AfterMe
BRIEF
Starting from the suggestions provided by Black Mirror’s episode analysis “Be right back”, the aim was to develop a scenario, visualizing and prototyping a service idea. This idea is prototyped using storytelling techniques, audiovisual language and genres as further tools for developing, represent and simulate the experience proposed by the project developed.
Client
Innovation project
Politecnico di Milano
Methodologies
Service Design
Visualisation and prototyping
Speculative design
Deliverables
Service
Storyboard
Video
Year
2020
PROCESS
When we analyzed the Black mirror episode “Be right back” around its core motives, the first emotion that we came across was the “yearning” of the person who is in grief. This feeling had caused the protagonist in the episode to acquire something in haste, which she eventually regretted. What this episode clearly highlights is the “irrationality” or Emotional Bias of human behaviour and the sheer unpredictability of human nature. As well as the initial fear of letting go.
Black Mirror Episode - Be right back
METHODOLOGY
The principles of design thinking were applied in order to find the service idea, from the analysis of the problem to the definition, development and delivery of a solution.
MAPPING
The purpose was to reflect on some questions in order to map the relationship between technology and society developing a light mirror service promise.
"How close are we to fulfilling the scenario of your episode?"
"Are you ready for this? Would you like to have access to such a service?"
"Which are the benefits/risks of the technology/service presented?"
PERSONAS
Once defined the service promise we developed different personas in order to identify the users as characters of a story.
First we thought about their roles, understanding also how they might interact with the service.
SCENARIO
A service system that gives you the opportunity to fulfill your duties towards your loved one seven after you have passed on. So that you remain their guardian angel, forever.
STORYBOARD
Jack - Ash:
AfterMe’s, Jack who is the son of Martha and Bob is similar to Ash, in the way that he was the one that was loved deeply and then was suddenly lost in unimaginable circumstances. This character's death caused an obvious impact on their families emotionally.
Martha- Martha and Bob:
The affected person to whom the death meant a lot. In Afterme’s context, the loss would be of Jack’s parents as they were dependent on him due to their old age, they need some emotional and physical tending to, like Martha as she was going through pregnancy and the death of her loved one at the same time.
CONCEPT
MOODBOARD
After analysing the story arc based on the companionship, bonding, guardian as keywords, we came to the conclusion that the narrative of the story can be described with despair, inevitability and rebuilding as more keywords. Although it starts from a thought of despair, at the moment when the family loses Jack, goes through a period of re-building, with the involvement of the service and leads to an inevitable end.
As per our initial concept, this service can be subscribed as insurance by someone who fears that his nature of work can be fatal and in the event of such fatality, there needs to be someone that can take care of his or her family that is heavily dependent on them.
Once subscribed, this service would map the entire persona of this user and store it as a digital replica.
If the user dies in an accident, the service will transfer his digital replica as a servant AI to the user’s house automation server which would take care of the functional and safety needs of the family and to a physical artefact of the user’s choice, such as a pet, that will act as a prop, playing out the subtle nudges that can act as a support structure for the ageing parents in their daily life.
Clip 01
Clip 02
RESULTS
Since the AI is a digital copy of the User who subscribed to this service, it would know about the preferences and needs of his parents as well as their nature. Hence the house and the pet can be controlled in a way to make the life and emotional recovery of the family easier. While, to the family, the pet, which is a prosthetic android, will be programmed to act and behave just like a normal domestic animal such that the family members may not have any unrealistic expectations from the pet.
The service was tested by performing and simulating it. At the beginning through video storytelling and then analysing the experience for the users.
PROTOTYPING SESSION
From the prototyping session, it was quite clear that various aspects of the service did not work as we had expected. The thought that someone else’s persona was in charge of making decisions in the background for those who are alive, even if it was a deceased loved one, was a point of contention as participants felt a sense of entrapment.
Further, the fact that the house AI is now that person’s persona, could make people associate a certain sentimental value with the physicality of the house itself. This would have similar detrimental effects on the psyche of the user
Thus we clearly understood that the service system and its touch-points should be designed in such a way that they cannot instinctively be associated with the memory of the deceased. Rather the service offerings should be regarded as a gift from the user’s beloved relative who has passed on.
The characteristics of the AI systems need to be modifiable at all times by various decision-makers in the process so as to maintain an ethos of flexibility in the system. The service needs to analyse its users well before formulating a plan of action for them and even then the prospective user should be in full knowledge and control of what they receive as a care package. Hence we took steps to make these crucial changes to our service.
SERVICE BLUEPRINT
