1st International Workshop on Design Fiction for IVAs

The 1st International Workshop on Design Fiction for Intelligent Virtual Agents

@ IVA 2025, Berlin, Germany 16th September 2025

https://sites.google.com/view/ivafuture/home

The 1st International Workshop on Design Fiction for Intelligent Virtual Agents (IVAs) should explore and anticipate ethical, aesthetic, and cultural implications, as well as explore possible evaluation methods for the future of IVAs using design fiction. Participants will create speculative narratives to examine future interactions, stereotypes, and societal impact.

Virtual companions, a type of intelligent virtual agent (IVA), have become more common and advanced in the past two years, driven by generative AI and large language models. There is a concern that commercial virtual companions may lead to ethical issues, particularly regarding privacy, user data, emotional impact, and stereotypical visual representations. This concern has motivated us to propose a workshop on the theme of design fiction for IVA, a method for exploring the future development of virtual companions to identify potential risks and opportunities. Design fiction can also be a co-design activity together with users.

We welcome submissions from a broad range of disciplines such as engineering, computer science, psychology, sociology, cognitive science, art, and design. Topics include, but are not limited to:

- Virtual Agent Design

- Quantitative and Qualitative Methods

- Ethics

- Speculative Explorations of the Futures of Virtual Agents

- Cultural Differences in Virtual Agent Acceptance

IMPORTANT DATES - Workshop Papers (2-4 pages)

• 22nd July 2025: Paper Submissions

• 28th July 2025: Notifications

SUBMISSIONS

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ORGANIZERS

Negin Hashmati, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden

Gemma Serrano, Collège des Bernardins, France

Jean-Arthur Micoulaud-Franchi, Bordeaux University, France

Florian Pecune, Bordeaux University, France

Therése Skoog, University of Gothenburg, Sweden

Mohammad Obaid, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden

Thommy Eriksson, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden