Reimagining Personal Data: Unlocking the Potential of AI-Generated Images in Personal Data Meaning-Making

TL;DR

This paper explores how AI-generated images can transform personal data into meaningful visual representations, enhancing user engagement and understanding through a design study and diary research.

Contribution

It introduces a novel web-based tool using GPT-4 and DALL-E 3 to facilitate personal data visualization and investigates user experiences over an extended period.

Findings

Users engage with data through imagination and speculation.

AI-generated images help construct personal meaning.

Participants express both potential and concerns about the approach.

Abstract

Image-generative AI provides new opportunities to transform personal data into alternative visual forms. In this paper, we illustrate the potential of AI-generated images in facilitating meaningful engagement with personal data. In a formative autobiographical design study, we explored the design and use of AI-generated images derived from personal data. Informed by this study, we designed a web-based application as a probe that represents personal data through generative images utilizing Open AI's GPT-4 model and DALL-E 3. We then conducted a 21-day diary study and interviews using the probe with 16 participants to investigate users' in-depth experiences with images generated by AI in everyday lives. Our findings reveal new qualities of experiences in users' engagement with data, highlighting how participants constructed personal meaning from their data through imagination and speculation on AI-generated images. We conclude by discussing the potential and concerns of leveraging image-generative AI for personal data meaning-making.