Originally commissioned by The Barbican for an exhibition about the relationship between humanity and AI in 2019, Future You is a digital mirror that presents a synthetic version of the viewer.
The interactive artwork only comes to life when it is activated by someone in front it. The harder you work, the stranger and more exciting its response to your movement. There are 47,000 possible variations to its robotic shape and form, and every interaction reflecting the viewers’ movement is entirely unique.
When each individual’s time is up, this joyful, techno mirror collapses.
Research into robotic avatars:
How do you feel when you see a synthetic version of yourself?
In Future You, you are faced with a unique reflection of your potential, synthetic self. Starting as a primitive form, it learns from your movements to adapt, suggesting an agile, superior version of you. This interactive motion-capture artwork evolves, creating a new visual response for each visitor, generating 47,000 possible variations.
Commissioned by The Barbican, London for the entrance of the exhibition AI: More Than Human, open 16 May-26 August 2019.
The exhibition received over 88,000 visitors, making it one of the most successful exhibitions to have been hosted at the Barbican Centre
Exhibitions
- 2025 – Future You: Code and Soul – Shenzhen
- 2025 – Future You: Code and Soul – Beijing
- 2024 – Beings – ACMI, Melbourne
- 2023–2024 – Biennale Némo – CENTQUATRE-PARIS, Paris
- 2023 – Doncaster Festival of Light – Doncaster
- 2023 – LUX: Poetic Resolution – Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul
- 2023 – Digital Impact – Barcelona, Spain
- 2022–2023 – Fernán Gómez Centro Cultural – Madrid
- 2022 – Lifeforms – 180 Studios, London
- 2022 – Moved by Schlemmer – Staatsgalerie – Stuttgart, Germany
- 2021–2022 – BioMedien – ZKM Center for Art and Media – Karlsruhe, Germany
- 2021 – World Museum – Liverpool, UK
- 2021 – Project Unfold X – Dongdaemoon Design Plaza (DDP), Seoul, South Korea
- 2020 – Groninger Forum – Groningen, Netherlands
- 2020 – Digital Wild – Meta.Morf
- 2020, Trondheim, Norway
- 2020 – Every-Body: City, Technology and the Body – Inspace Gallery, Edinburgh
- 2019 – AI : More Than Human – The Barbican, London
Press
“A gaggle of nursery tots are enjoying Universal Everything’s Future You, one of the installations at AI: More than Human, the Barbican’s new exhibition on Artificial Intelligence. One by one they stand in front of the screen and delight as the robotic image on it responds to mimic their movements. What changes will these AI natives see in their lifetimes to the impact that AI will have, for better or for worse, on how we live?”– RIBA
Google Arts and Culture
Colossal
AIGA Eye on Design