Several contemporary mainstream AI-based technologies have the potential to support individuals' health and wellbeing as they age. Yet, older adults’ perspectives are rarely included in the design of these technologies. Along this thread, we investigate how older adults make use of and perceive contemporary AI-based technologies. By adopting research through design and participatory approaches, we include older adults in the process of designing these technologies to understand their underlying needs and preferences from these technologies

Publications:

Alisha Pradhan, Amanda Lazar, Leah Findlater. (2020). Use of Intelligent Voice Assistants by Older Adults with Low Technology Use. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction. 27, 4, Article 31 (TOCHI). [PDF] 

Alisha Pradhan, Ben Jelen, Katie A. Siek, Joel Chan, Amanda Lazar. Understanding Older Adults' Participation in Design Workshops. (2020). In Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. (CHI '20)  [PDF]

Alisha Pradhan, Leah Findlater, Amanda Lazar. (2019). “Phantom Friend” or “Just a Box with Information”: Personification and Ontological Categorization of Smart Speaker-based Voice Assistants by Older Adults. PACM on Human-Computer Interaction. 3, CSCW, Article 214 (November 2019), 21 pages. [PDF]

Creative expression through making activities allows individuals to explore their interests, passions, and provides an opportunity for self-expression. Along this thread, we have examined how older adults engage in maker activities and makerspaces, and how makerspaces can be designed for older adult communities.

Publications:

Amanda Lazar, Alisha Pradhan, Ben Jelen, Katie A. Siek, Alex Leitch. Studying the Formation of an Older Adult-Led Makerspace. (2021). In Proceedings of the 2021CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '21) [PDF]

Ben Jelen, Amanda Lazar, Christina Harrington, Alisha Pradhan, and Katie A. Siek. Speaking from Experience: Co-designing E-textile Projects with Older Adult Fiber Crafters. In the Proceedings of the Seventeenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction (TEI '23). [PDF]

Yielding methodological considerations around designing technologies for aging, we examine questions such as:  How does positionality and life experience of researchers and older adults shape the research findings? How do dominant societal stereotypes about aging play a role when designing technologies with older adults? 

Alisha Pradhan, Ben Jelen, Katie A. Siek, Joel Chan, Amanda Lazar. Understanding Older Adults' Participation in Design Workshops. (2020). In Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. (CHI '20) [PDF]

Amanda Lazar, Ben Jelen, Alisha Pradhan, Katie A. Siek. Adopting Diffractive Reading to Advance Aging HCI. (2021). ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction.28,5, Article 32. [PDF]

Shaan Chopra, Emma Dixon, Kausalya Ganesh, Alisha Pradhan, Mary Radnofsky, Amanda Lazar. Designing for and with People with Dementia using a Human Rights-Based Approach. (2021). Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI'21 case study track). [PDF]