In 2019, IBM decided to make a concerted applying their tech prowess to help tackle aspects of the aging problem in Japan. In making "Second Life," IBM reached seniors through a variety of activations in events, recruitment centers and community centers, where those seniors experienced the use of IBM's Watson AI.

To engage with seniors and introduce them to the "Second Life" algorithm, we created an installation that would collect data on the spot, through voice analyzation, and instantly cross-reference that data with industrial data. Participants fully experienced the power of IBM's AI in this activation.

Japan now has the world oldest population with more than 1 in 4 citizens over 65. And with life expectancy at 85, retirees are looking at 20+ years of feeling lonely and unproductive.

IBM wanted to put their technological prowess to work, in order to begin to find answers to how seniors could live more productive, happier lives in their later years.

The objective was to meaningfully demonstrate IBM's AI abilities; in a tangible way that would bring the foreign company closer to the Japanese people, while helping to serve the purpose of helping seniors find a more fulfilling existence late in life.

To help seniors find their calling after retirement, we wanted to use IBM's tech prowess and AI expertise.

The idea was to create an algorithm that could learn to understand the unique personality traits of individuals. Then, by cross-referencing that data with professional occupation-based data, we could see what kinds of positions might be right and satisfying to those seniors.

The unique aspect of the algorithm was how it identified personality traits with specificity, leading to possibilities in their future that participants might not have thought of themselves.

Our target audiences were seniors interested in seeking a more stimulating future. We worked with in 65+ organizations, retirement centers, recruitment centers in connecting with them.

We found Japanese participants with interests outside of their occupation, which led to more fruitful occupational suggestions.

The youngest group we had as participants were verging on retirement, in their mid-60s, and the oldest were in their mid-90s.

After thousands of seniors were recruited, they answered simple questions via their voice, as Watson's AI analyzed and drew connections between a databank of occupations and characteristics, and those participants' personalities.

The IBM algorithm cross-referenced occupational data with participants' traits via Watson's deep personality cognitive analytics.

The platform has so far helped over 43,000 seniors find a fulfilling path they otherwise wouldn't have identified.

The campaign gained over US$3MM in media attention and over 46 million impressions—large numbers for a B2B effort—while helping over 43,000 seniors find passions they never may have been able to identify.