Field notes
In a monetized future there is a livestream related to sleep. What is it?
DreamStreamHer
A livestream where someone broadcasts her dreams and viewers pay to change what happens inside them.
Sleeping until rent is paid.
She's streaming her dreams on Twitch. For $25 you can change the landscape. For $50 you can put a creature in it. Chat is trying to raise enough for a dragon. There's a bedroom camera and a heart-rate counter beside the feed.
The title is ‘sleeping until rent is paid.’ The longer she stays asleep, the more she can earn. Meanwhile, people who are wide awake get to pay for things to happen to her. She can't exactly tell them to stop.
Try the tip buttons to change the dream. The scene is animated, the chat is scripted, and the heart rate and payments are simulated. Dream broadcasting is the made-up part.
How might we show what happens when viewers can pay to interfere with someone’s sleep?
From Drivers Futures 2025
Research by The Foresight Lab.
- Upgrades AvailableWearables and dream activation appear in the report. DreamStream takes them as a starting point for a made-up broadcasting tool.
- Transmission ReceivedNew ways to communicate beyond sight and sound. Here, someone else can watch your dream.
- Data as CurrencyPersonal data can earn money. The stream puts a price on access to a dream.
- Rise of the Side HustlePeople find extra ways to earn. This streamer keeps earning while she sleeps.