Anxiety and depression are among the most common mental health conditions that affect black women (BW) living in the US. Nevertheless, BW with anxiety and/or depression (BWA/D) are under-diagnosed and under-treated, resulting in severe and prolonged somatic symptoms. Although technology research suggests the potential of social robots for mental health, these works rarely highlight the needs of BWA/D or how their lived experiences can shape these technologies. We contribute a relational and somatic speculative approach – rooted in Black Feminist and decolonial praxis – to designing social robots for and with BWA/D. Our work illustrates how self-reflexive and dialogic processes situated in BWs’ lived experiences can reshape the design of social robot-mediated mental well-being.

Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are increasingly adopted into everyday life, with most investment and development concentrated in the U.S. In response to rapid AI integration and scant federal guidelines, U.S. states have formed AI committees charged with studying AI-related societal trade-offs. We analyzed the 18 existing state-level AI committee reports to understand how policymakers discuss AI-related benefits and risks. We then compared the risks surfaced by policymakers to an established taxonomy of AI risks aggregated from literature and examined how policymakers’ concerns align—or misalign—from those of HCI scholars. These insights provide important mileposts for shaping currently ongoing policy initiatives and future research. Our findings reveal important gaps: while committees invoke responsible AI, their framings often omit broader socio-technical concerns emphasized in HCI. We discuss opportunities for HCI to support socio-technical perspectives, employ participatory design, and close the gap between research and policy.

Immigrant English Language Learners (ELLs) who are learning the majority language in a new country are required to participate in the informal language space on a daily basis to gain access to essential economic and social resources. In contrast to formal language spaces, which extensive literature has researched, exploration of informal language spaces, which present a number of linguistic and psychological challenges without scaffolded support, remains limited. In this work, we conduct a qualitative interview study to explore the use of support tools to facilitate participation in daily life for ELLs, investigating the efficacy of these tools, obstacles encountered, and perceptions of what defines positive and negative experiences. We aim to contribute a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the experience of language use in practical scenarios for ELLs and present a set of actionable considerations for designers working with ELLs that prioritize their linguistic, affective, and social needs.

Research and design in human-computer interaction centers problem-solving, causing a downstream effect of framing work with and for marginalized communities predominantly from the lens of deficit and damage. Frameworks such as assets-based design and designing for resilience have emerged to highlight the strengths of these communities. However, we observe an additional need to center positive aspects of humanity, such as joy, pleasure, rest, and cultural heritage, particularly for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. In this paper, we present three case studies of existing technologies that center BIPOC flourishing to provide an alternative path for HCI. We propose six actionable tenets for designing for flourishing in the everyday: (1) seek opportunities to design for self-actualization, (2) identify and center the desire to flourish, (3) collaborate and distribute power, (4) refrain from damage-centered reductionism, (5) bring the humanity of a community into the design process, (6) and evaluate for self-sustainability.