In week 8, the group and our tutor came back together to discuss and share our outcomes from last week and how to proceed with our project. We shared the outcome of our individual interviews and how we can use this. The overall result of our one-to-one conversations was that mostly the interviewees had a positive attitude regarding AI in the future, but limitations regarding creativity kept on arising.
We continued discussing our idea of an AI and robot agency that will exist in the future and brainstormed how to additionally bring in an interesting consideration to make people think about. We reviewed how we all imagine this agency when taking a closer look and what questions and obstacles could arise. We came up with the thought that how the builder and creator who installs it affects the robot itself. By that, we mean how his emotional and mental state will affect the machine? Would the machine work or behave differently depending on if his mental state is weak and vulnerable or strong and happy? However, we didn’t stop there. We thought even further and questioned how then this could have an influence on the user of the robot? Can a robot with an engineer who is in an unhappy state by the time of programming the tool, affect the user who is in a good mental state? You could also think the other way around and say ‘’Would a robot who was installed by a person in a satisfied state have an effect in any way on a person in a bad place in their life?’’ This makes this whole thought become a cycle that we could present on a poster for this week’s group activity of creating a prototype of our imagined future. One poster could explain our idea of the agency with diagrams and effects of emotions (the cycle), while another poster could be a game to support our idea. One peer in the group also mentioned how a game as support could be a photo box in which we take pictures of the person with their consent who is joining our games and work with AI. We decided to go to the art shop on our next meeting to get posters and create something that will portray this thought of AI and feeling very well with different options by drawing and writing on it. This could theoretically also be supported by creations like a small installation, if possible like we did for our box of uncertainties.
The thought of the fact that different people always install these robots and how this could have a reaction to it is also important if you think about how different the installation could be depending on what company created it. Perhaps the different robots that can be hired at the agency who come from different producers also have different reactions or some kind of behavior, depending on if they come from a company with a satisfying or rough work environment. This also is a speculation that has to be taken into account. For instance, they could come from company XYZ which creates an uncomfortable environment that also has a highly negative influence on the employee’s mental health and is therefore also less smart that the automation from company B, which focuses and cares about the mental health of their worker’s and creates the best possible environment for them. This can also depend on what different data sources the companies work with and what effect this could have on the final outcome.
The influence of feelings and emotions
A final consideration of us was that our agency could also make improvements and offer machines that are enhanced in terms of showing more emotions towards humans. For now, humans always have to adapt to AI, when we look at examples like Siri or navigation systems in the car. We can see how we always have to speak in a different way, be clearer for the system and have to adapt to technology. This point inquires advancement. Instead, they could be programmed to show more emotions when answering in order to be more realistic and adapt better to the human itself. As for now, robots are still very limited in terms of changing their voice or showing a reaction to humans that doesn’t sound monotone. In our imagination of the future though, we see engines that adapt to the human and envision a creation that displays more emotions, as well as realistic reactions.
For the interview we had to conduct for week seven, I reached out to four creatives on Instagram, as well as to one teacher via email. I received two answers out of these four requests on Instagram and received a response via email as well. Firstly, this was from an artist who creates installations and experiments with light and background videos, (meaning technology is involved in her work). She pointed out that she started using a lot of AI in her work, but in reality, it does not save her a lot of time. She brought up an example from her life and explained having a family and a job at the same time is the same amount of work for her and being busy never stops, with or without the help of AI. I drew the conclusion from it by thinking that in the creative field, AI still has a long way to go, as creativity could most likely not be replaced by any machine or system, as it could with Excel or maths tasks for instance.
The second conversation was with an expert in education. She described her thoughts about AI in the future, as most likely not having a choice. She mentioned that with most inventions they are viewed by people as doubtful, but eventually everyone just has to adapt to them. She mentions how AI is already changing our structures and can certainly be supportive for creatives to create projects, but this would also have limitations in terms of actually being creative, and would depend on the installed algorithm. It could help to do a job such as drawing but relying on them to come up with ideas seems too unsafe.
