Milan Design Week, GPT-4o, The Movie “Her” - and how they all connect.

Created in Collaboration with Midjourney.

Global brands are exploring ways to make technology feel more human. This was a clear common thread during this year’s Milan Design Week, the first one after AI’s big transformation in 2023. It was the biggest update for the new version of ChatGPT and it will likely continue to be one of the priorities in human-computer interaction as technology is expanding its footprint in our daily lives.

Samsung’s exhibition “Newfound Equilibrium” aimed at “inspiring vision for a better future encompassing the balance between humans and technology”. According to their mission statement, they explored a world where technology and humans are not replacing one another, but complementing each other while working in harmony.

Samsung - New Found Equilibrium, Milan Design Week

Google partnered with research studio Chromasonic to create “Making Sense of Color” to take visitors through a multi-sensorial journey where they explore the connections between senses allowing them to “see, hear, feel, taste and smell” color. This is in line with their multiple-year exploration of Neuroaesthetics (a scientific field that studies how proximity to art and design affects the human mind and body) findings - which implies when multiple senses are triggered at once, the impact of the experience in human perception increases exponentially.

Google's Making Sense of Color, Milan Design Week

BMW’s experience with “Future of Joy” was similarly around showcasing “Neue Klasse” - a new generation of cars introducing the future of mobility through analog and digital interactions - in a setting that lets the audience “see, hear, feel, taste and smell” its sensations, a sentiment with close similarities to Google's.

...brands that create experiences at the crossroads of digital and physical worlds are focusing on finding ways to make them more human and emotion-driven...

It is not a surprise that these brands that create experiences at the crossroads of digital and physical worlds are focusing on finding ways to make them more human and emotion-driven in the “rapidly changing and sometimes overwhelming” world as Samsung puts it.

This is also valid for AI’s next iteration of its interactions with humans - as it was the case with the recent launch of GPT-4o which represents the biggest step in this direction so far. For the first time, OpenAI has succeeded in mimicking human emotions so realistically, especially in voice feedback which utilizes emotional pitch shifts and imperfections to achieve the feeling.

That was the main reason why it was compared to the movie "Her”, and that same morning flared an excited but concerned text exchange between me and a journalist/technology consultant friend that started with “Oh boy, here we go!”. GPT-4o is the first step into an AI that feels more human and it is not hard to anticipate it only getting more realistic and holistic from here - when similar tactics will be used for other modes of interactions addressing multiple senses.

...there are many other roles in our interpersonal relations which AI might step in by becoming other “hers”, “hims” and “theirs”.

In the movie "Her," the AI personality named Samantha voiced by Scarlett Johansson, takes on the role of an "emotional partner" in a man's life. This, in itself, opened up so many conversations around what this means and how far things can get, but there are many other roles in our interpersonal relations in which AI might step in by becoming other “hers”, “hims” and “theirs”: A mentor that you take advise about your startup, a buddy with whom you drink beer while watching the game, or a colleague you chat with about work gossip while waiting in line at Starbucks. These “persons” will remember all the books you've read, the shows you've watched, even the events you've experienced, and know your health conditions possibly better than you do. Next generation of brand-customer relationship will be on more personal level via hyper-personalized two-way interactions.

JPMorgan RetailX, Frog Design

They might point you to a certain brand of cereal because it is richer in B2 vitamins that you need. Or, monitoring your pulse, sweat, and temperature through sensors on your watch, they might know that you've had a very stressful day and recommend listening to a specific chapter you earmarked “pick me up” from Adam Grant's book on your way home. And adjust your home’s lighting, temperature, and music with your chamomile tea already brewed to make you feel at ease when you get there.

Multi-modal Smart Mirror, Guestroom of the Future, Marriott International

These scenarios might sound a bit out there, but they are both from projects I worked on for two global brands, one exploring future possibilities for a physical retail space and the other one for a connected hotel room. There will be opportunities for personifying brands when done right - and responsibly - as a recent Trend Report from Frog Design The New Rules of Engagement suggests.

As our digital and physical lives merge, we are entering times where we need to rethink how we experience these two worlds together, complementing each other and not the other way around. I am on the optimistic side thinking the positives will outweigh the negatives - if we can give it the thoughtfulness and responsible approach it deserves.

** Opinions expressed in this article are my own unless stated otherwise.