Conventional methods of assessing attitudes towards climate change are limited in capturing authentic opinions, primarily stemming from a lack of context-specific assessment strategies and an overreliance on simplistic surveys. Game-based Assessments (GBA) have demonstrated the ability to overcome these issues by immersing participants in engaging gameplay within carefully crafted, scenario-based environments. Concurrently, advancements in AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP) show promise in enhancing the gamified testing environment, achieving this by generating context-aware, human-like dialogues that contribute to a more natural and effective assessment. Our study introduces a new technique for probing climate change attitudes by actualizing a GPT-driven chatbot system in harmony with a game design depicting a futuristic climate scenario. The correlation analysis reveals an assimilation effect, where players' post-game climate awareness tends to align with their in-game perceptions. Key predictors of pro-climate attitudes are identified as traits like 'Openness' and 'Agreeableness', and a preference for democratic values.
doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642850
This paper presents a reflection on the role of ontological inquiry in HCI research and practice. Specifically, we introduce philosopher Gilbert Simondon's proposal of technical mentality, an onto-epistemology based on direct knowledge of technical objects and systems. This paper makes the following contributions: an analysis of Simondon's ontological critique and its connection to technical mentality; a reflection on the ethical and practical implications of Simondon's proposal for systems research; an example of technical mentality in practice; and a discussion of how technical mentality might be extended into a design program for HCI through four principles: extension, integration, legibility, and expression.
doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642720
Climate change is one of the most pressing global challenges in the 21st century. Urgent actions favoring the environment's well-being are essential to mitigate its potentially irreversible consequences. However, the delayed and often distant nature of the effects of sustainable behavior makes it challenging for individuals to connect with the issue personally. Immersive media are an opportunity to introduce innovative feedback mechanisms to highlight the urgency of behavior effects. We introduce a VR carbon calculator that visualizes users' annual carbon footprint as CO2-filled balloons over multiple periods. In a 2 x 2 design, participants calculated and visualized their carbon footprint numerically or as balloons over one or three years. We found no effect of our visualization but a significant impact of the visualized period on participants' environmental self-efficacy. These findings emphasize the importance of target-oriented design in VR behavior interventions.
doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642957
Food practices have become an important context for questions around sustainability. Within HCI, Sustainable HCI and Human-Food-Interaction have developed as a response. We argue, nevertheless, that food practices as a social activity remain relatively under-examined and further that sustainable food practices hinge on communal activity. We present the results of action-oriented research with a grassroots movement committed to sustainable food practices at a local, communal level, thereby demonstrating the role of ICT in making food resource sharing a viable practice. We suggest that the current focus on food sharing might usefully be supplemented by attention to food resource sharing, an approach that aligns with a paradigm shift from surplus to abundance. We argue for design that aims to encourage food resource sharing at a local level but that also has wider ramifications. These ‘glocal’ endeavors recognize the complexity of prosumption practices and foster aspirations for ‘deep change’ in food systems.
Human–Computer Interaction (HCI) researchers have increasingly been questioning computing’s engagement with unsustainable and unjust economic growth, pushing for identifying alternatives. Incorporating degrowth, post-development, and steady-state approaches, post-growth philosophy offers an alternative not rooted in growth but in improving quality of life. It recommends an equitable reduction in resource use through sensible distributive practices where fulfillment is based on values including solidarity, cooperation, care, social justice, and localized development. In this paper, we describe opportunities for HCI to take a post-growth orientation in research, design, and practice to reimagine the design of sociotechnical systems toward advancing sustainable, just, and humane futures. We aim for the critiques, concerns, and recommendations offered by post-growth to be integrated into transformative HCI practices for technology-mediated change.