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A new open-access paper by ITI researchers, published in Discover Sustainability, explores how artificial intelligence might be used to represent non-human interests in environmental decision-making.

Titled Exploring a biocentric LLM-based assistant in environmental decision-making with more-than-human representation of the Tagus Estuary, the study investigates whether Large Language Models (LLMs) can be instructed to speak from a biocentric perspective—foregrounding ecological concerns rather than exclusively human priorities.

Developed within the Bauhaus of the Seas Sails project, the research introduces a biocentric AI assistant trained on ecological data from the Tagus Estuary. In an experimental study, participants used either this biocentric assistant or an anthropocentric counterpart to advise on a speculative planning scenario: selecting a location for a new university campus.

While the biocentric assistant did not significantly alter participants’ final decisions, it shaped how those decisions were justified. Participants engaging with the biocentric assistant demonstrated greater reflection on environmental impacts and ecological trade-offs, suggesting that AI-mediated non-human representation can influence decision-making processes even when outcomes remain unchanged.

The paper contributes to ongoing debates in more-than-human HCI, raising questions about the role of AI in sustainability, representation, and ecological governance.

Authors:
Rudolfo Félix, Filipa Correia, Cristiano Pedroso-Roussado, and Nuno J. Nunes
📖 Read the full paper: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43621-025-02474-1

Image credit: AI-generated image (Midjourney), produced for this publication.

On 28 November 2025, ITI researchers Diogo Cabral and David dos Santos presented the MODINA Seminar at Kino Šiška, as part of CoFestival – International Festival of Contemporary Dance, in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

The session brought together researchers, artists, and an engaged public to explore dance-led research and embodied intelligence, with a focus on how interaction and movement inform human-centred perspectives on digital intelligence.

The programme included research talks by Diogo Cabral and David dos Santos, followed by an artist–audience roundtable, moderated by David dos Santos (ITI), with the artists behind:

• Nino — Bruno Martelli & Ruth Gibson
• Gaitless — Marko Milić & Uroš Krčadinac
• Still Moving — Liis Vares & Taavet Jansen

The Ljubljana seminar framed interaction as a shared space of inquiry, allowing embodied knowledge, artistic practice, and creative processes to emerge through dialogue between artists, researchers, and audiences.

ITI researchers Pedro Miguel Matono, Ivo Roupa, Pedro Campos, and Daniel Simões Lopes presented the paper Assessing Redundant Interface Designs for Precise Number Input in Virtual Reality at VRST 2025, the 31st ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology, held in Montreal, Canada, from 12–14 November 2025.

The paper addresses the challenge of typing and editing decimal numbers in Virtual and Extended Reality environments. While numerical input is an important task in spatial computing, many existing tools rely on virtual replicas of physical calculators or number pads. To address this, the authors redesigned the traditional calculator-style numpad for Extended Reality environments, introducing redundant interface features intended to make number entry and editing easier, clearer, and faster than a standard numpad.

The study evaluated these redesigned interfaces through user testing. In testing, users preferred the redesigned interfaces compared to a standard numpad, reporting that the added features supported easier and more efficient entry and editing of numbers.

The paper was published in the Proceedings of the 2025 31st ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology (VRST ’25), Article No. 31, pages 1–12.

Publication details
Assessing Redundant Interface Designs for Precise Number Input in Virtual Reality
Authors: Pedro Miguel Matono, Ivo Roupa, Pedro Campos, Daniel Simões Lopes
Conference: VRST 2025 — Montreal, Canada
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3756884.3765979

Between 5 and 8 November 2025, ITI researchers Diogo Cabral and David dos Santos presented the MODINA — Movement, Digital Intelligence and Interactive Audience project at CNDB – National Centre for Dance Bucharest, within the Iridescent International Festival of Contemporary Dance.

The programme brought together artists, researchers, and audiences to reflect on creative processes at the intersection of dance, technology, and digital intelligence. As part of the festival, David dos Santos (ITI) moderated post-performance conversations following:

• This Is Unreal — by Pierre Godard & Liz Santoro (5 November)
• Baby — by Viktor Szeri, Tamás Páll & Gyula Muskovics (7 November)

On 8 November, MODINA was further explored through a dedicated seminar session with talks by:

• Diogo Cabral (ITI researcher)
• David dos Santos (ITI researcher)
• Ana Rodrigues (PhD candidate)

The Bucharest seminar foregrounded interaction as a core dimension of artistic creation, positioning the audience as an active participant in processes of sense-making between dance and digital intelligence.

Between September and December 2025, Luciana Lima published three peer-reviewed papers presented at international conferences in Human–Computer Interaction and game studies. Together, these works address reflexive research methodologies, gender inequities in the digital games sector, and the recovery of overlooked contributions to Portuguese game history.

