In personal life we collaborate all the time, mostly without even realising it. Many studies have confirmed again and again that our personal relationships are what make us happier, more stress resistant, mentally healthier…We live and interact in small groups – families, co-living communities, clubs and associations… We play role games, decide on the next vacations, distribute chores, organise shopping, resolve conflicts, share memories, ask for help…

As for work, we spend significant overhead time around those activities as soon as we are not together in the same physical place. Most of us are living in an always busier “hives” and have difficulties to fully live our personal relationships. Commitments and their respect have become more evasive. With ALC, our social activities could become richer, more fun, more spontaneous, more interactive, and less overhead intensive…

But the potential of ALC in the personal sphere is much larger. In particular, it can help develop new “rituals”, i.e., new forms of togetherness, and help people to overcome loneliness.

We are involved in social rituals at all important stages of our lives (birthdays, weddings, funerals, Christmas, arriving at a new job, signing a contract, participating in a dancing contest, speed-dating …). Rituals are played, they are forms of collaboration where we play a special role; they put structure on space and time, which facilitates the collaboration between people who would otherwise be strangers. These ritualised events often create the conditions for making acquaintance with hereto strangers. We could well imagine inventing new rituals which are enhanced by ALC, which allow us in a controlled and fun way to engage and interact with each other. This might add the possibility to play games and / or engage in meaningful social, political and / or cultural interactions where people space and time get structured by “fun” symFlos.

Today, many people are lonely, either because they do not have enough social relationships or because their current ones are not satisfactory. Many people have difficulties to engage with strangers. As the diversity of tastes, interests and experiences keeps constantly growing, even more people have a difficult time to find soul mates to connect and exchange with. Getting to know each other, sufficiently well to trust each other, is complicated. Having rich, deep, meaningful exchanges with others is a deep human need, which goes largely frustrated in our society. ALC has the potential of facilitating and enriching relationships in very different contexts. We could symly to find people with shared interests, without risking our privacy. ALC would help to create trust and to eliminate the potential, and even more so the perceived danger of interacting with strangers: symBots could help strangers to get gradually acquainted with each other; they could vet them, using a trusted third party symBot to check their trustworthiness, notably by reliably identifying the persons they are in contact with, and deducing from their history (their respective Extended Identities) where they might have shared interests and / or experiences, which they might be willing to share. Such new symlying rituals would hence be highly interesting to eliminate the “stranger” barrier.

We could more actively and spontaneously search and find people who are interested in a specific type of contact (e.g., discussing politics or interested in sex). This would open immense potentials for freeing us from loneliness. For instance, we might want, in semi-public places (such as for instance large parties and / or community events) and public places (such as public transports or bars), to spontaneously meet people who are interested to engage certain types of discussions, to learn from each other, to have fun together or to start dating (reducing the “shyness” barrier). In this sense, the SymPlace Community (the community of all registered, and normally paying, users on sym.place) will be a fantastic basis for creating interest-centred relationships around “spontaneously emerging” symCommunities.

Some examples of future symBots and symFlos:

• At the level of families, groups of friends and small co-living tribes:
• Organising group events (e.g., parties, collective birthday presents) and activities (e.g., trips, weekends…).
• Manage and / or reschedule appointments (confirming dates; informing more or less automatically about arrival time; rescheduling appointments to cope with the unforeseen). Manage calendar conflicts between different activities.
• Keep contacts alive / stay in touch. Remind of important anniversaries. Share news…
• Collaborative shopping / part contributions. A share list is filled and ticked off by several people as they contribute the items. Interactions with third-party symBots with special services, such as finding special offers or suggesting ideas for cooking recipes (possibly taking into account health profiles of participants).
• Collaborative logistics and distribution of chores, depending on the capabilities and preferences of participants. Manage dynamically list of all to-dos (punctual and periodic) and the corresponding time credits. Participants can express preferences of chores (e.g., by betting tokens for / against tasks). Depending on the needs / priorities of the group, the bets and the tasks which are insufficiently resourced, a symBot distributes the tasks. A dedicated symBot, in conjunction with the different participants’ VPAs, monitors the tasks and credits / debits the budgets of time budgets of participants, taking into account task delivery and time passed.
• Collaborative augmented role games. The players play their roles. SymBots play the context and other roles. Participants shape collaboratively the evolution and the rules of the game, notably by metaSymFlos.
• Collaborative betting and forecasting (sports, political events, economic trends...). This can include constituting aggregated bets, pitching bets against each other to identify experts with good forecasting methods.
• Deeper exchanges, with prepared and dynamically adjusted questions & answers, e.g., touching upon feelings and / or conflictual topics, in a structured, controlled and delicate way, possibly using gaming.
• At the level of teams and sports clubs:
• Forming teams to participate in competitions.
• Planning teams to participate in team competitions, checking competitiveness and eligibility conditions.
• Monitoring and sharing team results.
• Developing team strategies and tactics, and then collecting corresponding agreement and commitment.
• Deciding on major club activities, and initiating minor ones (e.g., check if there will be enough players to find partners on a Friday evening).
• Co-organising activities with club partners.
• Informing members and /or partners, allowing for questions & answers, including limited interactivity.
• At the level of rituals in semi-public spaces:
• Seek “partners” for a specific collaborative purpose (discussing, sharing memories, playing, joking, dating…).
• Facilitate corresponding symFlos to build trust.
• Enable commercial micro-transactions between strangers (and between people who know each other), providing an auditable trail and facilitating trust.