The interviewee demonstrated that the usage could theoretically make life in the workspace easier, but it isn’t a good idea to totally rely or depend on it. She also believes that in her workspace specifically, it could help save time and stress and could also be accommodating with budgets.
For this interview, I decided to also ask two spontaneous follow-up questions about the influence of payment in the future when AI will become involved more, as well as about the human’s future workload.
She believes that there is a high chance of employees even getting paid less due to these inventions, but that they undoubtedly always will be needed for navigation and final checks of a process. As an example, she refers here to all existing inventions in technology that nevertheless always need a final check-up by humans, as machines can always have system errors.
Finally, she declared that there will always be work for humans, but it all depends on what people want to get out of a project and how serious they are with it. This can also be a question of budget for instance. The expert came to the conclusion that this question is being asked by many whenever there is a technological improvement, but one can clearly see that no matter what invention we are talking about, humans are always needed at the end of the day, either for repair or support.
In week 7, we decided to investigate one reading, as well as one movie. Our first choice was ‘’ How to be “Team Human” in the digital future ‘‘, which was also accessible as a Ted talk and discussed the connection between humans and technology. Douglas Rushkoff wonders if humans are still valued for their creativity or just their data. He describes how data and social media exist for the sake of predicting our future. Additionally, social media is the opposite of connecting and mainly just influences us. It suppresses creativity, which is in fact what makes humans human. Rushkoff mentions how important it is not to leave our real-life community behind and that we require platforms that promote creativity, and to have a space that we feel like we do not need to escape from. We need to start to become more human again and find others. We need to stop thinking that only humans are the problem when in fact in his opinion technology is the problem. He points out that only humans can collaborate and communicate, and that no one can replace that. Douglas also proposes that even some super-powerful people actually see themselves as powerless when it comes to the future. They are scared of war and want to use the money to get away from normal humans.
In our opinion, the problem of technology that Douglas Rushkoff mentions reminds us of climate change and its issues. People are aware of the issue and do not stop even though they know the way they contribute to the environment is bad. Most people prioritize money and short-term satisfaction, and often don’t think about the long term. Our group agreed that Douglas is probably too optimistic about team human and the rejection of technology. Indeed it makes it harder to connect these days, but digital items are still helpful tools and we can think of ways how to reduce them without totally destroying them. In addition, not all humans are bad and contribute to misusage. Even CEOs of normal companies are good people and have good intentions. There are in fact only a few big people that are major polluters on our planet and who are responsible for contributing to the most polluting aspect of our planet. We also questioned how to put boundaries on technology and where do you draw the line? Mostly we also thought that the video and script of the Ted talk were very broad in terms of information. There were many problems listed, but only a few solutions. We also agreed no matter what someone creates, it will be misused by people as technology is everything in our world. When history teaches us one thing, it is that new inventions are always misused by some people (good and bad coexist). The team’s opinion was that technology is not the problem, but us. All in all more research would have been supportive for the video and what he shared, which was far too speculative in our eyes. Our second choice from the list was the movie ‘’The devil wears Prada’’. We chose to reflect on the movie since it is more than just about fashion and actually about capitalism, pressure, and morality in the workspace. The main character in the movie is forced to change herself in her workspace and tries to adapt to society. Even though she is not being treated well, she believes this is how to fight for a better career. She always could leave the place but thinks she needs to feel pain in order to be in a better place in the future. This change of her personality starts to affect her personal life with time. Nevertheless, colleagues at work just tell her to take the mistreatment and swallow it. When the team discussed the movie, we mentioned that in the current world, it is almost the opposite, as now more people start to defend themselves and speak up, which makes bosses more cautious. Someone in the group also brought up the point that sometimes a difficult work environment makes people stronger and can develop character. The movie comprises topics like identity and how much people are willing to do to achieve their goals. The whole power dynamic to thrive in a competition that drives success is a capitalist structure that will still exist in the future. We also agreed that Andrea finding her identity through the job is better than being lost.
