... the workshop

The More than Human Digital Civics workshop co-located with ACI'24 will bring together researchers and designers with a shared interest in the role which non-human animals have in digital civics.  

We will explore through critical discussion the role of companion animals and their caregivers in their online representation, as well as how legislation impacts nonconsenting animals in this digital world. This will be followed by the design of interventions that aim to correct these potentially misleading representations. The aim of this is to expand digital civics research to further include the more than human aspect in this expanding field of research, creating the potential for new research collaborations. 

Workshop date: 2nd December 2024

Register interest: https://forms.gle/RdRF7Kbzvabh6mWQA

Workshop outcome(s): findings will be disseminated as an interactions article by organisers. Position papers will be published on arXiv.

... digital civics

Digital civics allows individuals to engage with civic discourse, and holds citizens and their community at its core. Those that engage with these processes---digital citizens---have the potential to engage with this discourse, having a voice in the legislation that will impact their day-to-day lives. 

Currently, when it comes to non-human digital citizens, their caregivers (e.g., a dog's human, a zoo animal's caretaker, a wildlife population's conservationist) have the potential to provide a voice on these matters, and influence how they are represented online. However, these representations may mislead others by anthropomorphising the non-human animal, or not necessarily providing an entirely accurate overview of their characteristics. This raises some key questions coinciding with the growing interest in more-than-human society: how are animals represented within civic discourse?, and how can we ensure that these representations are true to their nature?

For more information, have a look at:
DCitizens.eu

Digitalcivics.io

Participants are asked to submit a position paper on the topic that identifies your interests in this area and explains why you believe this workshop would be relevant to you. A selection of position papers will be pre-published using arXiv before the workshop and disseminated among the rest of the attendees. While submitting the paper is not required, it is highly encouraged. However, engagement with the workshop tasks and discussions is mandatory.

Introduction to the workshop and associated activities

How do companion animals function as digital citizen?. This task will involve a group discussion critically exploring digital citizenship from the role of a companion animal, or owner of a companion animal. Participants will explore how non-consenting animals are impacted by government legislation and an increasingly digital world

From Banned to Influencer: Representation of UK XL Bully Ban online. The organisers will introduce the recent XL Bully ban in the UK as a case study.

Break

Speculative Design Task: Reducing Misleading Information about Companion Animals Online. This will comprise of breakout speculative design tasks (design fictions and low-fidelity prototyping), exploring how we can design interventions to prevent the spread of false or misleading information about non-human animal on online platforms. This will be followed by each group presenting back to attendees, and these designs will be published here

Closing statements

After the workshop, there will be a report published which covers the results of the various activities  and discussions that took place. This report will be disseminated publicly here on the website.