Eliciting (Immersive) Intangibles: GenAI-Supported Collaborative Visual Narration in a Physically Immersive Space

This qualitative paper examines the needs of residents to remember a local cultural heritage site collaboratively. The study observes and then designs for intangible affordances supporting this memory recall using the photo-elicitation method with generative artificial intelligence imagery. Specifically, collaboration was observed when editing a panoramic photograph using generative artificial intelligence. These instances were rare, and were analyzed to highlight intangible affordances aiding collaborative memory recall and content creation. Afterward, five examples were correlated to influence the design of an immersive and responsive 360° theatre system using specific combinations of artificial intelligence models to aid subjective recall. In this immersive space, storyteller preferences for edited content are finally made available for new users, thereby affording new collaborative storytelling about a cultural heritage site. As a contribution, this study aids the work of designers and sociologists by showing the photo-elicitation method’s crossdisciplinary relevance to designing for collaborative, yet intangible storytelling affordances.