Obviously, many of these symFlo templates would also, in different variations, have their usage in other contexts, and not only in the personal sphere. They are however particularly interesting in a logic where a single unique VPA allows a user to organise and manage all his.her symFlos, across domains; today, in our more “fluid” urban lives, we face the constantly increasing challenge of effectively managing the trade-offs between conflicting constraints from different spheres of life. A range of deep societal trends make this defragmentation increasingly important and urgent, in particular: the growing importance of telepresence, reinforced by teleworking, flexible working hours and part-time; the expectation of better reconciling “work”, family, friends and civil society commitments, personal leisure…

This defragmentation only will work, if we can fully control it – we should be able to choose, if we want to participate in a “key account strategy brainstorming” symFlo launched by our boss during a weekend, or if we want to participate in a pedagogic experiment during the workweek. What we commit to and agree to participate in should be explicit and not be implicit (e.g., the symified rule may say that the boss can invite to weekend working parties, but that staff can decline the invitation and, if they accept the invitation, later can get equivalent time off).

Again, we asked ChatGPT to come up with suggestions, this time “in the field of personal relationships, leisure and more generally "defragmenting life", i.e., transcending different spheres of collaboration”:

ChatGPT: In the field of personal relationships, leisure, and defragmenting life, Augmented Learning Collaboration (ALC) can play a transformative role by facilitating collaboration across different spheres. Here are some examples of symBots and symFlos in this context:

• Social Connection SymBot: This symBot focuses on fostering social connections and relationships. It can recommend social activities, events, and groups based on personal interests and preferences. The symBot facilitates collaboration by connecting individuals with like-minded people, organizing social gatherings, and encouraging shared experiences that transcend different spheres of collaboration.
• Personal Development SymFlo: This symFlo template supports personal growth and development across various aspects of life. It provides resources, such as self-help materials, educational courses, and goal-setting frameworks. The symBot associated with this symFlo offers guidance, tracks progress, and promotes collaboration by connecting individuals with mentors, coaches, and communities focused on personal development.
• Travel Planning and Exploration SymBot: This symBot assists in planning and organizing travel experiences. It suggests destinations, provides itinerary recommendations, and offers insights on local culture, activities, and attractions. The symBot fosters collaboration by facilitating group travel coordination, connecting travelers with similar interests, and enabling shared exploration and discovery.
• Lifestyle Optimization SymFlo: This symFlo template focuses on optimizing various aspects of daily life, including health, productivity, and leisure. It offers personalized recommendations, time management strategies, and habit-building techniques. The symBot associated with this symFlo promotes collaboration by connecting individuals with experts, communities, and resources to support lifestyle improvement and holistic well-being.
• Community Engagement SymBot: This symBot encourages active participation in local communities and social causes. It provides information on volunteer opportunities, community events, and collaborative projects. The symBot fosters collaboration by connecting individuals with community organizations, facilitating group initiatives, and promoting engagement across different spheres of collaboration.
• Family Coordination SymFlo: This symFlo template supports collaboration and coordination within families. It includes features such as shared calendars, task management, and communication channels. The symBot associated with this symFlo assists in scheduling family activities, managing household responsibilities, and promoting effective collaboration in various aspects of family life.
• Hobby and Interest Sharing SymBot: This symBot facilitates collaboration among individuals with shared hobbies and interests. It connects people with similar passions, provides resources and guidance, and fosters collaboration through shared projects, discussions, and creative endeavors. The symBot transcends different spheres of collaboration by bringing together individuals who share common recreational activities.

These examples showcase how symBots and symFlos in ALC can transcend different spheres of collaboration, promoting personal relationships, leisure activities, and defragmenting life. By facilitating connections, providing resources, and encouraging collaboration, ALC enhances personal fulfillment, social interaction, and overall well-being in various domains of life.

Quite impressive, so the author got greedy…

Author: Some more?

