what your future self might be like? Now, thanks to the power of generative AI, you can. 

Researchers from MIT and elsewhere created a system that enables users to have an online, text-based conversation with an AI-generated simulation of their potential future self. 

Dubbed Future You, the system aims to help young people improve their sense of future self-continuity, a psychological concept that describes how connected a person feels with their future self. 

Research has shown that a stronger sense of future self-continuity can positively influence how people make long-term decisions, from one’s likelihood to contribute to financial savings to one’s focus on achieving academic success. 

Future You utilizes a large language model that draws on information provided by the user to generate a relatable, virtual version of the individual at age 60. This simulated future self can answer questions about what someone’s life in the Future could be like and offer advice or insights on the path they could follow. 

In an initial user study, the researchers found that after interacting with Future You for about half an hour, people reported decreased anxiety and felt a stronger connection with their future selves. 

“We don’t have a real-time machine yet, but AI can be a virtual time machine. We can use this simulation to help people think more about the consequences of the choices they are making today,” says Pat Pataranutaporn, a recent Media Lab doctoral graduate who is actively developing a program to advance human-AI interaction research at MIT and co-lead author of a paper on Future You. 

Pataranutaporn is joined on the paper by co-lead authors Kavin Winson, a researcher at KASIKORN Labs; and Peggy Yin, a Harvard University undergraduate; as well as Auttasak Lapapirojn and Pichayoot Ouppaphan of KASIKORN Labs; and senior authors Monchai Lertsutthiwong, head of AI research at the KASIKORN Business-Technology Group; Pattie Maes, the Germeshausen Professor of Media, Arts, and Sciences and head of the Fluid Interfaces group at MIT, and Hal Hershfield, professor of marketing, behavioural decision making, and psychology at the University of California at Los Angeles. The research will be presented at the IEEE Conference on Frontiers in Education. 

A realistic simulation 

Studies about conceptualizing one’s future self go back to at least the 1960s. One early method aimed at improving future self-continuity had people write letters to their future selves. More recently, researchers utilized virtual reality goggles to help people visualize future versions of themselves. 

However, none of these methods were very interactive, limiting the impact they could have on a user. 

With the advent of generative AI and large language models like ChatGPT, the researchers saw an opportunity to make a simulated future self to discuss someone’s goals and aspirations during a normal conversation. 

“The system makes the simulation very realistic. Future You is much more detailed than what a person could come up with by imagining their future selves,” says Maes. 

Users begin by answering a series of questions about their current lives, things that are important to them, and goals for the Future. 

The AI system uses this information to create what the researchers call “future self memories”, which provide a backstory the model pulls from when interacting with the user. 

Yin says the user engages with the tool in two ways: introspection when they consider their life and goals as they construct their future selves, and retrospection when they contemplate whether the simulation reflects who they see themselves becoming. 

To help people visualize their future selves, the system generates an age-progressed photo of the user. The chatbot is also designed to provide vivid answers using phrases like “when I was your age,” so the simulation feels more like an actual future version of the individual. 

Hershfield says the ability to take advice from an older version of oneself rather than a generic AI can have a stronger positive impact on a user contemplating an uncertain future. 

However, that realism could backfire if the simulation moves in a negative direction. To prevent this, they ensure Future You cautions users that it shows only one potential version of their future self, and they have the agency to change their lives. Providing alternate answers to the questionnaire yields a different conversation. 

Aiding self-development 

To evaluate Future You, they conducted a user study with 344 individuals. Some users interacted with the system for 10-30 minutes, while others either interacted with a generic chatbot or only filled out surveys. 

Based on a statistical analysis of their responses, participants who used Future You were able to build a closer relationship with their ideal future selves. These users also reported less anxiety about the Future after their interactions. In addition, Future You users said the conversation felt sincere and that their values and beliefs seemed consistent in their simulated future identities. 

Building off the results of this initial user study, the researchers continue to fine-tune how they establish context and prime users. Hence, they have conversations that help build a stronger sense of future self-continuity. 

They are also adding safeguards to prevent people from misusing the system. For instance, a company could imagine creating a “future you” of a potential customer who achieves a great outcome in life because they purchased a particular product. 

“We don’t want people to become dependent on this tool. Rather, we hope it is a meaningful experience that helps them see themselves and the world differently and helps with self-development,” Maes says. 

MIT