Work with AI and Work for AI: Autonomous Vehicle Safety Drivers’ Lived ExperiencesThe development of Autonomous Vehicle (AV) has created a novel job, the safety driver, recruited from experienced drivers to supervise and operate AV in numerous driving missions. Safety drivers usually work with non-perfect AV in high-risk real-world traffic environments for road testing tasks. However, this group of workers is under-explored in the HCI community. To fill this gap, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 26 safety drivers. Our results present how safety drivers cope with defective algorithms and shape and calibrate their perceptions while working with AV. We found that, as front-line workers, safety drivers are forced to take risks accumulated from the AV industry upstream and are also confronting restricted self-development in working for AV development. We contribute the first empirical evidence of the lived experience of safety drivers, the first passengers in the development of AV, and also the grassroots workers for AV, which can shed light on future human-AI interaction research.2023MCMengdi Chu et al.Tsinghua UniversityAutomated Driving Interface & Takeover DesignAI-Assisted Decision-Making & AutomationCHI
Making Sense of Post-match Fan Behaviors in the Online Football CommunitiesProfessional sports have large fan bases that congregate in online sports fan communities. The sports community is suitable to be a sandbox for studying offline context's effects on online community behavior. By now, prior works did not present a detailed study on the offline-online connection by examining detailed community discussion content. To fill this gap, this work presents a comprehensive study of online communities' comments about football (soccer) matches, grounded in the data from Premier League teams' Reddit online communities during the 2020-2021 season. We propose a metric "gap score" to quantify offline events' effects by measuring the gap between fans' prematch expectations and actual match results. Using this metric, we investigated how team performance impacted comments' sentiment, discussion topics, and the pattern of comments' votes. The findings highlight the close connection that exists between offline events and online discussions and reveals both theoretical and practical implications for online communities.2023YWYucheng WANG et al.City University of Hong Kong, Columbia UniversityGame UX & Player BehaviorSocial Platform Design & User BehaviorCHI
Seeking Love and Companionship through Streaming: Unpacking Livestreamer-moderated Senior Matchmaking in ChinaLivestreamer-moderated matchmaking has gained wide popularity among the elderly population in China. Compared to algorithm-mediated online dating, it is characterized by (1) the mediation of matchmakers in a synchronous virtual environment and (2) the natural development of livestreaming-based matchmaking communities. Nonetheless, how these new features influence single seniors' match-seeking remains unknown. To fill this research gap, we conduct a qualitative study consisting of observations and semi-structured interviews with 6 livestreaming matchmakers and 12 senior match-seekers (age: 50-70). We uncover matchmakers' mediation roles during and beyond livestreaming to facilitate seniors' match-seeking, and their additional duties to enhance seniors' safety in this process. Livestreaming-based matchmaking communities afford multiple important values for single seniors to acquire companionship and help in seeking late-life love. We unpack the perceived benefits and challenges of livestreamer-moderated matchmaking, and discuss how to support single seniors' match-seeking in an accessible, safe, and convenient manner.2023CHChangyang He et al.Hong Kong University of Science and TechnologyLive Streaming & Content CreatorsSocial Robot InteractionCHI
Impact and User Perception of Sandwich Attacks in the DeFi EcosystemDecentralized finance (DeFi) enables crypto-asset holders to conduct complex financial transactions, while maintaining control over their assets in the blockchain ecosystem. However, the transparency of blockchain networks and the open mechanism of DeFi applications also cause new security issues. In this paper, we focus on sandwich attacks, where attackers take advantage of the transaction confirmation delay and cause financial losses for victims. We evaluate the impact and investigate users' perceptions of sandwich attacks through a mix-method study. We find that due to users' lack of technical background and insufficient notifications from the markets, many users were not aware of the existence and the impact of sandwich attacks. They also had a limited understanding of how to resolve the security issue. Interestingly, users showed high tolerance for the impact of sandwich attacks on individuals and the ecosystem, despite potential financial losses. We discuss general implications for users, DeFi applications, and the community.2022YWEdward Jay Wang et al.ETH ZurichAI Ethics, Fairness & AccountabilityPrivacy by Design & User ControlAlgorithmic Fairness & BiasCHI
