MA Thesis project
Mentors: Claire Reymond, Jinsu Ahn, Arno Schubbach
FHNW Academy of Art and Design
Idea development
In this section, I would like to describe all the stages of developing my idea.
The idea originated from my own experience as an international student facing cultural differences, misunderstandings, and emotional distance. I noticed that most existing solutions focus on language or theoretical preparation, but rarely address the emotional and ethical dimensions of integration.
2. Research into existing tools
The first step was to explore language-learning and cultural adaptation applications. Initially, I planned to create an educational platform inspired by the methods of language-learning apps. However, it soon became clear that the traditional educational model does not capture the essential aspect — live interaction and dialogue.
3. Experiments with digital environments and AI
I began testing the potential of existing digital platforms:
On Character AI, I created an AI assistant to simulate cultural situations;
In Telegram, I developed a bot that trains the user through predefined scenarios;
At this stage, I believed AI could be a universal solution — fast, accessible, and scalable.
4. Reassessment and return to human dialogue
Through testing, I realized that automated responses, even when highly tailored, cannot replace genuine human perception. I concluded that the real value lies in live interaction — with all its ambiguity, nuance, and personal interpretation — as the key to meaningful intercultural learning.
5. The “living archive” concept
The final solution is to create a platform where users:
A platform offers two main interaction modes:
- Paired dialogue — two users are presented with the same simulated intercultural situation and discuss, in real time, how each would respond based on their cultural and personal background.
- Individual session — a user describes a situation in which they felt misunderstood, and receives a response drawn from the existing archive of real human answers, matched to the cultural context, rather than generated by AI.
All user responses are stored in a living archive — a growing repository of authentic human perspectives. This archive becomes a shared resource for future users, allowing them to see how people from different backgrounds interpret and respond to similar situations. In this way, the platform blends the scalability of digital tools with the empathy and unpredictability of real human dialogue.
6. Final goal
Shift the focus from teaching the “right” behavioral models to creating a safe, exploratory space for sharing perspectives. Here, diversity is valued over uniformity, and differences become a source of understanding rather than conflict.