The value of memories
You are often asked where you got the definition “memory designers” from.
Yudi Warsosumarto (YW): I’ve been a great fan of Blade Runner since my childhood. After I watched Blade Runner 2049, the protagonist—Officer K— met a so-called “memory maker”. She designed memories for replicants (human like robots).”—Actually, this would be my personal dream job of the future.
And what was so special about the thought of being a memory maker or memory designer?
Birgit Vollmeier (BV): Well, we liked that the biggest challenge was to design memories so well, that not only replicants but also human beings believed that their designed memory was authentic. And I think that has always been a very important aspect in our work—authenticity.
So how does it relate to your work?
YW: Actually the answer is very simple: everything we do in our job has to stick in peoples’ mind. Just as the memory maker in the film says: ”If it [memory] feels authentic, you have real human responses.” The aim of PEACH has always been to be in dialogue with the audience and to receive real human responses.
In how far do you think is authenticity relevant in future communication?
BV: I think that it is absolutely relevant and crucial in future communication. We don’t only believe but have also observed that first of all linear TV consumption is almost dead. This affects many media and communication channels. Look at advertising—before the internet it used TV as an essential medium to impress or even forcibly induce a message. Nowadays—with the immediate possibility to respond to an imposed message—the consumer or user will not take just any message. They want to be involved, participate and influence the development of products and applications. We have arrived in the age of “production by consumers” or the so-called “Prosumer”. That is certainly the path of the future.
