Virtual Dream Reliving: Exploring Generative AI in Immersive Environment for Dream Re-experiencing

Dreaming is a fundamental component of the human experience. Modern-day psychologists and neuroscientists use “dreamwork” to describe a variety of strategies that deepen and engage with dreams. Re-experiencing the dream as if reliving the memory, feelings, and bodily sensations from the dream is a key element shared by many dreamwork practices. In this paper, we propose the concept of "dreamwork engineering" by creating a system enabling dream re-experiencing in a virtual reality environment through generative AI. Through an autoethnographic study, the first author documented his own dreams and relived his dream experiences for two weeks. Based on our results, we propose a technology-aided dreamwork framework, where technology could potentially augment traditional dreamwork methods through spatiality and movement, interactivity and abstract anchor. We further highlight the collaborative role of technology in dreamwork and advocate that the scientific community could also benefit from dreaming and dreamwork for scientific creativity. © 2024 Association for Computing Machinery.