You are cordially invited to the NordiCHI 2026 workshop:
1 Arizona State University · 2 Tampere University · 3 University of Helsinki
What would it mean to design AI systems in genuine harmony with nature—transparent, community-governed, and ecologically accountable?
We invite researchers, designers, practitioners, and advocates to join a full-day workshop exploring the intersection of EdgeAI, participatory design, and Solarpunk futures. Grounded in an ongoing collaboration between Arizona State University, Tampere University, and the University of Helsinki, the workshop centers on the design of AI systems for natural environments—and on the collective governance of the data that shapes them.
Drawing on Jokaisenoikeudet—the Nordic principle of every person's right to access natural spaces—as a lens for citizen ownership of AI, participants will engage in gamified co-design activities to generate speculative design artefacts and contribute to a collectively authored research roadmap.
We welcome contributions from across disciplines: human-AI interaction, data governance, AI ethics, ecology, speculative and participatory design, games research, environmental humanities, law, and community organizing. Technical expertise is not required; perspectives from indigenous knowledge, creative practice, and industry are equally valued.
To participate, you are invited to submit a position paper (1–3 pages, ACM extended abstract format) outlining your background and motivating interest in the workshop's themes. Submissions will be reviewed by the organizers for relevance, with selection aimed at assembling a disciplinarily and professionally diverse cohort. Accepted papers will be published on the workshop website as part of the project's ongoing documentation.
Ongoing EdgeAI Research — Rooted in active, funded research, this workshop is part of an international series of workshops on the sustainable design of EdgeAI systems. Central to the HCI practice of this research is the design of modular devices to be deployed in natural environments, performing three core functions: AI-assisted ecological data collection, AI-enhanced rescue assistance, and AI-mediated embodied learning. Crucially, the project entails foundational datasets that will be collectively curated on local and indigenous knowledge, narratives, and cultural traditions—directly informing a localized body of knowledge available to the AI system. This co-participatory approach to developing transparent technology in service of every person is supported by the Digital and Sustainability Transitions in Society (DigiSus) research platform. Prior to NordiCHI, Harper and Aronica will conduct a series of workshops in Kauppi Forest near Tampere, from which early iterations of the curated dataset and prototype devices will emerge. Their results will be presented at this workshop, building momentum directly into the activities.
Gamified Activities — Co-design activities in the workshop will be structured around a deck of prompt cards, moving participants progressively from generating broad future scenarios, to selecting one for development into a storyboard, to distilling collective outputs into a research roadmap. The deck comprises three typologies of cards, corresponding to each activity of the workshop. This methodology builds on the first author's direct experience at two previous HCI workshops—"Speculating on Biodesign in the Future Home" at CHI '21 and "Narratives in Biodesign – Bridging Methods, Processes and Tools" at IASDR '22—where prompt card decks successfully facilitated the generation of original insights from participants with very diverse backgrounds.
We invite participants to explore the following with us:
The workshop will take place in person at Åbo Akademi University, Vaasa, in October 2026. It is structured as a full-day program with sessions organized in 90-minute slots, alternating between keynote presentations and hands-on gamified activities. We aim for 18–24 participants.
SESSION 1 | Jokaisenoikeudet & Solarpunk
• Aronica & Harper (40m): Introduction to the workshop and the ongoing ASU–Tampere collaboration, presentation of previous workshop activities conducted in Kauppi Forest, near Tampere, prior to NordiCHI.
• Honkkila & Finn (40m): The legal and cultural spirit of Jokaisenoikeudet, the Solarpunk movement as a generative framework for positive futures, and the stakes of the workshop's central questions.
(Coffee Break 30m)
SESSION 2 | Ecology and Interdisciplinary Collaboration
• Scenario Building Activity (40m): Gamified activity, using a deck of prompt cards, participants generate ideas for Solarpunk futures, surfacing shared values and design aspirations.
• Ball & Ruohomäki (40m): Perspectives on Arctic and Sonoran Ecosystems, including examples of interdisciplinary creative-scientific collaboration.
SESSION 3 | Designing Positive Futures
• Journaling & Storyboard Design (30m): Gamified activity, using a deck of prompt cards, participants select one scenario to be further developed through visual or written storyboards, translating values and aspirations into a concrete speculative design artefact framing its design challenges.
(Lunch Break 60m)
SESSION 4 | HCI, Play, and Nature
• Turaga & Ollila (40m): How AI Engineering and Games Research can converge to advance positive futures at the intersection of HCI, Play, and Nature.
• Open Forum — Group Work (40m): Participants divide into three groups. Using a deck of prompt cards, each group will distill one collectively imagined future and reflections for a roadmap towards it, preparing for a 10-minute presentation.
(Coffee Break 30m)
SESSION 5 | Solarpunk Roadmaps
• Open Forum — Presentations (60m): Each group presents (10m) followed by structured peer response (10m).
• Closing Remarks & Future Work (15m): Organizers synthesize across groups, identifying convergences and tensions that will inform the research roadmap.
• Participants Feedback Collection (15m)
Alan Aronica is a doctoral researcher in Media Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University, and a visiting researcher at Tampere University. His doctoral work explores the convergence of 3D Computer Graphics, Artificial Intelligence, and Human-Computer Interaction to develop alternative paradigms of technological innovation.
Jamie Harper, PhD is a postdoctoral researcher in performance and game studies at Tampere University. His work has been presented in London theatres including Camden People’s Theatre and The Yard and fine art contexts such as Serpentine Galleries and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Newcastle.
Olli Honkkila, is the Honorary Consul of Finland to Arizona and New Mexico, and Data Governance and Administration Manager at Arizona State University. He holds law degrees from the University of Helsinki, Finland, and the University of Leicester, UK.
Ed Finn, PhD is the Founding Director of the Center for Science and the Imagination and Associate Professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and The GAME School at Arizona State University. His work explores climate futures, cultural framings of computation, and intersections such as solarpunk in books including What Algorithms Want, The Weight of Light, and Climate Imagination.
Becky Ball, PhD is a Professor of ecology at Arizona State University, the Lead PI and Director of the Central Arizona-Phoenix Long Term Ecological Research. Her research focuses on soil biodiversity and biogeochemistry in extreme ecosystems, including the Arctic and Sonoran Ecosystems.
Anu Ruohomäki, is the Research Coordinator at the University of Helsinki’s Kilpisjärvi Biological Station. Her work focuses on the development and coordination of research and teaching activities. She works closely with researchers, educators, and partners to support high-quality research in Kilpisjärvi.
Elina Ollila, PhD is the Deputy Director of the Endless Games and Learning Lab and Professor of Practice at Arizona State University. She leads initiatives that connect academia and industry. Over her career, she has held leadership roles at global companies such as Nokia, Daybreak Games, and Live Current Media.
Pavan Turaga, PhD is the Founding Director of The GAME School at Arizona State University with a joint appointment in Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering. In this role they oversee a transdisciplinary group of faculty and degree programs, spanning gaming, interactive, immersive and AI-enabled media creation.
The workshop will be promoted through the professional networks of all organizers, who collectively maintain active connections across the international HCI, ecology, law, and design communities. The call for participation will be distributed via social media and institutional channels of Arizona State University, Tampere University, and the University of Helsinki. Participants from the preceding Kauppi Forest workshops will also be directly invited to continue their engagement with the project at NordiCHI.
A part of this project has been funded by the Digital and Sustainability Transitions in Society (DigiSus) research platform for cross-disciplinary and cross-organisational collaboration of Tampere University and Tampere University of Applied Sciences.