Certainly, the movie is also a mainstream portrayal of fashion. If we look at the current-day circumstances in which models or people speak up, it can be clearly also identified that some brands are cautious to hire them in a way, since they are afraid themselves that they are being placed in a bad position. Situations in the work environment are changing and we can see how traditional companies are being rejected by many. Circumstances in the workplace are changing and more equality for women is beginning to exist.
Towards the end, we also brought in our own experience of how we felt in certain work environments within fashion, and it was totally mixed. It also proved that fashion does not need to be in an environment in which you feel uncomfortable.
Finally, we questioned how it would be perceived if the movie was released today. Would Anna Wintour (one of the characters that is being portrayed in the movie but under a different name) be affected by it in this day and age?
On Tuesday my group and I went to the restaurant ‘’Din Tai Fung’’ to observe the robots, and how they engage with customers alongside waiters. We realized one robot took over the task to take dishes and the other one to serve food. We observed the robots and heard they were able to speak a few words and talk to people in English. If the robot moves around and people are in the way or in front of it, it tells people to move with the installed voice. The white robot is there to bring in the food from the kitchen and the black one takes the dirty dishes. The white robot is installed to move from the kitchen to the middle of the restaurant, where the waitresses take out the dishes and bring them to the correct table. Overall, it just moves in a straight line back and forth and is programmed to always stop at the same spot. On its way back and forth, it senses when people are around or in the way and acknowledges this way of navigating (meaning it won’t hurt or bump into anyone). Generally, we all agreed it only saves waiters time to go to the kitchen and the way into the kitchen for waiters, but the food is still being served by real humans. The robot does not directly come to people’s tables.
Therefore, it also only engages and helps the waiters, but not the customers at the restaurant. These machines are made in China and the Chinese peers in the group shared that those robots are being used a lot in restaurants in their country. We as a group also wanted to take privacy into consideration and questioned the waiter if the robots also have cameras, which he answered ‘’no’’ to. This could actually mean that people could feel more private in the future world during their restaurant visits. For the most part, we all agreed that the staff did not seem to engage with the robots as much and that the white robot version was also more active. How helpful it is at this point also seemed questionable. In the future, this could maybe develop into installing robots to go to the actual tables so customers can just take the food out themselves. The order could potentially be taken via a QR code and could connect the order made via the code to the robot and the right table. This invention certainly gave us a glimpse into how our future world and work environment for some could appear, but for now, collaboration between humans and robots is still necessary. A world in which the robot is working individually and on its own still seems far away. Taking this observation into consideration for our project idea ”AI and robot work agencies” I could imagine a world in which restaurants could hire a robot to try them out and consider them for their business if they feel unsure about it. In this way, this invention could get tested by many without committing to an instant purchase.
On the 20th of February, my tutor group had our first meeting with Jasminka and together we shared our idea about our vision of having AI and robot agencies. We discussed what venue to choose for our group activity which is visiting a place of work that is relevant to our group project. We thought of visiting an exhibition that is likewise connected to AI at the same time and examine the workspace first but then realized the exhibition was about to open in March. Our next thought afterwards were restaurants in which robots are already being used. The first restaurant we wanted to visit was ‘’Haidilao Hotpot’’ but then unfortunately had to find out over the phone that they no longer use robots. So, we booked our second option ‘’Din Tai Fung’’ for the next day right away to be able to see an environment that already engages with robotic installations.
After class ended, I reflected on our individual task and began to write down a few questions for my interview with a stakeholder. I decided to reach out to 4 creatives via Instagram and explain my project. I finally opted for 3 questions in total with the consideration to save the rest as follow-up questions if the conversation could take an interesting turn.
My ultimate message with questions looked like this:
Hello XY,
I hope all is well.
