While technology-mediated reminiscing has been studied for decades, generating relevant cues to trigger personal reminiscing remains challenging. The potential of AI in generating relevant content across various domains has been recently recognized, yet its use in facilitating reminiscing is still less explored. This work aims to explore the use of AI in supporting the recall of personal memories associated with significant objects at home. We designed Treasurefinder, a device powered by a large language model (LLM) that generates open-ended questions based on stories stored in NFC-tagged physical objects or cards. We conducted an exploratory study with 12 participants, grouped in pairs, to observe reminiscing behaviors when using Treasurefinder. The results showed the AI-generated questions 1) supported individuals to recall the past, 2) provided new insights about the other person, and 3) encouraged reflection. Notably, the device facilitated active memory retrieval related to cherished objects that are often overlooked.

翻译：尽管技术介导的回忆已被研究数十年，但生成触发个人回忆的相关线索仍然具有挑战性。近年来，AI在跨领域生成相关内容方面的潜力已获认可，但其在促进回忆方面的应用仍探索不足。本研究旨在探索利用AI支持人们对家中重要物品相关个人记忆的回忆。我们设计了Treasurefinder——一种由大型语言模型（LLM）驱动的设备，可根据存储在NFC标签标记的实体物品或卡片中的故事生成开放式问题。我们开展了一项探索性研究，将12名参与者分为两人一组，观察其使用Treasurefinder时的回忆行为。结果显示，AI生成的问题能够：1）支持个体回忆过去，2）提供关于他人的新见解，3）鼓励反思。值得注意的是，该设备促进了与常被忽视的珍爱物品相关的主动记忆检索。