Design Fiction x AI
About Ploy Pruekcharoen
Story 08
Theme: AI in Health and Well-Being
When: 2040
Where: Seattle, WA
Why: positive hopes for productivity
Narrative:
A couple just signed an offer for their new townhome in Seattle.
“I’m so excited! I can’t wait to move in and decorate our new house!”
After Liz and Alex met with their agent, they came back home, put their VR on and walked around their new house virtually together. It is still empty with no furnitures.
“Hey xyz I want this house to be in Japandi style. I’d like that we have a sectional here in front of the TV.”
The image generator, xyz, recognizes the prompt and shows a nice brown sectional in the room on a white carpet and a 50” TV.
“This is perfect”, said Alex. “How much are these items?”
“I can find the items that match the budget that you have in mind.”
“Oh great, I’d like to allocate 15% of my new house budget for this living room”
“Okay, the total cost is $XXX.”
“I’d like to make a purchase of this sectional, the carpet, and the TV.”
“Great, I’d put that order in for you. The items will be delivered on your move-in date.” xyz replied.
This seems like an easy task compared to what people in 2023 have to do.
But the couple does not know.
xyz sources the furniture from a company that exploits child labor. The creator of xyz cares solely about profitability.
The sectional wasn’t made to last. In 5 years, it’s likely that the couple has to replace it.
The technology enables ease and convenience, but the same problems in 2023 still exist in 2040.