I am an MA researcher at Central Saint Martins and currently investigate the future of work.
I follow your work on social media for a while now and thought it could be interesting to get a different view on the topic from someone who also works with different materials and experiments a lot with them.
I would highly appreciate your support.
Any short response would be helpful.
My 3 questions would be:
1. Can you see yourself or artists collaborate with AI in the future work environment and if so why?
2. Do you think new inventions like robots will affect your future in a negative or positive way and if so why? (Will it make it easier or harder?)
3. How do you imagine the future of work in general and also within your profession?
On 15th February my tutor group of (Jasminka) and I went through ideas together for the brief ‘’The future of work’’. Our first ideas for our brainstorming were technology and AI. This was a topic that was mentioned by many people in the group. Another obvious point that was mentioned next in our group session was remote working, which became progressively relevant after the pandemic and is now even used by many when there is no chance to meet in person. Therefore, 3d spaces will most likely be relevant going forward too. We also found that topics like hierarchy, the power structure, and underpayment will play an essential role in the future. Mentioning underpayment, we can also already see this happening and being extremely relevant with the current strikes that are happening at CSM. We speculated how AI will become more relevant in the future and will take over more jobs, and discussed how the creative industry could get affected by it, such as robotic painting for instance. From this, we came up with the idea of AI and robotic agencies. Just like there are agencies to find work in this day and age, there is also the possibility that people can reach out to AI agencies to find a machine to resolve certain jobs. This could be a general AI agency or even one established for artists and creatives. From there we divided our group into two parts, one to do more research on topics like ‘’How has AI been used for specific industries already? ` and – ‘’What can transform into AI from now on?’’. Additionally, we want to focus the research on general or design industries.
The other half of the group wanted to focus on a software called ‘’Mental Canvas’’ which could be used to present our work at the end of the project.
On Tuesday my reading group and I met for the first time, and we all introduced ourselves to each other in the morning session. It was interesting to be acquainted with people outside of my course, and be able to have the chance to know them and start working with them. After we presented our background in terms of studies and origin, we started dividing our work and everyone got to read one text on the reading list. I got to read the last text on the reading list, which was ‘’ Enacting Reflection Through Sci-fi ‘‘, Black Mirror and Philosophy by Sergio Urueña.
The text discussed that human’s vision of the future often connects to technology and this is because it plays such a huge role in our current life’s. Technology is and will play an important role in our future.
Thinking of an example in our daily lives, phones have already primarily affected and influenced our lifestyles. This has already affected how we engage with our surroundings and comes with the question of how our future life with technology will look like, how it will change, and if there will be any risks involved.
Sci-fi is a genre that comes closest to how the future could be envisioned and can show good examples of that.
The reason some Sci-fi movies become so real is because there are vast many connections to reality involved which convinces us to believe how the future could potentially look like.
Sci-fi also encaptures different forms of how various future worlds and realities could appear. It also presents ideas connected to science and technology.
You can additionally see more people focusing on science and technology connected to society, and finding ways with philosophy together to gain insight about the future.
Sci-fi goes further than simply entertaining, by showing what risks these technologies can be involved in the present and in the future if we are not cautious. Humans need to be prepared for such changes and need to develop tactics considering politics.
Black Mirror is a good example of a Netflix series to show philosophies about the future while using tools and elements out of our present world. It also shows how humans and technology could be connected in the future world and brings up concerns at the same time, between politics, technology, and science.
Further than that, Black Mirror also highlights current concerns connected to tech and makes it even less just about futuristic stories, but just a pointer towards them.
It expresses the fears many in our society have currently regarding tech (e.g., scared of losing privacy, changing identity, etc.). The series intends to create messages to people, to start thinking and reflecting on our current day and what could possibly happen.
The topic Sci-fi also connects closely to philosophy and raises questions of how we can act in the here and now.
But the question also arises as to how can such a series help us to be more innovative in our future life?