Techno-Biographical Reflexive Atelier: A Method for Exploring Personal Narratives and Sociotechnical Transformations

Luciana Lima, Cláudia Silva, Lorena Ramos, Ana Cristina Pires
Published in the proceedings of INTERACT 2025, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-05005-2_25

This paper presents a preliminary analysis of the Techno-Biographical Reflexive Atelier (TeBRA), a collaborative autoethnographic method designed to explore the intersection of personal narratives, sociotechnical systems, and socio-cultural contexts. The method supports critical reflection on how power relations and inequalities shape engagements with technology, contributing a new approach for reflexive practice in HCI research and design.

Mnema: Bridging Research and Art to Combat Gender Inequity in the Gaming Sector

Luciana Lima, Inês Costa, Carolina Bonzinho, Sheila Correia, Carolina Martins
Presented at WIPlay 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-01426-9_5

This paper describes the collaborative creation of Mnema, an animated short film developed by women researchers and artists in HCI and gender studies. Based on interviews with Portuguese women working in the video game industry and archival research on gaming culture in Portugal, the project combines academic research with audiovisual storytelling, translating research insights into an accessible cultural form that raises awareness of gender inequities in the games sector.

Unveiling Hidden Pioneers: Carla Vieira Faria’s Legacy in Portuguese Digital Game History

Luciana Lima, Maria Júlia Vieira
Best Paper Award, Videojogos 2025
DOI: To be published (Springer Communications in Computer and Information Science)

Awarded Best Paper at Videojogos 2025, this study examines the trajectory of Carla Vieira Faria, a pioneer in the development of educational games for people with disabilities in Portugal during the 1990s and early 2000s. Through archival research and an in-depth interview, the paper recovers her largely unacknowledged contributions, highlighting how women have expanded the scope of digital games while remaining underrepresented in historical accounts.

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Image credits: © Luciana Lima

Joana Pestana, together with Mariana Pestana, Miguel Carvalhais, and Nuno Jardim Nunes, presented the pictorial Designing with an Assembly of Many: Eden X on rivers, their constituents and rights at CHItaly 2025, the 16th Biannual Conference of the Italian SIGCHI, held in October 2025.

The pictorial introduces Eden X, a digital assembly that re-imagines how nonhuman entities can participate in decision-making processes around environmental concerns. Focusing on rivers and their constituents as precursors of nature rights, it showcases a method for establishing a more-than-human constituency where diverse voices deliberate, make proposals, and vote democratically through digital technologies.

Drawing on Ron Wakkary’s notions of constituency and speaking subject, this work contributes an exploratory design methodology that de-centers the human as the sole point of decision-making, offering concrete approaches for engaging nonhuman perspectives within HCI and design practice.

Publication details
Designing with an Assembly of Many: Eden X on rivers, their constituents and rights
Authors: Joana Pestana, Mariana Pestana, Miguel Carvalhais, Nuno Jardim Nunes
Proceedings of CHItaly ’25 – 16th Biannual Conference of the Italian SIGCHI
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3750069.3750443

Image credits: © Authors / CHItaly ’25

Ana Cristina Saial, researcher at the Interactive Technologies Institute (ITI), has recently published two studies that examine how digital technologies shape intimate relationships among emerging adults and how interactive, game-based approaches can contribute to the prevention of violence in these contexts.

The first study, “Between Kisses and Bytes: Cyber Dating Abuse and Internet Use in Emerging Adulthood,” was presented at INTERACT 2025, held in September in Brazil. Authored by Ana Cristina Saial, Alda Portugal, Élvio Rubio Gouveia, Paulo Nascimento, Muhammad Satar, and Ana Paula Relvas, the research explores the use of the Internet and Information and Communication Technologies by emerging adults aged 18–29 in their intimate and romantic relationships. The study characterizes problematic Internet use and diagnoses the prevalence of online dating violence within this age group. The findings highlight the need to invest in prevention measures and strategies specifically addressing dating violence in digital contexts. The authors emphasize the importance of engaging young people through interactive and technology-based approaches, such as digital games and mobile applications, to promote awareness and support attitude change.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-05008-3_33

Building on this focus, the second study, “When Play Gets Serious: Can a game-based mobile application serve as an intervention for preventing intimate partner violence among emerging adults?”, was presented at CHI Play 2025, held in October in Pittsburgh. Authored by Ana Cristina Saial, Élvio Rubio Gouveia, Alda Portugal, Beatriz Jardim Peres, Muhammad Satar, and Ana Paula Relvas, the study examines young adults’ perceptions of games and mobile applications as tools for preventing violence in intimate relationships. The research involved a workshop that utilised interactive games to address various types of violence, risk factors, consequences, warning signs, and help-seeking behaviours. Participants reported that the playful and informal format created a safe environment for discussing a sensitive topic, facilitated reflection without diminishing the seriousness of the issue, and supported self-reflection without direct exposure. Notably, 68% of participants stated they would use a mobile application for the prevention of violence in intimate relationships, highlighting benefits such as accessibility and confidentiality.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3744736.3749356

Together, these studies highlight the potential of digital and game-based approaches to foster empathy, awareness, and reflection around online and intimate partner violence among emerging adults. They also contribute to ongoing work towards the development of a gamified digital intervention for the prevention of intimate partner violence, being co-created with young adults and health professionals.

