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Deutsche Ausgabe: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-2494, In this project, researchers from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), who specialize in chatbots, avatars, and communication in virtual worlds, engaged in dialogue with young people. How do teenagers and young adults aged 13 to 29 talk about artificial intelligence that possesses emotional capabilities? This project was made possible by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF). The SNF Agora instrument supports science communication, i.e., the dialogue between science and society. The goal is an active exchange between researchers and a lay audience on a current research topic. At the heart of this project was “Affective Computing,” a term that encompasses technologies designed to recognize, interpret, respond to, and when necessary, simulate human emotions. In our research at the Institute of Business Information Systems at ZHAW, we apply such technologies, for example, to make consultations for people with chronic illnesses more personalized and natural through a chatbot or avatar in VR. But how much emotionality do people desire from a conversational AI? And what are the implications of AI responding to us with increasing empathy? Will we even form friendships with AI in the future? Here’s where the method of Science Fiction (SciFi) Prototyping comes into play. Through an immersive SciFi prototype, the project made the vaguely imaginable consequences of technological developments tangible. Based on 30 street interviews with young people about friendship with AI, the researchers developed a fictional story about future life with increasingly affective digital assistants in the shared apartment of the future. Technological leaps demand decisions that impact the story’s course. A Virtual Reality (VR) scenario brought this story to life. Between March and November 2023, 392 individuals experienced the scenario at Technorama, a secondary school in the Aarau agglomeration, the WISS schools, a workshop at the ETH Meeting Point Science, and various publi

English text: 10.21256/zhaw-2495, In diesem Projekt traten Forschende der Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften ZHAW, die sich mit Chatbots, Avataren und Kommunikation in virtuellen Welten beschäftigen, in einen Dialog mit jungen Menschen. Wie denken Jugendliche und junge Erwachsene zwischen 13 und 29 Jahren über Künstliche Intelligenz, die über emotionale Fähigkeiten verfügt? Dieses Projekt wurde durch den Schweizerischen Nationalfonds SNF ermöglicht. Das SNF-Instrument Agora fördert Wissenschaftskommunikation, d.h. den Dialog zwischen Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft. Ziel ist ein aktiver Austausch zwischen den Forschenden und einem Laienpublikum zu einem aktuellen Forschungsthema. Im Mittelpunkt dieses Projekts stand «Affective Computing». Das ist ein Überbegriff für Technologien, die darauf abzielen, menschliche Emotionen zu erkennen, zu interpretieren, darauf zu reagieren und sie bei Bedarf auch zu simulieren. In unserer Forschung am Institut für Wirtschaftsinformatik der ZHAW wenden wir solche Technologien an, um beispielsweise Beratungen von chronisch kranken Menschen durch einen Chatbot oder Avatar individueller und natürlicher zu gestalten. Aber wie viel Emotionalität wünschen sich Menschen von einer Maschine? Und wohin führt es, wenn KI zunehmend empathisch auf uns reagiert? Werden wir in Zukunft sogar Freundschaften mit KI führen? Hier kommt die Methode Science Fiction (SciFi) Prototyping ins Spiel. Durch einen immersiven SciFi Prototyp wurden für das Projekt schwer vorstellbare Konsequenzen technologischer Entwicklungen erlebbar gemacht. Auf der Grundlage von 30 Strasseninterviews mit jungen Menschen zum Thema Freundschaft mit KI entwickelten die Forschenden eine fiktive Geschichte über ein zukünftiges Leben mit zunehmend affektiven digitalen Assistenten in der WG der Zukunft. Technologiesprünge fordern Entscheide, die sich auf den Verlauf der Geschichte auswirken. Ein Virtual Reality (VR)-Szenario machten diese Geschichte erlebbar. 392 Personen durchliefen zwischen März und Nove

The article explores the perceptions of librarians towards emerging technologies and how they can proactively engage with them to enhance their professional lives and the experiences of their users. The digitization of content and the virtualization of the global information landscape has transformed the nature of library operations and the information-seeking behavior of users. In response, librarians must adapt to new competencies and face rapid technological change and innovations. The study presented in this article aims to achieve three objectives. Firstly, to survey the attitudes of librarians towards the potential use of emerging technologies in their professional environment, comprising cognitive, affective, and behavioral components. Secondly, to investigate the impact of a multilinear story on the attitudes of librarians towards the portrayed technologies, which deliberately shows different variants of the future. And finally, to determine whether there is a difference in attitudes towards emerging technologies between staff in academic and public libraries. The research design follows the method of Science Fiction Prototyping, which fosters critical reflection on the consequences of technological innovations. It comprises three main phases: identifying and analyzing the drivers shaping the future of the domain, developing the narrative to portray the impact of the technologies on people, and exposing the audience to the narrative and reflecting on the impact and resulting learnings. The study reveals a clear gap between cognitive and affective attitudes both before and after reading the narrative scenario. The portrayed technologies are in general overall more imaginable than desirable for the participating librarians. The conclusion is that librarians must engage proactively with emerging technologies and adopt new competencies to remain relevant in the 21st century. Science Fiction Prototyping offers a valuable approach to reflecting critically on the c

A study examined the attitudes of 457 librarians in Germany and Switzerland towards emerging technologies that are likely to change the face of their profession. A multilinear narrative enabled participants to live through the future with these technologies. With their decisions, they could change the course and the end of the story. Before and after this intervention, participants were surveyed online about their attitudes. The results show a clear gap between imaginability and desirability of the technologies portrayed. The effect of the narrative is small but statistically relevant and shows a more differentiated attitude of the participants. The use of multilinear narrative scenarios to trigger a discourse about the consequences of digitalization on a profession can therefore be recommended.