To revert again, this could also help us to change our current reality, maybe for the better.
Considering the way we perceive the future influences our thinking in the present and how we work towards it. This can include decisions regarding science and politics for instance.
The fictive stories we see in Black Mirror can later influence future inventions as people will start to make research around it.
Nevertheless, we need to keep in mind that Sci-Fi only can influence a few aspects of our life but does not determine the actual world we live in now.
Even if Black Mirror ideas won’t most likely exist in the future, how could we somehow use them to develop future technologies?
If humans realize the risks of technologies, social interventions are required to be inputted earlier.
They need to see those risks and find alternative ways for innovation to be pursued instead.
Moreover, the present must be understood better by our society to make responsible decisions for the future.
Generally, there are two ways to build and create the future: Either develop scenarios or science fiction.
The pros of fictional stories are that they can reach many age groups and all of them can be inspired to start their research from there. Series, such as Black Mirror, communicate only possibilities to people and want to make them understand better how the world could look like. The overall goal of Sci-fi is for people to pursue their outlook on the future. Even though films must work with speculations, everything could become a potential and legitim future.
Nanotechnology is an example that promises new tech but is also very speculative. Not everything that we get to see is possible obviously, but different voices must be heard to rethink the environment we live in. Even Black Mirror conveys ideas in the series that are far from reality. However, those designs in the series can still be worthwhile to realize we have to act early enough to develop systems together.
The general title ‘’Black Mirror’’ developed from the fact that tech screens are black when they are turned off and the show is provided to society to show humans and their connection to reality. The series aims to warn of how we build things and tech in the future to avoid a crisis. It should remind us that the future is in our hands and directs us to think about the reality as well as the future.
After sharing this information with my group, we discussed it and gave our opinion on it. We agreed that Black Mirror is one of the actual realistic stories when it comes to Sci-fi, therefore it can be quite terrifying for people. Many other Sci-fi films are just far away from reality and for this reason also not as useful when it comes to stimulating people to create ideas. Black Mirror creates relatable stories and works with current-day tools we all agreed with, and encourages us to take technology seriously.
We also mentioned that all humans are already aware by now of what is happening with technology, but no one really tries to make a change and B.M. presents humanity again on a silver platter with what might happen if we just ignore it, even if it is scary. On the other hand, we also realized that many people might feel powerless. The group brought up a good example of the iPhone and how Apple manipulates us into buying new items all the time by making our phones we use slower and weaker with the battery. This was a good example of how the system controls us. Those with powerful positions within these companies sell future dreams that make us want to buy their products. Additionally, we understand that technology sells us the idea of making our life easier, but actually makes us busier and makes us more stressed, seeing it sells a belief but not a reality.
Besides that, we find people’s emotions are mostly manipulated to persuade them to buy products, just like with NFT’s or the Metaverse. During Covid, we all realized how much we need human connection and how much we do not like overusing technology. It made us realize what we really desired for our future, being less technology. Many people recognized after the pandemic how irrelevant these tools to us in life really are since we need money to buy food and not something that does not exist in reality.
That is why we see nature being integrated progressively into architecture, as humans seek the connection to nature, along with other humans.
Finally, we came to the topic of design with this and mentioned how important it was for designers to know the purpose that their creations should serve and that being aesthetically beautiful is often not enough for the current day situation. They require the right knowledge in order to create useful tools and need background knowledge to understand it.
Personally, I enjoyed being in a group with new people not just from my course, but also from the MACCC course. That makes it possible to collaborate not just now but also in the future after this MA course. It makes it possible to hear new insights and opinions from people with totally different backgrounds. We also were able to share stories from our life in other countries related to the topic and in general.
How can we support society to regain their concentration and remain focussed using their own initiatives whilst being influenced by technical devices and information overload?
