Alone Together

Widespread loneliness has become the scourge of the modern age. Could increasingly realistic artificial intelligence offer a solution? This interactive app introduces us to Kya, an employee at the fictional Alone Together Agency, which hires out replacement family members to lonely people.

As a visitor to DocLab, you can take Kya’s place and handle all her visits for her. Take a seat with Sara, for example, who hasn’t seen her daughter for a long while. Your job is to play the daughter as best you can in a real conversation with Sara that lifts her spirits.

This virtual experience goes way beyond any idea that you’re talking to a robot, because the technology responds to your movements, as well as to what you say. The creators have tried to make the animations as realistic as possible, which means you get to talk to imperfect avatars—and make a real virtual connection!