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23rd International Conference
on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia


Stockholm, Sweden

Keynotes



Regan Mandryk

Innovations in Social Play

By Regan Mandryk

Abstract

Games have long been used to support social interaction and create shared experiences that draw us closer together. Digital games are increasingly being used to form and maintain relationships, and in-game friendships have been shown to help satisfy our need to belong and can even combat loneliness, improving our wellbeing. In this talk, Mandryk will present her perspective on the benefits of social gaming—including in casual, esports, and streaming contexts, show how the benefits can be thwarted by toxicity and harassment, and discuss innovative game technologies that can better connect players, streamers, spectators, and fans.

Bio

Regan Mandryk is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Victoria, Canada. Prior to moving to UVic, she was a professor at the University of Saskatchewan for 15 years where she was a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Digital Gaming Technologies and Experiences. Her long-term research objective is to design, develop, and evaluate novel technologies that improve the social, cognitive, and emotional wellbeing of people. Having researched games since her first publications in the early 2000s, she has been at the forefront of legitimizing games research in HCI, with more than 200 top-tier publications, including 29 best paper awards and nominations. Together with her trainees, she has made foundational and significant contributions in modeling the emotional experience and personality of players, harnessing game motivation, facilitating social connection through play, combating toxicity within multiplayer games, and harnessing games for the assessment and treatment of mental health. Regan led Games research in the Canadian GRAND Network, led the first ever Canadian graduate training program on games user research (SWaGUR.ca), and was pivotal in establishing the gaming research community within SIGCHI—particularly in establishing and leading the ACM CHI PLAY conference. She also chaired CHI in 2018 and chaired the CHI Steering Committee from 2019–2022. She was inducted into the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists in 2014, received the University of Saskatchewan New Researcher Award in 2015, the Canadian Association for Computer Science’s Outstanding Young Canadian Computer Science Researcher Prize in 2016, the prestigious E.W.R. Steacie Fellowship from NSERC in 2018, was inducted into the SIGCHI Academy in 2023, and received the Canadian Human Computer Communications Society’s Achievement Award in 2023.





Carl Heath

Navigating democratic discourse – policy making in an era of AI

By Carl Heath

Abstract

In this closing keynote, Carl Heath, senior researcher at RISE and focus area leader for digital resilience, explores the critical intersection of artificial intelligence, democratic processes, and digital resilience. Drawing from his extensive experience in applied research on society's digital transformation and his role as Special Counsel for the Swedish government, Heath will explore how AI is reshaping democratic dialogue and policy-making in our increasingly mobile and connected world.

The presentation will address the unique challenges and opportunities that arise as AI becomes more ubiquitous in our daily lives and governance structures. Heath will discuss strategies for leveraging AI to enhance democratic participation while safeguarding against potential pitfalls such as disinformation and algorithmic bias. He will share insights from his work with several government agencies and institutions in Sweden and abroad, offering a multifaceted perspective on digital resilience and democracy. By examining real-world cases and future scenarios, this keynote aims to stimulate thought-provoking discussions on the role of research in guiding the development of AI systems that support and strengthen democratic values in our evolving digital society.

Bio

Carl Heath is a senior researcher and focus area leader for digital resilience at RISE – Research Institutes of Sweden, as well as a researcher at the University of Gothenburg and part of the Swedish Center for Digital Innovation (SCDI). He works in applied research relating to society's digital transformation, particularly concerning issues related to democracy, digital resilience, AI and innovation management. Mr Heath has served as a Special Counsel for the protection of democratic dialogue for the Swedish government, examining democracy in the digital age, as it relates to disinformation, propaganda and hate speech. He currently assists the Swedish Psychological Defense Agency in applied research and education. Mr Heath is also a board member of the Swedish eHealth Agency and a member of the Media Subsidies Council, a part of the Swedish Media Authority. He won the Swedish eGovernment Awards in 2020 and is an international keynote speaker. More about Carl Heath can be found at www.carlheath.se.



Important dates

Aug 29 Short and full papers Submission Deadline
Oct 4 Workshops and Tutorials Submission Deadline
Oct 7 Student Volunteers Application Deadline
Oct 9 Short and full papers Decision Notification
Oct 9 Workshop and Tutorials Decision Notification
Oct 14 Student Volunteers Decision Notification
Oct 15 Demos
Submission Deadline
Oct 15 Doctoral Consortium Submission Deadline
Oct 15 Posters
Submission Deadline
Oct 17 Doctoral Consortium Decision Notification
Oct 20 Short and full papers Camera Ready
Oct 21 Demos
Decision Notification
Nov 2 Posters
Decision Notification

Previous editions