Aryeh Bookbinder
Otherland.io: A Digital Legacy Platform
Leveraging our digital footprints as a future medium for legacy.
In this project, I explore a future where death isn’t the end; where our contributions to the internet stand as vivid representations of us for generations to come, and the internet is used to connect people not only over space, but over time.Otherland.io is a platform which conglomerates one’s data across platforms and imprints it into a hashed token, rendering it immutable and regenerative. This data can then be brought to life through an open-source experience library at https://www.otherland.io/.
Insight
For as long as humans have existed, their anxieties around death have factored into nearly every decision they made. Most humans cope with death anxiety by subscribing to the narrative of legacy creation: building something during one’s life which they can live through after their time. My primary research showed that work, family and social life were the three most common domains of life where we currently build legacy. While the majority of people depend on work for meaning, it is predicted that 50% of jobs will be automated by 2070. We are approaching a paradigm shift in legacy creation.
Idea
If a platform were to leverage our digital footprints, ie. social media accounts, blog posts, mentions, transactions, bio-metrics, etc, and package these in a way future generations could experience, it would introduce a new and ideal method of legacy creation.
Impact
The lasting effect is that people will be empowered to make decisions for their future beyond this life, so that history can be seen through the eyes of the majority who lived, and so that our knowledge, wisdom and unique experiences can be harnessed to improve the future. The reality is that we are being captured. The opportunity is to do so intentionally.
Biography
Aryeh is a product designer, researcher and writer whose work tackles large and systemic issues using a detailed, data-driven design process. His primary focuses are on data as a material, tech ethics and future mediums of interaction. Aryeh envisions a future where people are more connected, better understood and have a better quality of life. He brings a unique perspective to the table by asking hard questions and challenging common beliefs.