The Future is Empathy
An immersive technology festival has something to teach you about the human condition.
As I arrived at Snug Harbor on Staten Island for the Future of Storytelling festival (FoST), I was met with collegiate style banners in medieval typeface on a columned music hall. Not exactly communicating “tech conference” right off the bat amirite? But what the landscape lacked in ambience, it more than made up for in engaging content.
Throughout the day I played games, watched 360 documentaries, explored virtual art pieces, listened to panels of experts discuss the present and future of experiential and digital media, heard my fair share of “it was working just a minute ago”, and even let my emotions guide me through a simulated riot. But the breadth of content I experienced shared one unifying theme:
Empathy.
Not just its existence within the industry, but its importance in meaningful communication. Only through listening and understanding the experiences of others can we create truly meaningful change in our society.
The first tent we approached was called the “Story Arcade.” Boy, was it ever. Dozens of virtual reality and immersive experiences that invited the user to interact and play. Some were just for fun (video games, gadget show-offs, movie mysteries, and some sort of Rick and Morty thing), but others certainly made a bold statement.
The piece that really caught my attention was an interactive, virtual art installation called Wish I Were Here. Spanish artist Bego Aznar has the insight to ask the question, “How much do we rely on technology to remember?” In response, she invites the viewer into “the surreal and depersonalized space of a digital mind,” where family members, life events, even the artist’s own name is difficult to find and recall, and digitally rendered self-portraits remain static and unfinished.
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| Bego Aznar |
Bego makes a salient point with her DIY virtual mind gallery: we can’t, and shouldn’t, rely solely on our devices to make, store, and recall our memories. We must really engage with ourselves and others, before all is forgotten.
From there I moved on to a truly enlightening encounter. In a secluded alcove in Building G, down the hall from a few seemingly uninspiring video games, was Suite 1742: A Virtual Bed-In Experience, wherein the artist invites you to bed. Not in the biblical sense, but to live a simulated, modernized interpretation of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “Bed-In” protest of the Vietnam War.
Throughout the piece, you’re brought back in time to the 1970s bedroom demonstration, complete with reporters in your face and audio clips of Lennon and others discussing the importance of peace, protest, and denouncing war. You eventually emerge from the chaos into a serene animation of doves, nature, and Lennon discussing the power of love. And in the final moments, you are alone in the room with the housekeeper, who leans in and whispers, “give peace a chance.”
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| Suite 1742: A Virtual Bed-In Experience |
I have to admit, I cried. Like a fucking baby. And co-creator of the piece John Hamilton has a scientific explanation.
“Even passive VR, if done well, can evoke an emotional response,” Hamilton shares. “Virtual Reality is a truly full-body experience. It can raise your body temperature, causing a reaction in your brain.”
Damn you tricky machines.
In all seriousness, it really was a powerful experience. I went on a journey for my eyes, ears, and mind. For a moment, I forgot I was wearing a machine and actually felt transported. I don’t think it’s exactly what Lennon was envisioning when he wrote “Imagine,” but I’d like to think he would endorse the sentiment.
After that I needed a taco. I didn’t take a photo of it because I’m not one of those Instafoodies. But trust me when I say that it transported me from a sense of hunger to an almost too real feeling of fullness. Truly transformative.
(heh. A little VR humor for you)
Since we are in a Branding and Integrated Communications program, I felt obliged to take in the expert panel with the topic of Experiential Marketing: Branding and Immersive Storytelling. I can’t lie, I thought it was going to be stories about adult play pens for rich bros. And there was definitely a bit of that. But there was also some incredibly interesting insight into what makes holistic experiential installations so meaningful, and even how they can be used for good. (See: panelist Mark Harris, Technical Director of Second Story)
The most concise insight could be found in the form of a Kierkegaard quote put forth by Abbie Baehr, SVP and Director of Strategy at Momentum, “Experience is reality.”
She used this to frame the argument that, by giving people a new perspective on something, you can change their thought process. Whether about a brand or a movement or an issue, by telling a true human story that can be fully experienced by a collection of senses, you have great power to shape how they view reality.
When asked by the moderator what the most important aspect of experiential marketing, and advertising in general, is, the panelists all threw out different variations on a theme:
“A sense of wonder.”
“Experience first.”
“Authentically connect.”
“Be truthful.”
“Moments of levity are important.”
“Humor opens people up emotionally.”
But they all kept coming back to the same central idea. In fact, each one of them said this word at least once. That’s right, you guessed it!
“Empathy.”
Not only did they each emphasize the importance of seeing things from their constituents’ perspective, they all understood exactly how much power that gives the communicator over the experiencers…experience. It is not a role to be taken lightly, but it has profound potential to make a meaningful impact.
(Quick aside to mention the When Truth Becomes Fiction and Fiction Becomes Truth panel discussion on the fake news epidemic and the role of social media platforms in propagating it. It’s too terrifying to get into detail about. Basically, we’re all fucked. Oh my god are we fucked. NEXT ACTIVITY!)
Off in separate areas from the main “Quad” of the festival grounds were two of my favorite spaces of the festival. First was the “FoST for Good” tent. By that time in the evening, many of the exhibits were either closed or malfunctioning (a tangible testament as to why this is the future of storytelling and not quite the present), but a scan of the pieces that were included showed the amazing potential of VR and immersive technology to give viewers a meaningful perspective on topics of importance to the survival of society.
There was a piece that allowed you to explore a refugee camp, a booth that let you ask questions to a holocaust survivor, a VR experience that put you at the inside a community impacted by Climate Change, and a “low-cost social companion” for children on the autism spectrum. In the years to come, as the technology is refined and becomes more accessible to change-agent storytellers, I am beyond excited for this use to reach its full potential.
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| Obligatory shot of me wearing a VR headset |
My final experience of the day brought me to a small building off the beaten path of the festival grounds called the “Cottage.” Met at the door by a man in riot gear, face hidden and standing with baton ready, I was about to enter Riot 2.0, a simulated protest-turned-riot that uses facial recognition technology to read your emotional responses, which ultimately decide your path, and your fate.
This may have been the most unique experience of the day. Surrounded by rubble and remnants of a city, you are faced by a giant video screen, a camera, and a story with check points throughout. You are encountered by a police officer, you watch your friend fall down, and eventually become witness to a false arrest. Ultimately, the emotions I are expressed chose the course I took. Luckily, I remained calm, and all of my friends made it out alive.
Talking to the artist and creator Karen Palmer, she shared her inspiration for creating the piece was the Ferguson riots and Black Lives Matter movement.
“I wanted to put people in an emotional human experience, juxtaposed to what they are seeing reported on the news.”
Karen went on to say that the ultimate goal of the piece is to give people a new perspective on events that are almost always have their purpose and message misconstrued.
She mentioned that there is only one way to change minds about a topic that has become so volatile. Can you guess what word she used?
Seriously, guess. I’ll wait.
…
……
………
…………
Ding, ding, ding!
“EMPATHY.”
For real. I can’t make this stuff up.
As I boarded the Ferry back to Manhattan, it was apparent why all of these techniques and technologies are increasingly being explored to market brands, entertain people, and inform the electorate. Sure, the innovations and approaches featured at FoST are great for play, but they are endlessly powerful as a tool for incite, compassion, and appreciation. There is no deeper or more meaningful feeling than when you can truly experience something from someone else’s perspective. Indeed, it is the only way to understand the human in everyone. And there is possibly no more important time than the present to understand the human in everyone.
Let’s face it, without empathy we may not have a future to tell stories about.
- MH