From here, I decided to create an intervention using research on the impact of image and sound after I visited exhibitions and researched artists, theories, and companies. The participants could choose from a selection of 3 images and 3 sound elements. I received good feedback, and in particular, participants suggested they needed more time to engage with the image. Alongside this, 2 out of 3 participants felt very relaxed and did not want to return to their work, etc. They felt it was meditative and transported them into a very relaxed state. Based on my question, I did not receive a response for more improved concentration, however, the intervention positively disrupted the attachment and influence of technical devices. I felt this was very successful although it was not my initial intention, as the intervention required participants to return back to their devices and carry on working as normal. Going forward, I would retest this, using imagery from memory/emotion and positive experiences with more diverse sounds such as instrumental and frequency waves which could change patterns of thought.
Why is it so important to me: I realized over the years how technology influences my life and makes me take constant study breaks, and disconnects me from the environment I am in. I decided this is one of my biggest uncertainties and so important to me, as this doesn’t just affect me, but also generations younger than me, including my seniors today who use technical devices. A survey for instance showed that almost half of the students felt distracted by technology such as laptops or phones. On the other hand, it also felt like a necessary tool at the same time. Mostly students distract themselves with texts etc., as soon as they feel overwhelmed with information in class or when studying. https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2019/07/10/survey-shows-nearly-half-students-distracted-technology
What did I discover? (Research):
Social media is stealing our time, attention and we stop living in the moment:
What just seems like a small distraction turns into an inability to concentrate on tasks and being interrupted on a constant level, which can have a similar effect on people such as losing a night of sleep. People start to realize how in the past their ability to read for a while was good, whilst now after only 3 pages it is easy to become distracted. In most cases, these interruptions take away 5 minutes at a minimum. It is with no surprise that Instagram and Facebook have integrated tools that prevent people from overusing social media.
Further existing exercises are games like Sudoku, puzzles, chess or even coloring. Meditation and connecting yourself to nature is also a known fact, while even including plants in your study room can help. Additionally, instrumental music without any lyrics can be a good tool to relax and regain focus. If it is music you love or hate it might achieve the opposite. Besides not eating sugar or greasy food, drink green tea. Aside from more known facts, a tool can be drawing, playing with a ball, or trying not to blink as much as you can for 3 minutes. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/oct/14/the-lost-art-of-concentration-being-distracted-in-a-digital-world
Another experiment regarding performance and concentration was made where some participants looked at a concrete roof and others at a green roof. Those who looked at the green roof performed much better, even better than before, while the people who looked at the concrete roof, their concentration worsened. Generally, you can also just look at a picture of nature for about a minute or less to regain focus. https://hbr.org/2015/09/gazing-at-nature-makes-you-more-productive
More so, certain sounds can also help to focus. Either silence or white noise, which can be described as ‘shh’ sounds or waterfalls, ocean sounds like waves, and raindrops can support with focus. https://krisp.ai/blog/top-relaxing-sounds-to-increase-focus/
Whilst engaging in such exercises, people improve their focus and produce better quality work too. This will also help with becoming less distracted. A Rubik’s cube is a good example of a better option to use in a break than your phone.
Since smartphones are the tool mostly used by people on breaks to answer their emails, in most studies it is said that technology is the first reason to become distracted at the workplace.
Certain lights can be used as another option at home to assist concentration. Bliss Lights offers tools that, depending on what one wants to achieve, can use a specific light, such as red and green to relax, or blue to decrease your stress levels.
As an auto-ethnographic exercise, I visited the Yayoi Kusama exhibition at the Tate Modern on Friday 10th February 2023, which allowed me to further understand the meaning of light and how it influences me. Just being inside the infinity room with changing light installations and the combination of darkness for about 3 minutes calmed me down. Additionally, the fact that I was inside an enclosed environment made me feel safe and could be compared to feeling like a bird in a nest. In this case, there was no sound and it was purely visual. There was just a slight ripple of the water that was placed below the lights, which created a purely relaxing environment. As I visited the gallery in the evening, the lights assisted me to retire for the day, hence I could not record the concentration levels, however, I discovered the impact of lighting on the mind.
