FILM LOGLINE: 2033 London, in a world where LGBTQ+ dating is ruled by emotional algorithms, a lonely designer suffering from depression finds solace in an AI-generated partner. As his love deepens, he begins to question reality, leading to a terrifying discovery that his emotions are being harvested to refine AI deception (Film link provided at the top.)

Zoomate is a speculative design project that explores how big data manipulates queer emotions through algorithmic systems. Set inside a fictional dating app run by cute AI animal agents, the project visualizes how emotional data is extracted, ranked, and turned into a tool of control. Through storytelling, spatial design, and visual narrative, Zoomate critiques how platforms use emotional vulnerability, identity labels, and community hierarchies—like bear > pig > monkey—to shape behavior and generate profit.

The project is part of my broader research into the relationship between emotion, algorithm, and queer identity. As a designer, I focus on how digital systems impact marginalized users, particularly how emotions are measured, manipulated, and monetized in both virtual and physical spaces. My goal is to expose hidden systems of control beneath everyday interfaces, and to question what intimacy means in an age of data.