Frontier Research Project Receives ERC Proof of Concept Grant: YourFutureU to Explore Mental Health Innovation

Developing a Conversational Agent to Promote Future-Oriented Thinking

Criminologist Jean-Louis van Gelder is the recipient of another European Research Council grant for his ground­breaking work in the realm of virtual reality and the development of evidence- and tech-based mental health interventions. This marks the fourth ERC grant to be awarded to the Department of Criminology since 2018 under the direction and vision of van Gelder. He is one of three directors at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law (Germany) and a full professor at the Institute of Education and Child Studies at Leiden University (The Netherlands). The project is a collaboration between Leiden University and the Max Planck Institute and is a testament to the synergy between the two institutions.
 

Frontier research often generates radically new ideas that drive in­no­va­tion and tackle societal challenges. But what happens once these novel approaches have been uncovered? The European Research Council’s Proof of Concept (PoC) Grants enable researchers to take their revolutionary approaches to the next level. Researchers are given the opportunity to further develop and establish the viability of findings from previously ERC-funded frontier projects.

Max Planck director Jean-Louis van Gelder and his research team have received just such a grant for their project “YourFutureU: An Intelligent Conversational Agent to Increase Future Orientation and Decrease Self-defeating Behavior”. The YourFutureU project builds on existing research with virtual reality (VR) and smartphone apps to generate future-self avatars. A previously developed app-based in­ter­vention is to be converted into an intelligent conversational agent.

What will van Gelder be researching with the grant?

The new project’s premise sounds deceptively simple: By engaging in frequent dialogs with a “future self”, the user builds up a psychological connection to it. In these conversations, the future self acts as a sort of counsellor, promoting self-reflection and reflection on the possible consequences of future actions. The user is encouraged to think ahead, which promotes what is known as temporally extended activities, i.e., actions that relate past and future, while reducing shortsighted behaviors. This also holds the potential to alleviate feelings of depression. This ability to distance oneself from situations boosts healthy decision making.

The technology is complex: Large language models (LLMs) powered by artificial intelligence (AI) will be used to develop a conversational agent that enables interactions (conversations) with one’s future self (i.e., 10-year older self). "What that means," explains Jean-Louis van Gelder, "is that we use user-specific input to create a backstory of the user's personal history. This backstory is essentially a synthetic memory, which allows for highly personalized and relatable conversations between the user and their future self."

To ensure knowledge transfer and digital expertise, psychologist van Gelder’s team includes behavioral intervention expert Dr. Esther Mertens, clinical psychologist Maggie Webb, and computer scientist Janis Butz.

Why does this research matter?

The potential for the individual lies in improving his/her future-oriented thinking, which in turn can improve academic performance, goal achievement, and health. Mental health is especially at the heart of the researchers’ concept, as an emerging body of research has shown that the ability to consider the future enhances psychological well-being. For example, the conversational agent can contribute to alleviating self-defeating behavior.

The societal benefits of such interventions range from decreasing healthcare costs and increasing affordable healthcare to reducing crime. Developing practical solutions to serve society is an integral part of the research program of the Department of Criminology at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law.

What comes next?

After “training” the conversational agent and user testing, the research team plans to conduct a number of studies to test its efficacy. One study will target the self-defeating behavior known as procrastination and another will address mental well-being.

“Possible market applications include a stand-alone app, which will focus on prevention, and an add-on modality, which will focus on treatment and be therapist-guided”, says van Gelder.

This exciting new project is at the crossroads of behavioral science and computer science. The future is YourFutureU.