DCitizens is a research and innovation project led by Instituto Superior Técnico and Interactive Technologies Insitute, that aims to foster Digital Civics in Lisbon, exploring how digital technologies can empower citizens and communities to co-create services, shift from transactional to relational models, and reconfigure relations between citizens, communities, and institutions.

The project held its final lab retreat in Newcastle, UK, from 19–20 November 2025. The retreat corresponded to the wrap-up consortium meeting and was co-located with the Early Stage Researcher (ESR) training. The event was hosted by Northumbria University, at the School of Computer and Information Sciences.
From the ITI, participants included Hugo Nicolau, Ana Henriques, Patricia Piedade, Tainna Souza, and Jing Zhao.

During the consortium meeting, partners reviewed deliverables, and major achievements, prepared the final report and review processes, and advanced one of the project’s key outputs: the Research & Innovation Agenda for Lisbon. The programme also included discussions on future research collaborations.

Alongside the consortium meeting, Early Stage Researchers participated in training sessions focused on research communication, methodological exchange, and science communication, including a 3-Minute Thesis workshop, a method swap session, and a research showcase.

The final session featured presentations from community partners. Paulo Rosa presented WearAccess, a bespoke accessibility service for a teenager with multiple disabilities, developed through the co-creation of an always-available smartwatch-based support for everyday communication and entertainment. The session concluded with Rui Estrela presenting Balcão do Bairro, a community-based walk-in service desk in Lisbon designed to improve access to digital services, operating as a “middle-out” institution between grass-roots initiatives and institutional hierarchies.

🔗 Event page: https://dcitizens.eu/news-events/dcitizens-meets-in-newcastle/

Image credits: © DCitizens.eu

Teresa Almeida, Assistant Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico and researcher at the Interactive Technologies Institute (ITI/LARSyS), delivered a keynote talk at the Human-Centered Design Week (HCDWeek 2025), organised by Fraunhofer AICOS and held in Porto from November 17 to 20, 2025.

The keynote, titled “Awkward by Design”, explored awkwardness as both a research tool and a lens for design practice, particularly when engaging with sensitive topics such as intimate health and care. Drawing on a series of studies, the talk highlighted how intentionally incorporating awkwardness into design can disrupt norms, provoke reflection, and create opportunities for deeper engagement, fostering more memorable and meaningful experiences.

Teresa Almeida’s interdisciplinary work critically engages with the design of technologies related to health(care) and wellbeing, feminist data practices, and the security and privacy of intimate data, combining research-through-design and participatory methods to address stigmatized topics and include marginalized communities of practice.

🔗 Event page:
https://www.aicos.fraunhofer.pt/en/scientific-areas/human-centred-design/hcdweek/2025.html

Image credits: © Fraunhofer AICOS / HCDWeek 2025

The International Journal of Games and Social Impact has opened submissions for a new Special Issue titled “Exploring the Intersections of Gender, Power, and Collective Resistance in Gaming Cultures.”
This issue is guest edited by two researchers from the Interactive Technologies Institute (ITI/LARSyS):

• Luciana Lima – Integrated Researcher at ITI/LARSyS, Universidade de Lisboa
• Ana Pires – Integrated Researcher at ITI/LARSyS and Invited Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), Universidade de Lisboa

The Special Issue invites contributions that analyse and transform gaming cultures through the lenses of gender equity, power dynamics, toxicity, representation, and collective mobilisation. The editors encourage work that moves beyond critique, advancing actionable and justice-oriented approaches to reimagine game design, community practices, and cultural participation.

Topics of interest include:

• Community mobilisation against misogyny, toxicity, and exclusion
• Inclusive and participatory design practices
• Power, representation, and resistance in games
• Feminist, queer, decolonial, and art-based interventions
• Strategies of collective action for transforming toxic cultures

Key dates

• Full Paper Submission Deadline: 31 April 2026
• Notification of Acceptance: 31 July 2026
• Publication: First semester of 2027

Full Call for Papers:
https://revistas.ulusofona.pt/index.php/ijgsi/announcement/view/250

This Special Issue reinforces the contribution of ITI researchers to critical, interdisciplinary discussions shaping more inclusive and equitable gaming futures.