MIT Media Lab + 113 Spring NYC: Using AI to help retail employees envision their future selves

What if you could sit down with a version of yourself who had already navigated the career decisions you're facing today? That's the premise behind Future You — a web-based interactive platform developed at the MIT Media Lab — and the foundation of a collaboration with 113 Spring, a new wellness destination in New York that makes longevity make sense by translating complex, technical concepts into everyday practice.

Led by Principal Investigator Dr. Pat Pataranutaporn, the MIT Media Lab team worked with 113 Spring to explore how AI-enabled tools can support employee development across three distinct career moments: new-hire onboarding, career guidance, and long-term career growth. Participants engaged in structured conversations with an AI-simulated future self — each session designed to surface personal aspirations, clarify goals, and build a sense of forward momentum.

The collaboration sits at the heart of 113 Spring's mission: reframing complex ideas as more human, accessible experiences that support curiosity, connection, and the ongoing expansion of how we live, learn, and grow.

During a recent visit to the MIT Media Lab, the 113 Spring team explored the work of several research groups — including Affective Computing, Fluid Interfaces, Biomechatronics, and Cyborg Psychology — each pioneering technologies with the potential to reshape how people live, connect, and thrive.

For the MIT Media Lab, the collaboration reflects something we believe deeply: that transformative research happens when academic rigor meets real-world urgency. Alongside member organizations like 113 Spring, we're building a prototype platform designed not just to test ideas, but to genuinely support the people who use it—one future-self conversation at a time.