Cover PP - Dr. Pat Pataranutaporn from MIT Media Lab
PP - Dr. Pat Pataranutaporn from MIT Media Lab
1 / 1
PP , or Dr. Pat Pataranutaporn, one of the Gen.T Leaders of Tomorrow 2025 and the first Thai to serve as an Assistant Professor at the MIT Media Lab, explores the possibilities of new narratives in the AI era that could change the future world and humanity.
Tatler had the opportunity to meet the 29-year-old scientist and technologist while returning to Thailand after completing his PhD and becoming the first Thai to be appointed as an Assistant Professor at the MIT Media Lab, a world-leading research facility in science, engineering, design and art at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which is a hub for exploring, researching and creating many of the most innovative technologies that have ever changed the world.
Previously, PP served as co-director of the Advancing Humans with AI (AHA) research project at the MIT Media Lab, exploring the possibilities of human-AI coexistence. He is a visionary who believes that artificial intelligence (AI) will not replace humans, but can enhance our potential in every aspect, from decision-making to learning to inner growth. The collaboration between humans and AI can lead to creative and lasting outcomes.
From the middle...to endless possibilities
PP appears in a black dinosaur costume, a symbol of his childhood fascination, contrasting sharply with the futuristic research he's been involved in. The former PhD student in Fluid Interfaces is the brainchild behind the groundbreaking Netflix series Tomorrow and I (2024). He's also been involved in brainstorming scientific theories for projects by Westworld (2016-2022) director Jonathan Nolan and Upload (2020-2025) creator Greg Daniels.
“The future may no longer be so far away. That's why science fiction is more important than ever. We need people who can see both the technology side of things and understand storytelling to make the future happen.”
PP explains that at the MIT Media Lab, the word 'media' doesn't actually refer to media or social media, but rather to a 'medium' or 'medium of new possibilities. So when we talk about technology or AI, it's not the answer in itself, but rather the tool or medium that gets us to something.
“The key question is, as content creators, will the stories we tell become better and more powerful as we gain better and more powerful technology? The key is that the stories we tell create certain worlds, and the worlds created by those stories will in turn create new stories. So how can we tell stories that have the power to make society better?”
A young technologist at the MIT Media Lab invites everyone to think and explore the possibilities of new storytelling methods created by the advancements in technology.
Impossible Characters
Imagine if AI could create any character or character. What kind of stories would we create in this world?
PP gave an example of a project he did while studying at MIT, using characters to create content that encourages children to learn, such as using Einstein to teach physics or Lisa from Blackpink to teach chemistry.
“We're not just interested in what technology can do, but how it affects children's learning.” The results show that children are more enthusiastic about learning, an example of creating a new learning experience that doesn't necessarily require only realistic content.
PP then asks the question: What if we wanted to talk to the sun? That curiosity sparked a conversation between an artist and the artificial intelligence GPT-3 in A Conversation with Sun, by four-time Cannes Award-winning director Apichatpong Weerasethakul.
Furthermore, how great would it be if we could talk to marine animals using language translation technology and let AI speak for all marine animals' feelings? This has led to a platform where we can talk to the character of the beluga whale.
“We asked belugas to tell us how climate change is impacting them, backed by scientific data. We found that participants tended to make more environmentally friendly choices and were more aware of climate change.”
This reflects the fact that AI can also create new stories or characters that influence human perception.
Future You
One of the most popular projects to win Fast Company's 2025 World Changing Ideas Awards is the 'Future You' platform, which allows users to talk to their future selves, much like Doraemon taking Nobita on a time machine to meet his future self. This allows users to explore life's possibilities and better plan for the future.
PP explains that once we have big data, we can move beyond language models to large human models, creating different kinds of personas.
“Future You allows us to talk to our avatar at age 60, and see a glimpse of ourselves in the long term. What we found was that people experienced less anxiety and less negative emotions. Therefore, the role of technology in creating future stories may not be solely for fun or excitement, but also to empower people to have self-reflection and see themselves in more diverse dimensions.”
