Where is the Body in Designing (Through) AI?

Frictions and Opportunities in Integrating AI with Soma Design

Conference Paper (2026)
Author(s)

Claudia Núñez-Pacheco (Malmö University)

Pedro Sanches (ITI/Larsys, Umeå University)

Jesse Josua Benjamin (Eindhoven University of Technology)

Iohanna Nicenboim (TU Delft - Industrial Design Engineering)

Mirjana Prpa (Northeastern University, Canada)

Sarah Fdili Alaoui (University of the Arts London)

Michelle Rennerova (Pompeu Fabra University)

Research Group
Materializing Futures
DOI related publication
https://doi.org/10.1145/3772363.3778774 Final published version
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Publication Year
2026
Language
English
Research Group
Materializing Futures
Article number
983
Publisher
ACM
ISBN (electronic)
9798400722813
Event
2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2026 (2026-04-13 - 2026-04-17), Barcelona, Spain
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Abstract

We make sense of the world around us through our bodies; however, this somatic dimension of meaning-making is often overlooked in the development of AI systems. This workshop (re-)positions the body as central to the design of human-AI interactions by critically exploring the frictions and possibilities that emerge when attempting to incorporate our somatic dimension into the design of predominantly disembodied AI systems. By using self-knowledge as a point of departure to explore the potential of soma-aligned AI as a research territory, our workshop hosts (1) participant-driven discussion on tensions and opportunities between AI design and soma-centric approaches and (2) practical exercises where we together experiment with designing forms of such interactions that are more embodied, sensuous and poetic. We aim to extend these activities beyond the workshop, both by establishing a long-term community of design researchers and through a public Poetry Jam event.

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