A card that stores your hidden true feelings

We now stand at a major turning point in history.

What will cities, daily life, and mobility look like 20 years from now? What about communication, entertainment, and the world itself?

Not too close, not too far. A slightly mysterious future just ahead—would you like to take a peek?

My friend Kazuo showed me a mysterious black card.

As I looked at it, he explained, "This is a card equipped with AI. It's a 'true feelings storage card' that lets you secretly input and save your honest thoughts—the kind you usually can't voice aloud—using voice input."

He went on to explain the card's benefits.

"There are battle tournaments where owners compete based on the quantity and quality of their stored inner thoughts. Winning one earns you prize money."

"Not only that, but if you commit a traffic violation, the points accumulated from your hidden thoughts can reduce your penalty. It's a reward for keeping society stable by hiding your true feelings."

He even added, "Sometimes advertising agencies buy up your stored true feelings. They say these hidden feelings are useful for marketing. It can actually make you some serious cash."

It sounded like a card with nothing but perks. Just as I thought, "I want one too," he muttered.

"But you know, you absolutely can't lose this card."

"Why?" I asked.

"If you drop it, all the hidden feelings you've kept concealed until then will be made public."

The year 2040—a future where hidden feelings hold monetary value—

True feelings are tricky to handle. Hoarding them isn't great for your mental health, but blurting them out bluntly drives people away. And just because it's anonymous, ranting recklessly on social media carries a high risk of backlash or revealing your identity.

While digital technology has made the world more convenient, it constantly demands the firm resolve to keep your mouth shut. Or rather, the resolve to stop your flicking finger.

These thoughts inspired the opening short story. We at Vision Design Lab. are a group that crafts concrete future lifestyle scenarios for the next 20 years. We hope you'll enjoy our flights of fancy.

Now, when it comes to a protagonist suffering under something they can't quite say, think of Aesop's fable "The King's Ears Are Donkey Ears."

The barber who cut the king's hair was the only one privy to this information. Sharing it was strictly forbidden. Oh, how he wanted to tell someone. But speaking up would endanger his life. Tormented by this dilemma, the barber fell ill. His immunity must have weakened during his agonizing struggle.

Incidentally, Aesop's fables originated in ancient Greece and Mesopotamia, long before our era. The torment of harboring unspeakable truths has existed since ancient times.

The major difference from modern times, however, is the presence or absence of the internet, which can instantly transmit acquired information to the world. Nowadays, spreading secrets and true feelings is easy. Yet, as mentioned earlier, spreading them carries risks, and holding them in seems likely to make one ill.

That's precisely why I think we'll see more therapies emerging that encourage patients to voice their true feelings, listen to them, and provide healing. When I looked into this, it seems various qualifications have emerged: active listening therapists, active listening counselors, active listening practitioners, clinical active listening practitioners, and so on. Indeed, supply and demand are two sides of the same coin.

Beyond that, platform technology to aggregate these voices will likely develop, with AI analyzing the content. Unspoken truths, wrapped in a delicate veil, will be visualized and gently placed and exposed on the timeline of the intended recipient. Such a service could emerge. The truths one wanted to convey would slowly, indirectly, permeate the person they were meant for.

As a result, the world might become a little more peaceful than it is now.

Huh? You want me to share my hidden feelings?
Give me a break! I'll treat you with my Honest Thoughts Card points.

Not five or ten years, but envisioning the digital era twenty years ahead, guiding companies and brands toward their future direction. Backed by academic and scientific research, we uncover seeds of innovation, build visions, craft stories, and create breakthroughs.

That is Vision Design Lab., born at Dentsu Digital Inc. Creative Center.

We envision the near future—one where clients haven't yet begun their technological research—drawing on our expertise in people and technology. We then present concrete future lifestyle scenarios.

We aim to co-create diverse forms of the future with you and stimulate innovation that connects to tomorrow.