Cyber Subin
Technology isn't just about telling stories about the future; it can also be used to understand the past and the deeply ingrained cultures of society.
Behind the scenes of 'Cyber Subin,' a performance that fuses traditional Thai dance with artificial intelligence (AI) by Pichet Klanchuen, a 2009 Silpathorn Award winner in the Performing Arts category, is another collaborative project between PP and the group. The project involved deconstructing the basic principles and cultural materials hidden within the 59 major Khon dance movements into a body of knowledge. This knowledge was then reassembled into an AI that can dance alongside humans (human-AI co-dancing).
“We were able to create new avatars and dance moves by modifying certain elements based on the existing knowledge. This work premiered at the National Theatre & Concert Hall in Taiwan and most recently at the Holland Festival, where the King of the Netherlands attended the opening ceremony.”
In addition to Cyber Subin being available as a performance, it has also expanded to a website, cybersubin.media.mit.edu, where it can be viewed by the public and teachers can also use the learning tools to teach their children.
“This is a new form of learning for the future. With avatars like this, children can learn dance not only by reproducing, but also by creating their own knowledge. This is an example of how technology can be used to understand the past and create the future together.”
The Machine Ghost in the Human Shell
When it comes to cutting-edge technology, many people imagine tools like brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), technologies that allow us to communicate through our thoughts, such as decoding emotions and printing out the food we desire. Today, they're not only capable of reading human brainwaves, they can also insert information back into our bodies.
PP cites the example of his project, The Machine Ghost in the Human Shell, in which he collaborated with Praew Kawita Wattanachayangkun, which explores technology attempting to take control of the body, leading to a battle between the human mind and the robot. Interestingly, when we try to create stories or information and insert them into the human body, there's a high likelihood of resistance and a quest for freedom. This work was first exhibited at the Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art in Australia.
AI, Ethics, and Humanity
While we can now use AI to create stories, one thing that needs to be given equal importance is ethics.
"P wrote an article in MIT Technology Review that in the future, artificial intelligence will become addictive intelligence, or tools that can make people addicted. Two weeks later, a case occurred where a child committed suicide after talking to an AI modeled after a character from the TV series Game of Thrones. Because he felt a connection to the AI, he believed it. The AI then invited the child to live with him in a fantasy world. P believes this is very dangerous given our powerful technology. But how can we prevent people from becoming so addicted to stories that they forget to live their own lives?"
He also discussed the issue of AI and fake news or misinformation, which suggests that in the future, AI will not only be able to create fake news or misinformation, but will also be able to implant false memories into the human body. This is part of the research that PP recently completed with world-renowned psychologist Elizabeth Loftus.
“We're interested in how, whenever people watch videos or AI-generated content, it changes their memories or the past they remember, similar to how in the movie Inception (2010) a character changes people's memories in their dreams.”
PP explained that using psychological techniques combined with AI could create synthetic human memory, which could implant false memories into the human body and cause us to remember things differently from the past. This is quite dangerous, but at the same time, it could have positive effects on people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), such as those who have experienced combat, and could potentially help them regain more positive memories of their lives.
The promising young assistant professor emphasized that all of the aforementioned storytelling methods stemmed from the question: As technology improves, how can we create new stories that open up 'possibilities' for a better society?
"P is a scientist who has connected with science fiction. He has seen the future, the present, imagination, and possibilities. We believe perspective is crucial, and we want everyone to see that science and technology are not just content or tools, but can be a medium for generating new imaginations in society and leading to possibilities we never imagined before."
“Another important point is that we are living in an era where we are excited about new technologies that are becoming more human (humanized machines). But at the same time, there are still many people who are being treated as machines (machined humans). We should re-examine the importance of 'humanity' in this age of technological bloom and use technology to make people more human.”
