Conference Agenda
Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).
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PAPERS: Designing Technologies and Interventions for Relational Wellbeing Location: 40 George Square, LG.09 Zoom Link Accessibility: https://www.accessable.co.uk/the-university-of-edinburgh/central-area/access-guides/george-square-40-lecture-theatres Session Chair: Leandro Miletto Tonetto, Georgia Institute of Technology | |
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ALONG the line of emotional support: Reimagining AI companions for young adults’ wellbeing 1: Department of Design, Politecnico di Milano, Italy; 2: Research Center in Communication Pyshology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy Young adults increasingly face emotional stress, uncertainty, and a lack of accessible, non-judgmental support. While AI technologies are emerging as potential companions, many adopt anthropomorphic and chat-based models that risk emotional overdependence, blurred boundaries, and false intimacy. This research explores how AI systems might be reimagined to foster authentic and ethical forms of companionship that support young adults’ wellbeing. Grounded in Positive Technology and its focus on promoting human flourishing, this research adopts a research-through-design approach, integrating semi-structured interviews, co-design sessions, hands-on prototyping, and user feedback. The resulting prototype, ALONG is a calm, embodied AI companion designed to encourage personal reflection and emotional awareness through daily rituals—without mimicking human emotions. This work contributes to ongoing discussions in design for wellbeing and emotionally supportive technologies, and ultimately to emerging design discourses around AI, emotional experience, and the redefinition of companionship in a technologically mediated society. View Paper: https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1060
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