The Proposal
Speculative Society
Liberty traders depend on blockchain technology and all its implicit totalitarianism - assets, surveillance, tracking, data driven, 100% transparency. Their relationships are dictatorially controlled over their own agreed terms set during the contract. It is governed by algorithms (smart contracts), people trust it to take their commitment to the next level.
Concept
Our design proposal is to introduce a smart contract that people can use to keep their relationship on track. The app acts as a no code tool to setup smart contracts using blockchain technology. And the proposal is to bring in a unified system where everything is digitized, even the currency (LuvCoin) and other assets (as NFT’s). Each partner adds in money to their contract which will be transferred back and forth depending upon the contract terms and violation of the same. And the contract period depends on the total balance of the money invested and added assets. LoveProtocol also has physical devices to support and keep a check on those set terms on the contract. The devices range from smart bracelets to smart lens, that keeps monitoring the couple throughout the contract period.
The Process
Background
Up to 300 years ago, marriage was purely transactional and based on practical considerations like children, money, dynasties, and power. Nowadays it seems marriage is all about love, is that the case?
In many cultures, prenuptial agreements are used to provide clarity for couples around how their assets will be divided in the event of a relationship breakup. We noticed that all of these contracts refer to what must be done with money or property only in the event of divorce or death, and it felt that they’re not detailed enough or considerate of couples’ emotions during the marriage itself.
All of the above encouraged us to speculate and imagine a world where jealousy, possessiveness, and control in relationships are wildly open and accepted. What would that society look like? and which technology would they use to express these relationships? and what if we base such technology on B.F. Skinner’s operant conditioning theory laws, how would it affect relationships?
Reseach Objectives
1) How jealousy can affect a relationship, be it positive or negative?
2) What are the causes of jealousy? What are its different types?
3) What is the history of marriages? What were its ideologies? How did it change over time?
Literature Review
Jealousy can be of three types,
1) Reactive
2) Anxious, and
3) Possessive
Some facts and figures..
According to the US government’s National Survey of Family Growth,
1) 22% of first marriages end in divorce within five years.
2) 53% of marriages dissolve within 20 years.
and the rate is rising every year!
Recent research in the UK found that,
1) 22% of first marriages end in divorce within five years.
2) 53% of marriages dissolve within 20 years.
and the rate is rising every year!
Exploration Through Collage
We started ideating through collages, where we took the inspiration from history and technology and came up with conceptual diagrams. The collages were based on the “what if” questions we wanted to direct our explorations to
1) What if we have a fully open and transparent relationship?
2) What if we have a live relationship quality score?
3) How would control look like in a free world?
4) What if people got immediate material compensation for their partner’s mistakes?
Political Spectrum
Our vision is to give the freedom of choice in a systematic fashion. Our goal is to achieve maximum transparency between the couples so that they can understand each other and act upon it accordingly. Couples should be able to define what they want in a relationship and follow it throughout. They will also have the choice to come out of it if they want to, but on already decided terms, no changes whatsoever. These are the values we want society to perceive. In actuality, it has a dark side where it can be perceived as controlled chaos.
Questions for Debate
1) Would you stay silent just because you keep getting money?
2) Does more money mean you get to violate as much as you can?
3) Will the society see fit to add children as an NFT asset?
4) What happens when a contract ends?
5) Would you still separate when you have an active contract?
6) How will it redefine the meaning of cheating?
7) What will be the new form of jealousy?