StreamSketch: Exploring Multi-Modal Interactions in Creative Live StreamsCreative live streams, where artists or designers demonstrate their creative process, have emerged as a unique and popular genre of live streams due to the real-time interactivity they afford. However, streamer-viewer interactions on most live streaming platforms only enable users to utilize text and emojis to communicate, which limits what viewers can convey and share in real time. To investigate the design space of potential visual and non-textual modalities within creative live streams, we first analyzed existing Twitch extensions and conducted a formative study with streamers who share creative activities to uncover key challenges that these streamers face. We then designed and implemented a prototype system, StreamSketch, which enables viewers and streamers to interact during live streams using multiple modalities, including freeform sketches and text. The prototype was evaluated by two professional artist streamers and their viewers during six streaming sessions. Overall, streamers and viewers found that StreamSketch provided increased engagement and new affordances compared to the traditional text-only modality, and highlighted how efficiency, moderation, and tool integration were continued challenges.2021ZLZhicong Lu et al.User ExperiencesCSCW
More Kawaii than a Real-Person Streamer: Understanding How the Otaku Community Engages with and Perceives Virtual YouTubersLive streaming has become increasingly popular, with most streamers presenting their real-life appearance. However, Virtual YouTubers (VTubers), virtual 2D or 3D avatars that are voiced by humans, are emerging as live streamers and attracting a growing viewership in East Asia. Although prior research has found that many viewers seek real-life interpersonal interactions with real-person streamers, it is currently unknown what makes VTuber live streams engaging or how they are perceived differently than real-person streamers. We conducted an interview study to understand how viewers engage with VTubers and perceive the identities of the voice actors behind the avatars (i.e., Nakanohito). The data revealed that Virtual avatars bring unique performative opportunities which result in different viewer expectations and interpretations of VTuber behavior. Viewers intentionally upheld the disembodiment of VTuber avatars from their voice actors. We uncover the nuances in viewer perceptions and attitudes and further discuss the implications of VTuber practices to the understanding of live streaming in general.2021ZLZhicong Lu et al.City University of Hong Kong, University of TorontoAgent Personality & AnthropomorphismLive Streaming & Content CreatorsCHI
The Labor of Fun: Understanding the Social Relationships between Gamers and Paid Gaming Teammates in ChinaOnline video games support the development of social relationships through gameplay. However, gamers often cannot cultivate and maintain relationships based on social factors such as personality when using in-game matchmaking services. To address this, teammate matching sites external to games have emerged and enable gamers to offer to play games with others in exchange for payment. The affordances of these services are different from other existing gamer social sites, e.g., live streaming. Interviews were conducted with 16 dedicated users on Bixin, one of China’s largest paid teammate matching sites, to examine user motivations, practices, and perceptions. The interviews found that gamers selected paid teammates on Bixin using different criteria compared to in-game matchmaking services and emphasized the importance of real-life characteristics such as voice. To maintain connections, paid teammates often also extended communication to external communication services such as WeChat. Although most gamers expected to communicate with paid teammates as if they were friends, very few reported building real friendships with their matched counterparts.2021CSChenxinran Shen et al.University of TorontoBrain-Computer Interface (BCI) & NeurofeedbackMultiplayer & Social GamesCHI
The Government's Dividend: Complex Perceptions of Social Media Misinformation in ChinaThe social media environment in China has become the dominant source of information and news over the past decade. This news environment has naturally suffered from challenges related to mis- and dis-information, encumbered by an increasingly complex landscape of factors and players including social media services, fact-checkers, censorship policies, and astroturfing. Interviews with 44 Chinese WeChat users were conducted to understand how individuals perceive misinformation and how it impacts their news consumption practices. Overall, this work exposes the diverse attitudes and coping strategies that Chinese users employ in complex social media environments. Due to the complex nature of censorship in China and participants' lack of understanding of censor-ship, they expressed varied opinions about its influence on the credibility of online information sources. Further, although most participants claimed that their opinions would not be easily swayed by astroturfers, many admitted that they could not effectively distinguish astroturfers from ordinary Internet users. Participants' inability to make sense of comments found online lead many participants to hold pro-censorship attitudes: the Government's Dividend.2020ZLZhicong Lu et al.University of TorontoAI Ethics, Fairness & AccountabilityContent Moderation & Platform GovernanceMisinformation & Fact-CheckingCHI
