Authors:
Elizabeth F. Churchill, Mikael Wiberg
In 1962, Douglas Engelbart wrote "Augmenting Human Intellect: A Conceptual Framework." Engelbart was ahead of his time, pushing the boundaries of what were then new technological potentials. In the intervening years, his explorations of what such augmentation could look like have become commonplace (e.g., the mouse and video conferencing).
Now, augmentation is set to expand; we are on the cusp of new technological shifts that will change how we think about it. That process will drive new paradigms within human-computer interaction, or rather human-computation interaction, since the design need is increasingly evolving. Examples include "intelligent" agents that will be part of any teamwork scenario; "embodied" and "embedded" AI, from robots to prosthetics and wearables that capture brain signals, amplify us, and shift interaction modalities as needed; and "smart environments" that react to individual and group movements.
In the first issue of Interactions for 2025, just over 62 years after Engelbart's framework was penned, our contributors engage with what augmentation means now and what it could mean in the near future.
In our cover story, "Assistive Augmentation: Fundamentally Transforming Human Ability," Suranga Nanayakkara and colleagues entreat readers to see technologies differently, stating that "user-system coexistence and compatibility (e.g., 'I will use this device' and 'This is a user-friendly device')" needs to be reframed as an "integration and augmentation of ability (e.g., 'This device is a part of me' and 'I have evolved with technology to unlock my full potential')." Here, personalization and adaptation are much more sophisticated, and the research agenda is clear, even if the technological applications and their proven positive impacts are yet to be determined.
Chris Crawford continues with the theme of augmentation in "Physiological Computing for All: Exploring Neural Interface Education," in our Community + Culture forum. He explores how physiological data like muscle and brain signals can become interaction and computational control modalities. You may remember the much-discussed 2016 brain-drone race at the University of Florida, where a consumer-grade EEG device was used to drive drones. Crawford discusses Neuroblock, the software that takes the capabilities demonstrated at that event and looks into its potential for learning, from fun and gimmicky to possibly positive outcomes for all learners. It's HCI at its best.
The last item on the augmentation theme reminds us that it doesn't simply mean extending the capabilities of individuals or groups of humans working together. It also means changing our behaviors to ensure a long life for the planet and all its inhabitants, including those who are other than human. We are therefore delighted to launch a new forum, Climate for Change, led by Robert Soden, Vishal Sharma, Matthew Louis Mauriello, and Nicola J. Bidwell. The authors aptly state that "a problem as systemic as climate change demands new ways of thinking that go beyond those that contributed to it" and are inviting contributions across a range of approaches to expand and deepen the HCI remit around designing for positive climate action.
We are on the cusp of new technological shifts that will change how we think about augmentation.
We also have a feature addressing a topic close to the hearts of many of our readers: publication at CHI and its ongoing impact. In "CHI's Greatest Hits: Analyzing the 100 Most-Cited Papers in 43 Years of Research at ACM CHI," Johannes Schöning and his coauthors share their research on the most-cited papers and discuss the themes that have changed the world of HCI—those that acted as immediate leaders in the field and those that proved prescient only in retrospect. Their analysis reminds us that recognition may not be immediate, and impact may take decades to come. That brings us back to Doug Engelbart, serving as a timely reminder as we enter a new year that what we do today may take some time to land.
As always, we close with Exit. Our curators, Scott Minneman and Renato Verdugo, share the inspiration of Gary Hustwit's documentary project about Brian Eno as a generative media pioneer.
We draw inspiration from Eno, Engelbart, and others who continue to push the limits of what's possible and break new ground. Welcome to Interactions 2025!
Elizabeth F. Churchill and Mikael Wiberg
[email protected]
Copyright 2025 held by owners/authors
The Digital Library is published by the Association for Computing Machinery. Copyright © 2025 ACM, Inc.
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