Ambient computational systems—increasingly present in installation art, traffic control systems, and smart homes—can evoke “awe” through their conceptual and physical vastness. While this awe can productively evoke inter-user connectedness and spark dramatic conceptual shifts, this effect has been understudied in Human-Computer Interaction. To investigate this phenomenon, we built Sound Clouds, an interactive art installation and ambient computational system designed to evoke awe. Deployed in a public art space and experienced by over 200 visitors, Sound Clouds transformed a warehouse-sized urban space into an immersive sound-reactive environment with large-scale neutrally-buoyant inflatables. An interview study (n=35) showed that though interactions with Sound Clouds provoked a range of uncertain mental models, it also spurred participants to shift their focus towards awe, play, sensory experience, and collaboration. This paper ends with design considerations for creators seeking to manage the intrinsic role of awe in ambient computational systems.

AI co-writing systems challenge long held ideals about agency and ownership in the creative process, thereby hindering widespread adoption. To address this, we investigate conceptions of agency and ownership in AI creative co-writing. Drawing on insights from a review of commercial systems, we developed three co-writing systems with similar functionality but differing interface metaphors: agentic, tool-like, and magical. Through interviews with creative writers (n=18), we explored the role of these metaphors in participants’ sense of control and authorship. Our analysis resulted in a taxonomy of agency and ownership subtypes and underscored how metaphorical framings afforded participants different conceptions of agency and ownership. We conclude with recommendations for the design of AI co-writing systems, emphasizing the role of metaphors in participants’ creative practice.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the relationship between art and HCI. New HCI research draws on artistic practices as a source of design inspiration, turns to the arts for assistance in solving wicked problems, or uses design research to understand artistic collaboration. Despite the widely noted potential of art-HCI research, the relationship between the two fields remains poorly understood, and precise descriptions of what makes art-HCI collaboration successful remain elusive. In this paper, we look at artist-in-residence (AiR) programs within STEM organizations as a way of learning about these collaborations. Drawing on interviews with individuals with recent involvement in these programs, we identify a series of design considerations for these residencies and note recurring concerns. Finally, we argue that many challenges in these programs arise from the instrumentalization of art, and recommend ways to foster more meaningful relations through AiR programs.

Prison and police abolition has become a major political philosophy in North American discourse following the 2020 George Floyd protests. The philosophy remains divisive, and North American abolitionists seeking to coalition-build, provide resources for vulnerable populations and garner public support continue to experience challenges. We explore current usage of digital tools among abolitionists and the potential of a digital mapping tool to address these challenges. We conduct an interview study with 15 abolitionist organizations to understand activists' perspectives on the value of digital tools for organizing and a content analysis of 25 existing digital tools that convey abolitionist ideas to the public. Our findings together reveal (1) opportunities for digital mapping and HCI to support abolitionist activism and grassroots activism more broadly and (2) the challenges of digitally and spatially representing a movement that is intentionally grassroots, clandestine, and often involves organizers working in disparate locations.

The written word is an asynchronous form of communication through which static texts are exchanged. However, the act of writing is a dynamic cognitive process in which evolving ideas are organized into a coherent narrative. This process is not shared with readers because they only see the final product. With the emerging culture of live streaming and sharing creative practice with online audiences, writing replays can be a new expressive medium and content for writers and another way to engage with reading for the audience. In this paper, we explore the benefits of watching a real-time writing replay. We recorded the writing processes of professional writers (n = 13) and interviewed them about their and others’ replays. These writers found replays engaging. Replays facilitated self-reflection and helped writers empathize with each other. In addition, we conducted an online survey (n = 78) to compare readers’ comprehension and perception of writing replays with those of traditional text. We found that writing replays enhanced user engagement and the perceived quality of the text for some writing styles. Participants from both studies considered using writing replays regularly.