In essence, images have much power considering people remember 10% of what they hear, 20% of what they read, and 80% of what they see. Colorful images are especially powerful and memorable. Images are also much faster perceived by the viewer:
I described my intervention to my participants as an attempt to find ways to regain concentration while on a break or when the concentration just starts to disappear.
In this case, I decided to experiment with image and sound as a combination. I instructed participants to choose 1 out of 3 images and also one sound piece they feel most comfortable with. Next, they should use both at the same time for about a minute in between studying or in between using technical devices. Afterwards they needed to describe what was helpful and if the tools enhanced their concentration.
My first participant described the experience with the image as being very useful for him since it was more related to emotion and memory. The images were more helpful and powerful for him in order to gain back his concentration. He only found the first sound of rain helpful. My intention was only to focus on nature and how this could heal and help the mind, however, I discovered that healing has many branches, such as emotional connection. Additionally, I realized cultural context was a consideration in my feedback e.g. listening to rain can be depressing if they are from the UK, whereas rain can also remind someone of monsoon season and relate it to a more romantic feeling elsewhere in the world such as India.
Participant 2:
Participant two described her experience as really relaxing. She compared it to and described it as a meditation. She decided to choose the waterfall as an image and the rain as a sound combination, and just mentioned she would need slightly more than a minute to gain more out of the experiment, however, she did not feel the need or urge to use her phone afterwards. She additionally added that she had a sense of preferring to read a book instead.
Participant 3:
My final participant of this intervention chose the cherry blossoms image as she could associate mostly with the flowers, and combined this with the white noise as this just made the most sense in combination with the imagery of a still lake and mountain. Getting into this was a bit difficult at first for her, as she too felt like she would need more time to properly relax, however, she also had the feeling of being transported from the everyday stress and workload.
What did I learn from this?:
Connecting emotions can assist to refocus, and further to this I would explore anything from childhood imagery to a space, a relationship, an experience, etc. Additionally, the meditation process would need to be a bit longer in order for participants to really get the chance to calm down, as they might need a short period to also absorb it.
What would you explore if you would go further into the topic and where would this go? /What has not been explored yet?:
What is yet to explore are several combinations of sound and image or even the introduction of lighting (as experienced in Yayoi Kusama’s exhibition).
Additionally, if I decide to continue this project, I would work with images from my childhood such as when I felt connected and safe, or overall images that take you back to a happy space in which you felt safe. For instance, personally, that would be for me as a kid being in Germany with my family and horses.
This technique using familiar and personally responsive imagery can be very intimate to the person and would differ from person to person to make the connection more bespoke. It would also be interesting to explore what I have found through my research and the feeling of people being more relaxed when seeing something they can connect with in their personal lives.
Is there a risk in exploring it?:
There is certainly a risk included in this, knowing that certain methods do work for some people, but also it can have the opposite effect on someone else as there is also the risk of people concentrating less, or being too emotional when relaying to an image from their past or childhood.
At the beginning of week 5, we all returned to our group session with narrowed-down uncertainties and decided on one we would work with the following week for the second part of the Box of Uncertainty project, (project three). I arrived at the tutorial with the topic of ‘’Will new inventions and information overload have an influence on our brain, and will the meaning of therapists change?’’ and ‘’How can we support society to manage the overwhelming modern world if they can’t afford a therapist by using more accessible tools?’’
Seeing how technology influences my personal life and is known for having negative effects on us which leads to more and more people feeling disconnected and seeking for help, I tried to connect both topics together. Nevertheless, Sasha explained it is essential to only focus on one topic in order to work better with it and test it in the future. I was advised for the following week I should narrow information down after deciding on one specific uncertainty and question i.e. explaining why I chose the topic, what I discovered, and what I would research about if I had to go further with this topic for a bigger project. Additionally, it would be important to examine what is known and unknown about the topic.
