Romantic Relationship Simulator

ABOUT:
A conceptual and speculative research project I worked on at the RCA on the theme ‘Living with AI’. The aim of this project is to investigate our complex relationship with technology – in particular predictive modelling.

EXHIBITION:
Show RCA 2014, Kensington Gore, London

INTERVIEW:
www.eldiario.es

YEAR:
2014

Predictive technology today informs what you want to watch (netflix), what you will buy (amazon) and who your friends are (facebook). But what would it mean, if an electronic device would know enough about your partner and yourself in order to predict the happiness that you both can expect within that relationship over time?

The aim of this project is to investigate our complex relationship with technology and it’s cultural, social and ethical impact. With this artwork my main intention is to render the simulation of human behavior through advanced algorithms tangible.

At a practical level RRS-01 is a tool to assist people in their relationship. A technological device serving as a mediator to express ones desires, hopes and expectations. These parameters and inputs are initially set by each partner actively and individually through the interface. By applying a psychological model and a mathematical/predictive process this instrument learns to recognize patterns in the users behavior and thereby learns to evaluate the relationship.

Picking up on the familiar language of a domestic object, the Romantic Relationship Simulator is a speculative product sitting in the context of the “smart home”. RRS-01 is a functional engagement prop for an installation to be exhibited in a gallery space.