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<p class="p1" style="margin:0in"><b><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black">The 1st International Workshop on Design Fiction for Intelligent Virtual Agents</span></i></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black"> </span></i></b></span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black">@</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black"> </span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black"><a href="https://iva.acm.org/2025/" title="https://iva.acm.org/2025/"><span class="outlook-search-highlight"><span style="color:#96607D">IVA</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:#96607D"> </span></span><span style="color:#96607D">2025</span></a>,
Berlin, Germany *** 16th September 2025</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span class="s1"><u><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black"><a href="https://sites.google.com/view/ivafuture/home" title="https://sites.google.com/view/ivafuture/home"><span style="color:#96607D">https://sites.google.com/view/</span><span class="outlook-search-highlight"><span style="color:#96607D">iva</span></span><span style="color:#96607D">future/home</span></a></span></u></span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black">The 1st International Workshop on Design Fiction for Intelligent Virtual Agents (<span class="outlook-search-highlight">IVA</span>s) should explore and anticipate ethical, aesthetic, and
cultural implications, as well as explore possible evaluation methods for the future of</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black"> </span></span><span class="outlook-search-highlight"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black">IVA</span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black">s
using design fiction. Participants will create speculative narratives to examine future interactions, stereotypes, and societal impact.</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black">Virtual companions, a type of intelligent virtual agent (<span class="outlook-search-highlight">IVA</span>), 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 pr<span class="outlook-search-highlight">iva</span>cy, user data, emotional impact, and stereotypical visual representations.
This concern has mot<span class="outlook-search-highlight">iva</span>ted us to propose a workshop on the theme of design fiction for</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black"> </span></span><span class="outlook-search-highlight"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black">IVA</span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black">,
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.</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black">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:</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black"> </span></span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black">- Virtual Agent Design</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black">- Quantitative and Qualitative Methods</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black"> </span></span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black">- Ethics</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black"> </span></span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black">- Speculative Explorations of the Futures of Virtual Agents</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black">- Cultural Differences in Virtual Agent Acceptance</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black">IMPORTANT DATES - Workshop Papers (2-4 pages)</span></b><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black">22nd July 2025: Paper Submissions</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black">28th July 2025: Notifications</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black">SUBMISSIONS:</span></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black"> </span></b></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black"><a href="https://sites.google.com/view/ivafuture/home" title="https://sites.google.com/view/ivafuture/home"><b><span style="color:#96607D">https://sites.google.com/view/<span class="outlook-search-highlight">iva</span>future/home</span></b></a></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black"> </span></b></span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black"> </span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black">ORGANIZERS</span></b><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black">Negin Hashmati, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black">Gemma Serrano, Collège des Bernardins, France</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black">Jean-Arthur Micoulaud-Franchi, Bordeaux University, France</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black">Florian Pecune, Bordeaux University, France</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black">Therése Skoog, University of Gothenburg, Sweden</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span class="outlook-search-highlight"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black">Mohammad</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black"> </span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black">Obaid,
Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black">Thommy Eriksson, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Kind regards,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Negin Hashmati </span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">(she/her)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">PhD Student in Interaction Design<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:16.5pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in;mso-ligatures:none">Division of Interaction Design and Software Engineering<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:16.5pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in;mso-ligatures:none">Department of Computer Science and Engineering</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:16.5pt;background:white"><span style="color:black"><a href="https://www.chalmers.se/en/" title="https://www.chalmers.se/en/"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in;mso-ligatures:none">Chalmers
University of Technology</span></a></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:16.5pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in;mso-ligatures:none">Gothenburg, Sweden</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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