We're proposing a paired HCI-AI panel discussion at the ACM CHI 2027 conference. The Association of Computing Machinery CHI conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems is the leading international conference on Human-Computer Interaction. ACM CHI 2027 will take place at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh, USA.
FOCUS
As far back as the 2000’s, researchers have argued that the history of HCI and AI as research communities has been "divided by a common focus" partly due to the contention for intellectual and economic resources. Evidently, during AI winters, HCI thrived; and during HCI turns, AI matured. Recently, discussions around HCI and AI in industry, GenAI and HCI research, and Human-Centred AI and AI-Enabled HCI have called for bridging the gap between HCI and AI, akin to the bridging of ACM SIGCHI and AIS SIGHCI. Therefore, in this panel, we ask: Is code law? If so, who gets to write its constitution and its amendments? Who gets to enact and enforce code as law in computational systems? Who benefits and loses in the human-machine symbiosis? Who decides the narratives and discourse informing interactive and pervasive computing systems? And who has the power to challenge/change them? These questions are not merely an exhibit of socio-technical issues, but rather part of the broader complexities about global economics, international law, and the geopolitics of society.
Thereby, we're proposing a panel discussion that brings together HCI and AI experts across academia, industry, and the policy landscape to engage with the audience on the complexities associated with the efforts towards bridging HCI and AI in discourse and practices. The metaphor of code is law highlights the growing shift from conventional human-computer collaboration to human-AI interaction, where questions of agency, culture, collaboration, and assurance extend beyond computational optimisation and contextual scalability.
RATIONALE
The metaphor of "Code is Law" (Lessig, 1999) foregrounds how algorithms, syntax, and models actively enforce behaviour, attitude and policy across today's polarised borders. The shift from the traditional notion of "code is law", i.e. code having the effect of law, to the new themes of "law is code", i.e. law being defined as code, showcases how granular legal laws and rules can be incorporated as computable code that defines the legal framework for cross-border enforcement and regulation. The metaphor of code is law highlights the growing shift from conventional human-computer collaboration to human-AI interaction, where questions of agency, culture, collaboration, and assurance extend beyond computational optimisation and contextual scalability. With the conflation of computer codes and legal codes, we took the position that code is not law, and law is not code. Even when interdependent, the ambiguity of transposing legal rules into a formalised language that a machine can interpret as data has semantic meaning, foregrounding close analysis of human-AI interactions, collaborations, and the future. Building on the theme of bridges, inspired by Pittsburgh’s iconic yellow bridges and by CHI’s enduring role in connecting people and technology, the panel will be moderated as a jury-style discussion, pairing HCI-AI panellists to encourage disciplinary dialogue and complementary perspectives.
Organising Committee:
Jay CUNNINGHAM (moderator), Jarvis College of Computing and Digital Media, DePaul University, Chicago, USA
Muhammad ADAMU, School of Computer Science, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
Makuochi NKWO, School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, University of Greenwich, London, UK
Panellist:
Matt Jones, Swansea University, UK (Physical participation)
Virginia Dignum, Umeå University, Sweden (Virtual participation)
Anicia Peters, National Commission for Research, Science and Technology, Namibia (Virtual participation)
Dhanaraj Thakur, George Washington University Law School, USA (Physical participation)