The theme of 2018 Institute for the Future (IFTF) conference was The Future of Trust. IFTF staff and research fellows presented forecast scenarios, stories about what trust could look like over the next decade.
One story was about a fictional company called Oraclear that provides truth verification as a service. This idea is similar to Politifact or Yelp, and it can provide real-time verification of people's personal truthiness score.
Problem / Opportunity
The story of Oraclear on stage at the conference, but there was an opportunity go further. To help conference attendees better understand what it would feel like to live in this future, I created an immersive design experience.
To help bring this scenario to life, I designed and manufactured custom arm computers or Personal Information Processors for each Oraclear Agent.
The device consisted of a custom-built electronics in an enclosure that I designed and 3D printed.
During an interaction, conference attendees were asked a series of questions. The device would record their answers, cross referencing that data with their online identity, and simulating a truthiness score for each individual.
The goal of Oraclear agents at the conference was to verify the truthiness level of every conference attendee.
Once an individuals truthiness level was analyzed, we printed this on a sticker, and they were asked to add it to the conference name tag, which must be worn at all times. It was a great conversation starter.
This experience design brought the strategic forecast to life. Rather than simply hearing a story about a future scenario, conference attendees had the opportunity to experience what it feels like to live in a world where this scenario is playing out.
In total, over 300 conference attendees had an opportunity to interact with this experience, creating lasting impressions on CEOs, journalists, government officials, and thought leaders from around the world.
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