Kairoscope : coordinating time socially

Abstract

If everyone says time is relative, why is it still so rigidly defined? There have been many attempts to address the issue of coordinating schedules, but each of these attempts runs into an issue of rigidity: in order to negotiate an event, a specific time must be designated in advance. This model is inherently poor at accommodating life's unpredictability. Kairoscope looks at time from a human perspective, focusing on time as made up of a series of events, rather than simply a series of events in time. This removes our reliance on a fixed time system, thus allowing people to coordinate events socially and on the fly, without worrying about precision. This thesis explores the creation of Kairoscope, rooted in ideas behind our perception of time, and created with the goals of reducing time-related stress, optimizing for use of time, and increasing social interaction. The proposal is a model of contextually-aware agents, constantly in communication with each other. The result is a socially-coordinated, constantly adapting, and highly malleable system to guide users through time and their schedules, without the heavy burden of precise planning. This thesis evaluates the potential implications of and the reactions to this model, as well as the design and interactions necessary to create such a system.