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 at the intersection of EdgeAI, participatory design, and Solarpunk futures. Grounded in an ongoing transdisciplinary collaboration between Arizona State University, Tampere University, and the University of Helsinki, the workshop centers on the participatory design of a modular EdgeAI device for natural environments—and on the collective curation and governance of the data that shapes it.
Jokaisenoikeudet—meaning "every person's right" in Finnish, the ancient Nordic right of public access to natural spaces—serves as the workshop's conceptual lens for reimagining citizen ownership of and access to AI systems. 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, 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 for relevance, with selection aimed at assembling a disciplinarily and professionally diverse cohort. Accepted papers will be published on this website as part of the project's ongoing documentation.
Ongoing EdgeAI Research — This workshop is part of an international series grounded in active, funded research on the sustainable design of EdgeAI systems. Central to the project is a modular device designed for deployment in natural environments, performing three core functions: AI-assisted ecological data collection, AI-enhanced rescue assistance, and AI-mediated embodied learning. The project is distinguished by its foundational datasets, collectively curated from local and indigenous knowledge, narratives, and cultural traditions—directly shaping what the AI system knows and how it behaves. This approach 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; early dataset iterations and prototype devices emerging from those sessions will be presented at this workshop.
Gamified Activities — Workshop co-design activities are structured around a deck of prompt cards, moving participants progressively from generating broad Solarpunk future scenarios, to developing one into a storyboard, to distilling collective outputs into a research roadmap. The deck comprises three card typologies, one per activity. This methodology builds on the first author's direct experience at "Speculating on Biodesign in the Future Home" (CHI '21) and "Narratives in Biodesign – Bridging Methods, Processes and Tools" (IASDR '22), where prompt card decks successfully facilitated original insight generation across disciplinarily diverse groups.
We invite participants to explore the following with us:
The workshop follows a full-day format, modeled on successful HCI workshops previously attended by the first author, alternating keynote presentations with hands-on gamified co-design 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, and 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 and 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, and 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 be directly invited to continue their engagement with the project at NordiCHI. The workshop website serves as the primary public-facing channel for all communications and project documentation.
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.
NordiCHI is the premier biennial Human-Computer Interaction conference in the Nordic countries, bringing together researchers, designers, and industry professionals to discuss interactive technology and user-centered design. NordiCHI 2026 will be held in Vaasa, Finland.
Workshops, Tutorials & Doctoral Consortium: October 3–4, 2026
Main conference: October 5–7, 2026
The workshop Jokaisenoikeudet in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Participatory Co-Design and Solarpunk Narratives in HCI will be held in person on Sunday, October 4, from 9:30 to 17:30 (GMT+3) at Åbo Akademi University's campus in Vaasa. For practical information about attending the conference, visit the NordiCHI 2026 Official Website.
The ACM Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (SIGCHI) is the world's largest association of professionals who work in the research and practice of computer-human interaction, and one of the sponsors of NordiCHI 2026. As such, the organizers of this workshop will adopt the guidelines of the SIGCHI Development Fund to provide an accessible, safe, sustainable, global, and equitable event.
Accessible
The lead organizer, Alan Aronica (alan.aronica@asu.edu), will act as accessibility chair and will maintain
correspondence with the NordiCHI 2026 workshop chairs Dina Koutsikouri
(dina.koutsikouri@ait.gu.se) and Daniel Ventus (daniel.ventus@abo.fi) to facilitate the accommodation of
accessibility needs. Participants can communicate accessibility needs in
advance or direct inquiries to any of the contacts listed above. NordiCHI 2026 workshops will take place in
person at Åbo Akademi University's campus in Vaasa, in lecture or meeting rooms.
Further information is available at the following links:
NordiCHI Workshops
,
Åbo Akademi University
.
Safe
The workshop will take place during NordiCHI 2026, and each participant is expected to adhere to a respectful
and inclusive code of conduct. All participants are invited to review the following resources:
SIGCHI CARES
and
Policy Against Harassment at ACM Activities.
Additional information about safe and accessible local transportation options can be found at the following
links:
NordiCHI Practical Information
,
Åbo Akademi University
,
University of Vaasa
.
Sustainable
This workshop engages with questions of sustainable AI deployment in natural environments, citizen ownership
of and access to AI systems, and the transparency and governance of data collected in these contexts.
Contributions need not be technical; perspectives from indigenous knowledge, industry, and creative practice
are equally welcome. Both Åbo Akademi University and the University of Vaasa are deeply committed to
sustainability, targeting carbon neutrality by 2030.
Additional information can be found at the following
links:
Åbo Akademi University
,
University of Vaasa
.
Global
The workshop is grounded in a transdisciplinary collaboration between Arizona State University, Tampere
University, and the University of Helsinki, centered on the ongoing participatory design of a modular EdgeAI
device for natural environments—and, crucially, on the collective curation of the datasets that will shape it.
Global perspectives are highly welcome.
Participants requiring visa invitation letters are encouraged to
contact the lead organizer, Alan Aronica (alan.aronica@asu.edu), to initiate early coordination with ACM
regarding
Visa Support Letters
.
Equitable
This workshop is centered on the principle of Jokaisenoikeudet—meaning "every person's right" in Finnish. In
line with this Nordic and Baltic legal tradition, which will be used as a conceptual lens to reimagine the
relationships between humans, nature, and technology in the context of AI design, participants from diverse
identities and communities are highly welcome. Participants with care responsibilities (e.g., childcare needs
or partial registration for carers) are encouraged to communicate and request accommodation. At the end of the
workshop, feedback will be collected from participants, including questions addressing whether their needs
were met and whether any barriers to participation were overcome.
Hybrid
This workshop will be hosted on Sunday, October 4, from 9:30 to 17:30 (GMT+3). NordiCHI 2026 is an in-person
conference, and all workshops will be held at Åbo Akademi University's campus in Vaasa, in lecture or meeting
rooms. In keeping with the workshop proposal guidelines, hybrid participation has not been explicitly planned;
however, such an arrangement will be considered for both presenters and audience members should the need
arise. All rooms are equipped with moveable tables, chairs, and standard presentation facilities, including a
screen, projection equipment, and internet access with sufficient bandwidth.