Seedlink

1. Prototype link (Please submit a link to a playable prototype, not a link to your design file) (https://www.figma.com/proto/NkcLRg7WCm3Y5uyLw9DYNL/Rice-Design-a-thon?page-id=48%3A1488&node-id=175-2480&viewport=1643%2C240%2C0.13&t=zThe8PI4EbVDvxjH-1&scaling=scale-down&content-scaling=fixed&starting-point-node-id=175%3A2480&show-proto-sidebar=1)
2. Describe your project (max 150 words) In the face of the rise of artificial intelligence, the line between humans and technology blurs. This then raises the question: "What makes us as humans unique?" As one informs the other and vice versa, it becomes increasingly hard to define. Ultimately, we found that it was personal connection and community that truly defined us. AI, much like any other technology should enhance, not harm the human experience. Thus, we asked ourselves:

How might we use artificial intelligence to encourage stronger human connections?

Our response: Seedlink is a mobile application that employs AI to both foster new connections and rekindle old ones. By using artificial intelligence to firstly match users based on possible prior lost connections and shared present interests, Seedlink then attempts to bring people and communities together over in-person activities and bonding moments. With a gamified and intuitive user experience, Seedlink channels AI’s strengths for human good.

1. Describe your research process and findings. If you conducted any surveys or interviews, please include the survey form and/or interview questions here. If you conducted secondary research by pulling from online sources, please include a link to your sources. (Max 500 words)

In terms of user research, we combined both a public and academic approach to inform our design decisions. For the public aspect of our approach, we had some one to one interviews alongside a survey sent to a diverse population to respond to:

Our questions focused on how human connections are impacted by certain factors, and what kind of connections are valued today in the modern age. We asked questions such as the importance of human connection within people’s lives or what challenges existed when making these connections. We found that nearly all respondents said that a connection over shared experiences strengthened their relationships with others the most. Resultantly, by inference, we also concluded that a sense of accomplishment was also important to the human experience. By accomplishing a task together, not only do people feel good about themselves, but they also gain a positive shared experience with others involved, strengthening the relationships they have with one another. This is also backed up by some of our academic research. Specifically, as Bartels states in his study Making Connections: Building and Maintaining Relationships, “Building and maintaining relationships requires … a mutual commitment to empowerment” which is done through these shared experiences.

We also found that a concerning amount of people were disengaged with the key sense of achievement, with 84.3% of people feeling that AI minimizes their ability to engage in self-driven tasks (via inference from our survey).

We also found within our survey that some of the key challenges with building human connections involved both external and internal factors. For example, our survey indicated that social anxiety (71.4%) and difficulty opening up (64.3%) posed major issues in forming and retaining relationships with others. Yet, at the same time, many current modes of connection forming are not effective, with less than half of those surveyed feeling like they were connected with the people around them. Additionally only 21.4% of people trusted connections that were solely digitally based. This provided a unique challenge for us to work with as “people who have difficulty in expressing or ‘being’ themselves in face to face interactions” as Miller describes in Online and Offline Relationships “are more likely to craft what they regard as a ‘real self’ and form closer relationships with people they meet online.”

Thus, while our survey data points out that maintaining virtual connections was hard, our academic data displays that it was easier to form them in the first place.

Ultimately, our results found that people valued real connections that gave them a sense of accomplishment and purpose. People need action and physical shared experiences to maintain and strengthen their bonds. However, finding these connections is hard in the first place with factors such as social anxiety being at play. Digital solutions through, can provide a start.

1. Describe your most important design decisions. What research findings and/or user testing results led you to make these decisions? (Max 500 words) When designing Seedlink, one of our main design decisions addresses the lack of accomplishment many people feel in their everyday lives, specifically as AI takes on more tasks than were once done by humans. Our findings indicated that 84.3% of people feel that AI minimizes their ability to engage in self-driven tasks. With AI making tasks easier, users expressed how they feel more detached from their achievements. Therefore, one of our key design decisions is incorporating activities through gamified elements like nurturing the growth of their seeds. This requires users to actively participate in their growth. Our platform tracks these small milestones and rewards users which creates a sense of purpose that is lost through the comfort of new tech.

Though we discuss the negatives of AI, our platform utilizes it because we found that 92.6% of people use AI in their daily lives. This means that AI is helpful, but needs to be used so that enhances the human experience and doesn’t harm it. In our product, AI is used to generate personalized activities based on users’ shared interests which makes it easier to connect with others. In addition, the seeds that each user gets when they download the app is unique and based on their personal preferences through an AI analysis of their interests. This ensures that users remain in control of their actions, creating a sense of satisfaction when they complete their goals.

Another key design decision for Seedlink was the creation of the seed visual system which we found would work best with our users. Insights from a research paper by the NIH highlighted how most social platforms focus on perfectionism which causes users to show an idealized version of their lives. While these platforms can help people connect, we want users to be their most authentic selves. Therefore, we chose a playful design that creates a more relaxed environment to build connections.

A study by the University of Oxford highlighted how findings show that people emotionally connect with objects they can nurture, which provides a sense of accomplishment and pride. Sending seeds to others is the central interaction of our platform, that allows users to form bonds. These seeds, like relationships, require time and care to grow and instill a sense of accomplishment in users when they see their garden flourishing. This design requires users to take ownership of their growth, making their interactions more meaningful.

For our research, we combined 1:1 interviews with a survey form that received responses from a diverse group of individuals to fully encapsulate all types of humans that live in this age of AI. These insights helped us realize that users have a need to build genuine connections and reconnect with their sense of accomplishment. Being human isn’t just about the connections you make, but also about your growth and purpose. Through a playful design, gamification, and AI, Seedlink enhances the human experience for users by helping them nurture relationships and grow.

Built With

• figma