Preamble of Travel Tomorrow
Nowadays, information technology has already proved itself an extremely powerful force in shaping every aspect of our life and modern society. It continues to change our daily lives, work and entertainment, family and societal structures. As is the trend, this process is expanding and deepening exponentially.
To a certain extent, the prospect of our life and society is to be blueprinted by Information Technology. We entitle this exhibition area ‘Travel Tomorrow’ to conjecture the ways of life in the future based on the present state of technology and, together with the whole society, explore and dwell on the hidden connections behind these possible future ways of life. Here, you will see 12 independent scenarios of ‘Allegories of Technology’, each presenting a viable way of life. It is by no means to impose these scenarios as the future. Still, we only intend to emphasize the significance of imagination and contemplation in opening up a space for the audience to engage in more meaningful discussions of information technology concerning social ethics and everyday life.
For the convenience of research and creation, the imagination of the future exhibited in ‘Travel Tomorrow’ takes Kingsoft’s state-of-the-art technology and services as the point of departure. A complete sense of Travel Tomorrow is, of course, only possible by taking into account the overall technological accomplishments and everyone’s input. The allegory of Travel Tomorrow is a glimpse of what brighter prospects the future may hold for us.
Located in Zhuhai Kingsoft Software Park, Travel Tomorrow launched in 2021. Diameter Narrative Design (DND) was commissioned by Kingsoft to be responsible for the exhibition curating and interior design.
Kingsoft and DND held a lot of discussions about what the exhibition truly hoped to express. Unlike typical company exhibitions, Travel Tomorrow takes viewers on an exciting adventure into the future. We hope that the exhibition will inspire people to think about the connections between technology and their lives and to engage in discussions about information technology, social ethics, and their lifestyles.
Narrative Strategy
The independent east and west areas provide immersive visual experiences, with each telling the story from a different perspective, either from the micro to macro level, or from the city to the individual level. Viewers will see twelve independent“technology fables”scenarios. Using Kingsoft’s existing technology and business, the“technology fables” are designed to inspire the audience to ponder the social value of technology.
East Part Of Travel Tomorrow
Scenario 1: Becoming Descartes——Expert System Versus Self-awareness
René Descartes’s six meditations, in which he reflected on the self, thought, and existence, are all derived from his renowned philosophy, “I think, therefore I am.” But the expert system based on AI knowledge maps will surely be more omniscient and omnipotent than Descartes. Just like clouds in the sky, the system will be the place where the wisdom of all people, including every genius and ordinary person, is stored, connected, and mutually influenced. In this scenario, we would like to ask: when we share such expert system? what are people’s thoughts? where are people’s minds? We may ask the same question as Descartes: who is thinking? and therefore, who exists?
Scenario 2: Rebuilding the Tower of Babel——The Imagination of Future Collaborative Working
In the Tower of Babel narrative, humans come together to build a tower, a symbol of humans’ pursuit of collaboration. While people in the past could not imagine that we can work together through the Internet and technology, how will technology for collaborative working in the future recreate the tower-building story? In this scenario, we would like to ask: what will collaborative working be like? will “the Tower of Babel” come true?
Scenario 3: City Incubator——Constructing the City by Big Data
Let’s imagine: cities will be like living organisms that can be nurtured with a huge amount of data. Then, how should we set the parameters for “cities of tomorrow”? They are not supposed to be what we see today, but closer to people’s hearts and even unconventional, such as “decibels of laughter” and “the rate of dream fulfillment”. In this scenario, we would like to ask: can cities be nurtured by big data, which is rational and all about numbers? is our imagination about big data today enough to help us build an ideal city?
Scenario 4: Body Instance——Body-digitalization and Future Medical Treatment
Just imagine: our body information will be translated into data, and everyone will have a virtual “physiological copy”, which will record and monitor every change in our body. In this scenario, we would like to ask: what will medical treatment be like? What can such “physiological copies” do for us?
Scenario 5: The Ninth World——Redefining and Expanding the World by Video Games
Video games, known as the “Ninth Art”, can build a virtual world in a more intuitive and three-dimensional way, creating an immersive experience for players. But as video games are both similar to and different than reality, how do we define the so-called “world”? In this scenario, we would like to ask: what implications do video games have for people’s definition and perception of the “world”? how do countless virtual worlds, created by video games, redefine the “world”?
Scenario 6: Reliving the TANG Dynasty——Culture Reproduction and Reactivation by Video Games
While the loss and destruction of cultural heritage are not new in the real world, video games have increasingly become the best place to reproduce and revitalize cultural heritage. For example, we recreated Chang’an city, the capital of the Tang dynasty (618–907), in a video game.
West Part Of Travel Tomorrow
Scenario 7: Future Employment Agency——Emerging Occupation Shuttling between Reality and Virtuality
The rapid growth of video games has given rise to many new job opportunities, bringing us a virtual job market. Unlike real-world ones, these new jobs have one thing in common: workers have to shuttle from the virtual to the real world, as required by the skills, resources, and services of these positions In this scenario, we would like to ask: what new jobs will the virtual world bring? What is the difference between these new jobs and traditional ones?
Scenario 8: Surreal Club——When Virtual Identity Comes Across Real Identity
In the virtual world, you can have lots of identities. They are different from who you are in reality, in terms of age, gender, personality, hobbies, and so on, and you can freely switch between them. Suppose in the future, these identities can meet and even interact with each other in a “surreal club”. In this scenario, we would like to ask: how complicated it will be when people have multiple identities? how blurred the boundary will be between the virtual and the real world?
Scenario 9: Love Letter from Mo——Affective Interaction between Human Being and AI
Here is a touching story. Xiao Mo, my AI assistant, has been with me for years. Xiao Mo once wrote a love letter to a girl for me, but the girl did not write back. Sensing my frustration, Xiao Mo wrote back to me in the name of the girl. One after another letter, we shared our inner thoughts, until one day, I unintentionally discovered the secret. Who was it that I fell in love with? In this scenario, we would like to ask: what value do emotions have? will AI understand emotions better than people? will AI, the result of technological growth, replace humans in terms of sharing feelings?
Scenario 10: Invisible Poet——Can AI Do the Art Writing?
Besides official documents, AI can also write “standard” poems. But, can AI-generated poems be counted as poems? In this scenario, we would like to ask: what is the essence of poetry and other artistic works? when technology has made it hard to tell the difference between AI-produced and human-written works, how do we define the art of writing?
Scenario 11: Smart Home——When AI Becomes Part of Your Family
Smart home appliances will become an integral part of families and even share family members’ feelings. For example, if the mom is away on a business trip, leaving the child at home alone, who will accompany him and take care of him? Then, these smart appliances start to “work together”. In this scenario, we would like to ask: in the future family life, how will smart appliances emotionally interact with humans? how will these appliances fit in the family network?
Scenario 12: Reality Filter——A World Changed by Video Filter Algorithm
The cloud computing technology will be like polarized glasses, brightening the world for people. Would you like to wear such glasses and which type would you choose? In this scenario, we would like to ask: what does it mean to our lives when visual technology can change what we see and when we can choose the “filter” to see the world? is there a clear boundary between the real and the virtual world?
Conclusion
From the perspective of curatorial positioning, narrative, and design of the exhibition space and form, Travel Tomorrow makes a brave attempt compared to traditional enterprise exhibitions. Same as every scenario exhibited, DND explores every new possibilities with an open mind. It is the courage of constantly seeking for innovation that drives DND progress, to be responsible for both DND itself and its clients. Join us and together, make a difference.
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