Stawarz, Katarzyna  ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9021-0615, Burrows, Alison and Ramirez Gomez, Argenis
2025.
Leveraging creepiness to facilitate ethical design: Lessons learned from a design workshop.
Presented at: British Computer Society’s Special Interest Group in Human Computer Interaction Conference (BCS HCI 2025),
Cardiff,
9 -11 November 2025.
Proceedings 38th International BCS Human-Computer Interaction Conference.
BCS Learning and Development Ltd.,
pp. 432-440.
10.14236/ewic/BCSHCI2025.49
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Abstract
Developing novel technologies tends to focus on eliminating or reducing undesirable features and characteristics of novel technologies. However, there is value in exploring the impact of intentionally 'creepy’ designs that make these unwanted characteristics an explicit attribute. We have conducted a preliminary design workshop with 10 participants to explore the impact of this approach. The results show how, in focusing on creepiness as a resource for design, participants were organically prompted to reflect on the source of creepiness, namely identifying often overlooked attributes or characteristics. This facilitated the mitigation of potential side effects related to ethical issues that could emerge, as designers were informed by creepiness to create better designs of novel technologies. Overall, our work shows how creepiness could become an accessible framework to facilitate reflection on the ethical frictions of designing technologies based on users’ sensemaking and their relationship with interactive devices.
| Item Type: | Conference or Workshop Item (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Date Type: | Publication |
| Status: | Published |
| Schools: | Schools > Computer Science & Informatics |
| Publisher: | BCS Learning and Development Ltd. |
| Date of First Compliant Deposit: | 13 November 2025 |
| Date of Acceptance: | 2 September 2025 |
| Last Modified: | 13 Nov 2025 11:30 |
| URI: | https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/182244 |
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