Design Map · Eindhoven
Are you still there?
Graduation project by Tianai Zhang at Design Academy Eindhoven, 2026. Shown during Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven on Design Map, location F5.
‘Are You Still There?’ began from a personal realisation that Tianai Zhang receives more emotional support from AI than from the people around her. It’s part of a broader pattern among Gen Z, whose sense of self is arguably becoming shaped by daily interactions with large language models. For the designer, this led to an investigation of the hidden cost, and a desire to explain what’s really happening in this process. An interactive installation centres around a screen-based AI interface, encased in a fantastical 3D-printed relief representing the intertwining of the individual and the world of artificial intelligence. By typing on a keyboard, visitors are invited into an intimate space where they encounter an avatar that reflects uncertainty, vulnerability and fragmented memories. As the conversation unfolds, the surrounding visuals continuously transform in response to the exchange, and the conversation is translated into a series of symbols.