Technology × Social Interaction

Research on how information technology shapes and could enhance social interaction.

Technology × Social Interaction (TSI)

(× = by / of / in / for / against / beyond …)

The TSI research group investigates the cross-section of information technology and our social world.

How do current IT applications shape, mediate, and condition social interactions?

How could future IT applications enhance social encounters and collaboration?

Our interests include sociotechnical and interdisciplinary topics such as:

Mediated communication: How is interaction on social media influenced by user interfaces? How to facilitate—rather than just mediate—remote communication?

Trust & integration: How could IT support trust-building across individuals, communities, and cultural chasms?

Social Matching: How could data science & AI help identify suitable collaborators, support recruitment, find experts, and form teams?

Human-AI collaboration: How can human intelligence and AI best work together?

Social Acceptance: How does societal acceptance in new ITs form?

We conduct interdisciplinary research that combines critical and creative thinking: 

Critical & speculative design: How to constructively challenge conventions in user interface design?

Value-sensitive & sustainable design: How to create more socially and environmentally sustainable digital solutions, also mindful of ethical considerations?

Research through design: How to produce new knowledge through design praxis?

 

Our work builds on cross-disciplinary research traditions, such as human-computer interaction, computer-supported cooperative work, sociotechnical systems, user experience, and information systems research.

Contact and group lead: thomas.olsson@tuni.fi

TSI is affiliated with the Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences and the TAUCHI research center. In 2017–2022, it was part of the New Social Research profiling program. In education, we actively contribute to the Human-Technology Interaction & Sustainable Digital Life Master’s programs, as well as the doctoral program of Humans and Technologies.

Check out our Medium page and GitHub profile!