AI-powered platforms emerge that coordinate and manage consent in real-time during social gatherings, using wearable tech to confirm boundaries.

Imagined Future Scenarios

Social Behavior, Plausible Futures, Short Term (1 - 3 years)

Scenario Generated from 'MAG: What's Up With All the Sex Parties?' - Dnyuz.com

Future Arc and Implications

Grow Arc

Social Impact: Social interactions become increasingly mediated and commodified, leading to a generation reliant on AI for navigating relationships.

Technological Impact: Wearable tech and AI platforms evolve rapidly, driving miniaturization, enhanced data processing, and seamless integration into daily life.

Ecological Impact: Increased electronic waste and energy consumption from the production and use of wearable tech contribute to environmental degradation.

Economic Impact: A booming consent-tech industry emerges, creating jobs and investment opportunities but also exacerbating existing wealth inequalities.

Political Impact: Governments struggle to regulate the rapidly evolving AI landscape, leading to legal and ethical debates about privacy and data security.

Narrative: Consent-tech booms, normalizing AI-mediated social interactions and pushing the boundaries of personal autonomy as technology continues to advance relentlessly.

Collapse Arc

Social Impact: Widespread system failures and dependency on imperfect AI lead to social distrust, isolation, and a breakdown of human connection.

Technological Impact: Cyberattacks, power outages, and software glitches cripple the consent-tech infrastructure, resulting in widespread social chaos.

Ecological Impact: Resource scarcity and environmental disasters exacerbate societal breakdown, forcing people focus on basic survival rather than nuanced social interactions.

Economic Impact: The consent-tech industry collapses, leading to job losses and economic instability, further fueling social unrest.

Political Impact: Governments are overwhelmed by the crisis and unable to maintain order, leading to a power vacuum and the emergence of localized control.

Narrative: Society crumbles as over-reliance on AI fails, revealing the fragility of digitally mediated consent and leaving communities fragmented and vulnerable.

Discipline Arc

Social Impact: Social interactions are heavily regulated and monitored, with strict protocols enforced to maintain order and prevent consent violations.

Technological Impact: AI surveillance tools are deployed to track and enforce consent, creating a chilling effect on spontaneous social interactions.

Ecological Impact: Resource allocation is prioritized for maintaining the AI infrastructure, potentially at the expense of environmental protection.

Economic Impact: The consent-tech industry is nationalized or heavily controlled, becoming a tool for social control rather than innovation.

Political Impact: Authoritarian regimes leverage consent-tech to monitor and control citizens, suppressing dissent and limiting personal freedoms.

Narrative: A surveillance state emerges, using consent-tech as a tool for social control and suppressing individual expression under the guise of safety and order.

Transform Arc

Social Impact: Society re-evaluates the meaning of consent, intimacy, and human connection, prioritizing empathy and genuine communication over technological solutions.

Technological Impact: AI is redesigned to promote emotional intelligence and facilitate deeper understanding of human needs and boundaries, not just enforce rules.

Ecological Impact: A focus on sustainable and ethical technology development minimizes the environmental impact of wearable tech and AI systems.

Economic Impact: A new economic model emerges, emphasizing social responsibility and equitable access to technology, prioritizing well-being over profit.

Political Impact: Democratically accountable AI governance structures are established to ensure transparency, fairness, and respect for human rights.

Narrative: Humanity transcends reliance on AI for social interaction, embracing empathy, communication, and conscious technology to build a more connected and compassionate world.

Product ideas generated based on this scenario

Consent-as-a-Service (CaaS) Subscription

A tiered subscription service offers escalating levels of social micro-management. Basic tiers offer simple 'yes/no' consent logging. Premium tiers include AI-powered suggestion engines for social interactions, 'personality optimization' through algorithmic feedback, and dynamic risk assessment, effectively gamifying social interactions and reducing social friction for the user.

Social Avatar Marketplaces

Platforms where individuals can buy, sell, and lease 'digital consent avatars' – representations of themselves programmed with pre-defined consent preferences, communication styles, and even emotional responses. This allows for automated social interactions, with others interacting with your avatar instead of directly with you, creating a buffer and a market for social interaction roles.

Analog Social Skills Revival Kits

Comprehensive kits teaching essential face-to-face communication skills, conflict resolution techniques, and non-verbal cues. Includes workbooks, physical games, and local community meetup guides to rebuild trust and social cohesion in the absence of digital crutches.

Consent Crisis Hotline Network (CCHN)

A globally distributed network of trained volunteers and counselors providing immediate assistance via radio or satellite phone for navigating social interactions gone wrong when the AI infrastructure fails. Operates outside of digital networks, relying on geographical proximity and shared trust.

Mandatory Social Compliance Training Programs

Government-mandated programs that use immersive simulations and AI-driven feedback to 'correct' undesirable social behaviors and enforce strict adherence to social etiquette protocols. Failure to comply results in social restrictions or penalties.

Consent Violation Early Warning System (CVEWS)

A preemptive system using AI to analyze social media activity, public records, and even physiological data to identify individuals deemed likely to commit consent violations. These individuals are then preemptively flagged, monitored, and potentially subjected to preventative interventions.

Empathy Augmentation Programs (EAPs)

Interactive programs using virtual reality and biofeedback to cultivate empathy and understanding of others' emotions and perspectives. Users experience simulated scenarios where they inhabit the bodies and minds of diverse individuals, fostering genuine connection and reducing unconscious biases.

Open-Source Consent Tech Toolkit

A customizable, decentralized platform allowing communities to create their own consent protocols and communication tools based on shared values and ethical principles. Emphasizes transparency, user control, and adaptable technology to support diverse social norms, rejecting one-size-fits-all AI solutions.

Projects inspired by this scenario

What if our digital tools vanished overnight? Could you build something new from physical skills alone?

Echoes of Touch: A speculative design project exploring the revival of analog collaboration skills and community spaces in a post-AI-failure Sao Tome and Principe.