This study discusses the relevance of agents and trust in the metaverse and explores how trust is formed between individuals and agents in a virtual world like the metaverse, specifically in the context of healthcare consultations. The research aims to identify the factors that influence the trustworthiness of an agent and how these factors can be applied in the design of digital avatars to enhance patient trust. The study draws on psychological theories such as similarity attraction theory, attractiveness theory, exchange theory, attribution theory, and expectancy theory to understand the formation of trust. Different avatars with variations in visualization, voice, and gestures, were created and a laboratory experiment with male participants aged 24-30 was conducted. The results of the experiment showed that trust in agents can be explained by psychological theories. Agents that displayed similarities to human features and conveyed competence and expertise were more trusted by the participants. However, avatars with exaggerated or non-human characteristics were met with distrust. The study concludes that psychological theories can be applied in the metaverse to build trust, and the design of avatars should consider factors that enhance trustworthiness. Overall, this research provides insights into the importance of trust in the metaverse, particularly in healthcare contexts, and offers recommendations for designing trustworthy digital avatars.

This paper proposes a didactic design that is centered around an immersive, multilinear narrative in virtual reality as a means of illustrating human life on the edge of technological singularity. It explores the potential of narrative scenarios to trigger a discourse from users’ perspective. Affective Computing is taken as a use case. It is a subfield of AI that focuses on identifying, understanding, and appropriately responding to human emotions. Its goal is to create more personalized and emotionally engaging human-machine interactions. To explore what life might be like if an emotionally intelligent AI became our best friend, a multilinear scenario was created. This scenario takes the reader through different stages of the protagonist's life, starting from the first day of secondary school and ending with the loss of a loved one in midlife. The systematic approach to create and validate the multilinear interactive scenario is described and the results of an experiment with 164 participants are presented. The ultimate goal is the application of this approach for educational purposes regarding ethical thinking and responsible innovations.

Sustainable agricultural soil management practices are key to restore, maintain and improve soil health. The European Joint Programme for SOIL (EJP SOIL) has identified twelve main soil challenges in Europe. To assess the potential and eventually increase the adoption of soil-improving management practices, it is necessary to know (i) the current levels of adoption of the practices, (ii) socio-technical barriers influencing their adoption, and (iii) their bio-physical limits. This study compiled an inventory of soil-improving management practices relevant to European conditions, and used a survey among soil scientists to assess the levels of adoption of these practices in Europe. In total, 53 soil management practices were identified that address one or several of the soil challenges. The adoption of most practices was low or spatially heterogeneous across Europe, highlighting region-specific limitations to sustainable soil management. Qualitative interviews were conducted to explore the importance of socio-technical aspects of adoption. Using conservation agriculture as an example, factors that can hinder adoption included the availability of knowledge and adequate machinery, financial risks, and farming traditions. Through a modelling approach, 54% of arable land in Europe was found to be suitable for cover cropping, indicating that the adoption of soil management practices is frequently limited by climatic constraints. We propose a region-specific approach that recognizes the importance of identifying and overcoming socio-technical barriers, and by acknowledging bio-physical limits that may be expanded by innovation.

This study examines the design of digital media to support adolescents dealing with parental separation and divorce. With increasing mental health issues among youth, there is a need for innovative, accessible mental health services. The study, utilizing Design Science Research methodology, developed a concept for a mobile app tailored to the unique needs and preferences of adolescents aged 15-21. The app integrates features like immediate access to support, personalized coping strategies, interactive elements for peer engagement, and the creation of trust figures in the form of avatars. Validation through focus groups highlighted the app’s success in meeting adolescents’ requirements for accessibility, personalization, and privacy, while also revealing the need for further adaptation and exploration in future iterations. This research contributes to the field by offering a nuanced understanding of digital mental health services and their potential in addressing specific youth mental health challenges.

More and more children and adolescents in Switzerland show serious deficits in their German language skills. In order to specifically promote the language skills of students with a non-German first language, special lessons in German as a second language (GasL) are therefore offered in addition to the regular lessons. The aim of this case study is to evaluate the impact of a pedagogically sound immersive virtual reality learning unit for GasL lessons, which offers students the opportunity to actively speak German and to demonstrate this in the context of two GasL lessons. The research design is based on the “Design Science Research Framework”. In this context, the virtual reality learning unit was designed as an innovative prototype (artifact) and iteratively improved. The design considered the didactic framework of the official curriculum as well as the eleven general design guidelines for virtual reality learning units in an educational context. The virtual reality learning unit was tested in a field experiment with five students each at an elementary school and at a secondary school. The students found the virtual reality learning unit as a whole attractive and motivating. But there are operational challenges and necessary prerequisites that have to be considered and created in order to pragmatically and sustainably integrate immersive virtual reality learning units into the existing GasL lessons.