The Interview
Futures of Work
Mixed Media, Speculatvie Design
Media Design, Design Research, After Effects, Photoshop
Media Design, Design Research, After Effects, Photoshop
The goal of the Futures of Work was to explore an essential aspect of the future of work, working, and workers, both critically and creatively.
In the gig economy—in which people earn income providing on-demand work, services, or goods—it’s easy to expect more people to work remotely and alone. So I began to wonder how we can build intimacy in the digital environment.
In my project, I speculate about the future workplace where we can observe each other’s physiological signals such as body language and subtle facial expressions. By doing this, I would like to bring up a question of privacy intrusion and if this could be a new future surveillance tool.
In the gig economy—in which people earn income providing on-demand work, services, or goods—it’s easy to expect more people to work remotely and alone. So I began to wonder how we can build intimacy in the digital environment.
In my project, I speculate about the future workplace where we can observe each other’s physiological signals such as body language and subtle facial expressions. By doing this, I would like to bring up a question of privacy intrusion and if this could be a new future surveillance tool.
Background
In the gig economy sector, the concept of regular employment will decrease, while new forms of work such as temporary contracts and online platform work will increase. This inevitably brings less in-person human interaction. Since humans are social beings, this could cause a sense of isolation for many individuals.
Research
Concept & Process
1. Problem of Remote Working
Even as online meetings become more common, they can’t always capture the nuances of nonverbal communication and in-person interactions.“Facial expression, gestures, posture and gait, and visible arm and body movements, make up 65–70 percent of the social meaning of a conversation.” - Elizabeth Keating (link)
2. How can we gain in-depth non-verbal communication in a digital environment?
Research by Jeremy Bailenson and his team shows that physiological signals can be a crucial communicative tool for emotional experience
between people interacting with their computers. The research also found out that showing pulse data visualization can increase intimacy between people. The research shows that “heartbeat communication is a promising way to increase intimacy.” (link)
3. This result made me wonder if online meetings could be more than just looking at each other’s faces. Would showing each other personal data be a new way of creating bonding in a future digital setting? What kind of issues might happen if we get to see other’s people’s physiological signals?
Design: Envisioning the Future
Question: What if we get to see other people’s physiological signals in the future digital workplace?
Future Senario: Job Interview
Process: I took videos showing diverse physiological signals that can happen in a job interview setting, such as hand gestures, eye-rolling, and lip movements when people are nervous. By doing this I also wanted to bring up a question of intrusion of privacy and online surveillance issues.
Solution: Short Video (Video vignette)
