Human-Data Interaction for All

Bongshin Lee

People generate and consume a significant amount of data in their daily lives. Such data holds great promise for empowering them in work, social, and personal contexts. Over the last few decades, data visualization has shown to be a powerful means to understand and communicate data. However, visualization research has traditionally focused on limited aspects of how people interact with data. The majority of the research has targeted a desktop environment, equipped with a mouse and keyboard, for a particular group of people, such as data experts or non-disabled individuals. I argue that we should design and develop for a broader scope of activities and contexts people engage in with data, as well as the audience who perform such activities. In this talk, I will present fluid, flexible, and engaging data interaction experiences I have explored in non-desktop contexts, leveraging advancements in input and interaction technologies. Synergistically combining multiple input modalities, such as pen, touch, and speech can facilitate fluid data interaction on wall-size displays and mobile devices. In addition, smartphones and smartwatches can enable data collection activities, accommodating diverse personal needs and goals. I will also suggest exciting research opportunities we can pursue in enriching data interaction experiences for a broader audience.

Bongshin Lee is a Senior Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research. She conducts research on data visualization, human-computer interaction, and human-data interaction, focusing on the design, development, and evaluation of novel visualization and interaction techniques. Lee strives to empower people to achieve their goals by leveraging data, visualization, and technological advancements. She explores innovative ways to help people interact with data, by supporting easy and effective data collection, data exploration & analysis, and data-driven communication. Lee is the Chair of the IEEE VGTC (Visualization and Graphics Technical Community) and a member of the IEEE Visualization Executive Committee and ACM ISS Steering Committee. She was inducted into the IEEE Visualization Academy in 2020. Lee currently serves as the Overall Papers Co-Chair for VIS 2022. She served as the General Co-Chair for ISS 2019 and IEEE PacificVis 2017, Subcommittee Co-Chair for ACM CHI 2021 \& 2022 (for the Visualization Subcommittee), Overall Papers Co-Chair for VIS 2021, as well as Papers Co-Chair for IEEE InfoVis 2015 & 2016, and IEEE PacificVis 2018. Lee received her PhD in Computer Science from the University of Maryland at College Park in 2006.

Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is very often described as a practical and applied field, tackling real problems faced by real users. And yet, our real-world orientation seems to rarely translate into real-world impact. There are surprisingly few startups coming out of the large HCI community, and very few people among us can rightly claim “that feature [or product] came from my paper!” This naturally begs the question: “Why are we doing all this research if it’s never adopted?!” In this keynote talk, I will attempt to unpick the forces at play behind this substantive issue, drawing on both historical examples and my own experiences as an academic and entrepreneur. In short, there is a constellation of factors – big and small – that contribute to a sort of innovation “fog of war”. Second, it may be that we are over-focused on being practical and applied, when we should be more impractical and decoupled from today’s reality, and instead be planting impactful seeds for the future.

Spotting the Elusive Grandis impactus in the HCI Savannah

Chris Harrison

Chris Harrison is an Associate Professor of Human-Computer Interaction at Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Harrison leads the Future Interfaces Group (www.figlab.com), broadly investigating novel sensing and interactive technologies. Dr. Harrison has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed papers and his work appears in more than 40 books. For his innovations, Harrison has been named as a Top 35 Innovator by MIT Technology Review, a Top 30 Scientist by Forbes, and a World Economic Forum Young Scientist. Harrison has also been named a fellow by the Packard Foundation, Sloan Foundation, Google, Qualcomm and Microsoft Research. He is also co-founder and CTO of Qeexo, a CMU spinoff working at the intersection of interactive technologies and artificial intelligence. His website is (www.chrisharrison.net).

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