ChatGPT: Certainly! Here are some additional examples of symBots and symFlos in the field of personal relationships, leisure, and defragmenting life:

• Relationship Enhancement SymBot: This symBot focuses on enhancing personal relationships, whether romantic, familial, or friendships. It provides communication tools, relationship-building exercises, and conflict resolution strategies. The symBot fosters collaboration by facilitating open and constructive dialogue, promoting understanding, and helping individuals strengthen their connections across different spheres of collaboration.
• Social Impact Collaboration SymFlo: This symFlo template promotes collaboration for social impact by connecting individuals interested in making a difference. It facilitates collaboration on community projects, charitable initiatives, and advocacy campaigns. The symBot associated with this symFlo fosters collaboration by providing resources, organizing volunteer activities, and facilitating communication and coordination among individuals committed to social change.
• Personalized Leisure Recommendations SymBot: This symBot offers personalized leisure recommendations based on individual preferences, such as hobbies, interests, and entertainment choices. It suggests activities, events, and media content tailored to each person's unique tastes. The symBot promotes collaboration by enabling individuals to share recommendations, create shared playlists, and engage in collaborative leisure experiences with others.
• Lifelong Learning and Cultural Exchange SymFlo: This symFlo template facilitates lifelong learning and cultural exchange by connecting individuals across different backgrounds, cultures, and regions. It offers language learning resources, virtual cultural exchange programs, and collaborative learning opportunities. The symBot associated with this symFlo fosters collaboration by facilitating language practice, organizing intercultural dialogues, and creating a platform for collaborative learning and knowledge sharing.
• Personal and Professional Networking SymBot: This symBot focuses on expanding personal and professional networks. It suggests networking events, connects individuals with shared interests or industries, and provides tools for effective networking and collaboration. The symBot fosters collaboration by facilitating introductions, enabling knowledge exchange, and supporting professional collaborations that transcend different spheres of collaboration.
• Mindfulness and Well-being SymFlo: This symFlo template promotes mindfulness, stress reduction, and well-being practices. It offers guided meditation resources, stress management techniques, and self-care strategies. The symBot associated with this symFlo fosters collaboration by facilitating group mindfulness sessions, organizing wellness challenges, and encouraging shared practices that promote well-being and holistic development.
• Creative Collaboration SymBot: This symBot supports collaboration in creative endeavors, such as art, music, and writing. It connects individuals with similar creative interests, provides collaborative platforms, and offers feedback and critique mechanisms. The symBot fosters collaboration by enabling joint projects, facilitating co-creation, and promoting collaborative expressions of creativity across different spheres of collaboration.

To put in a provocative wording – symBots and symFlos in this field could offer as well a “YouTube on hyperdrive”, a “TikTok on steroids”, a “Deep Facebook” and / or a “Universal LinkedIn”.  They could also take the form of “virtual board games”, combining fun and socially connecting with lifelong learning, health and / or politics.

Author:  User could you then [after discussing the concept of “virtual board games”] suggest some transformative symFlos transcending different domains such as politics, education, health or participative research which would take the form of board games that would be played for the fun and for the social connections, but would also produce results that would bring great individual and societal benefits?

ChatGPT: Certainly! Here are some examples of transformative symFlos in the form of board games that transcend different domains and have the potential to produce individual and societal benefits:

• PolicyCraft: A board game that simulates the complexities of political decision-making. Players take on the roles of policymakers and engage in strategic negotiations, coalition building, and policy implementation. The game encourages players to consider different perspectives, collaborate, and develop innovative solutions to societal challenges. PolicyCraft can generate insights into effective governance and policy development, which can be used to inform real-world decision-making processes.
• KnowledgeQuest: An educational board game designed to promote learning and critical thinking across various subjects. Players navigate through different knowledge domains, answering questions, solving problems, and engaging in discussions. The game fosters collaborative learning, creativity, and information synthesis. KnowledgeQuest can generate valuable data on learning patterns and identify areas where educational interventions are needed, contributing to educational research and innovation.
• HealthMatters: A health-themed board game that promotes healthy lifestyle choices and disease prevention. Players make decisions related to nutrition, exercise, stress management, and healthcare access, aiming to improve their overall well-being. The game can collect anonymized data on player behaviors and health outcomes, providing valuable insights into population health trends and helping researchers develop targeted interventions and public health strategies.
• ScienceQuest: A participatory research board game where players engage in scientific exploration and discovery. Each player represents a scientist or researcher, and through gameplay, they collaborate to solve complex scientific challenges, conduct experiments, and analyze data. The game enables players to contribute to real scientific research by collecting data and insights that can be used by scientists to advance their studies.
• SustainableCities: A board game that focuses on urban planning and sustainability. Players work together to design and develop environmentally friendly and socially inclusive cities. They consider factors like energy efficiency, transportation, waste management, and community engagement. SustainableCities can generate innovative ideas and strategies for sustainable urban development, informing real-world city planning initiatives.

Inversely, the “personal sphere” application domain is important for developing ALC, as it needs to be to fun. ALC must increase the well-being associated with collaboration – ALC must enrich human relationships, and not impoverish them. And trust building with strangers is a key requirement for developing the full potential of ALC. To address ALC in the personal sphere, the quality and simplicity of user experience must be impeccable. This will benefit all domains.

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