As part of the international research project Imaginaries of Immortality in the Age of AI: An Intercultural Analysis, Dr Katarzyna Nowaczyk-Basińska from the University of Cambridge invited me to join an outstanding team mapping the state of artificial intelligence in the context of death and grief.
Using the RISE ritual design practice, I created a unique and innovative method of facilitating focus groups for qualitative research. “(Im)mortality Over Dinner” is an experimental approach that blends the traditional structure of focus groups with the creative expression of performance. This dynamic draws inspiration from Michael Hebb’s well-established concept Death Over Dinner, where people come together in a relaxed and inclusive setting to discuss the often-taboo topic of death.
Carefully designed to address key research questions—centred around themes such as caring for the dead, remembering, grief, and digital immortality—this format offers more than just data collection. It fosters meaningful, unique, and multi-sensory engagement, where science meets art, focus groups meet ceremony, intellect meets sensual experience, and data meets ritual. At its core, it’s about creating a space for dialogue and synergy, inviting participants to reflect, share, and focus on lived experience and connect in ways that transcend conventional research methods.
The research phase took place from November 2024 until April 2025 in Poznan/Poland, New Delhi/India and Beijing/China. Analysis and results of the process are to be published in 2025/2026.
The project is organised by the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence and the University of Cambridge, and funded by Schmidt Sciences.