Vicariously Experiencing it all without Going outside: A Study of Outdoor Live Streaming in ChinaThe livestreaming industry in China is gaining greater traction than its European and North American counterparts and has a profound impact on the stakeholders’ online and offline lives. An emerging genre of livestreaming that has become increasingly popular in China is outdoor livestreaming. With outdoor livestreams, streamers broadcast outdoor activities, travel, or socialize with passersby in outdoor settings, often for 6 or more hours, and viewers watch such streams for hours each day. However, given that professionally produced content about travel and outdoor activities are not very popular, it is currently unknown what makes this category of livestreams so engaging and how these techniques can be applied to other content or genres. Thus, we conducted a mixed methods study consisting of a survey (N=287) and interviews (N = 20) to understand how viewers watch and engage with outdoor livestreams in China. The data revealed that outdoor livestreams encompass many categories of content, environments and passersby behaviors create challenges and uncertainty for viewers and streamers, and viewers watch livestreams for surprising lengths of time (e.g., sometimes more than 5 continuous hours). We also gained insights into how live commenting and virtual gifting encourage engagement. Lastly, we detail how the behaviors of dedicated fans and casual viewers differ and provide implications for the design of livestreaming services that support outdoor activities.2019ZLZhicong Lu et al.Videos and Live StreamingCSCW
"I feel it is my responsibility to stream": Streaming and Engaging with Intangible Cultural Heritage through LivestreamingGlobalization has led to the destruction of many cultural practices, expressions, and knowledge found within local communities. These practices, defined by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), have been identified, promoted, and safeguarded by nations, academia, organizations and local communities to varying degrees. Despite such efforts, many practices are still in danger of being lost or forgotten forever. With the increased popularity of livestreaming in China, some streamers have begun to use livestreaming to showcase and promote ICH activities. To better understand the practices, opportunities, and challenges inherent in sharing and safeguarding ICH through livestreaming, we interviewed 10 streamers and 8 viewers from China. Through our qualitative investigation, we found that ICH streamers had altruistic motivations and engaged with viewers using multiple modalities beyond livestreams. We also found that livestreaming encouraged real-time interaction and sociality, while non-live curated videos attracted attention from a broader audience and assisted in the archiving of knowledge.2019ZLZhicong Lu et al.University of TorontoLive Streaming & Content CreatorsMuseum & Cultural Heritage DigitizationCHI
You Watch, You Give, and You Engage: A Study of Live Streaming Practices in ChinaDespite gaining traction in North America, live streaming has not reached the popularity it has in China, where live- streaming has a tremendous impact on the social behaviors of users. To better understand this socio-technological phenomenon, we conducted a mixed methods study of live streaming practices in China. We present the results of an online survey of 527 live streaming users, focusing on their broadcasting or viewing practices and the experiences they find most engaging. We also interviewed 14 active users to explore their motivations and experiences. Our data revealed the different categories of content that was broadcasted and how varying aspects of this content engaged viewers. We also gained insight into the role reward systems and fan group-chat play in engaging users, while also finding evidence that both viewers and streamers desire deeper channels and mechanisms for interaction in addition to the commenting, gifting, and fan groups that are available today.2018ZLZhicong Lu et al.University of TorontoSocial Platform Design & User BehaviorLive Streaming & Content CreatorsCHI
StreamWiki: Enabling Viewers of Knowledge Sharing Live Streams to Collaboratively Generate Archival Documentation for Effective In-Stream and Post Hoc LearningKnowledge-sharing live streams are distinct from traditional educational videos, in part due to the large concurrently-viewing audience and the real-time discussions that are possible between viewers and the streamer. Though this medium creates unique opportunities for interactive learning, it also brings about the challenge of creating a useful archive for post-hoc learning. This paper presents the results of interviews with knowledge sharing streamers, their moderators, and viewers to understand current experiences and needs for sharing and learning knowledge through live streaming. Based on those findings, we built StreamWiki, a tool which leverages the availability of live stream viewers to produce useful archives of the interactive learning experience. On StreamWiki, moderators initiate high-level tasks that viewers complete by conducting microtasks, such as writing summaries, sending comments, and voting for informative comments. As a result, a summary document is built in real time. Through the tests of our prototype with streamers and viewers, we found that StreamWiki could help viewers understand the content and the context of the stream, during the stream and also later, for post-hoc learning.2018ZLZhicong Lu et al.LearningCSCW