arXiv subjects

Ching Christie Pang

Publications and source records attributed to Ching Christie Pang.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Co-Designing Digital Humans for Online Learning: A Framework for Human-AI Pedagogical Integration

Artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs) are reshaping education, with virtual avatars emerging as digital teachers capable of enhancing engagement, sustaining attention, and addressing instructor shortages. Aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for equitable quality education, these technologies hold promise yet lack clear guidelines for effective design and implementation in online learning. To fill this gap, we introduce a framework specifying when, what, and how digital teachers should be integrated. Our study combines (1) a design space analysis of 87 works across AI, educational technology, design, and HCI, (2) a survey of 132 learners' practices and preferences, and (3) three co-design workshops with 18 experts from pedagogy, design, and AI. It provides actionable guidance for educators, designers, and HCI researchers, advancing opportunities to build more engaging, equitable, and effective online learning environments powered by digital teachers.

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arXiv2026

The Decline of Online Knowledge Communities: Obstacles, Workarounds, and Sustainability

Online knowledge communities (OKC) such as Stack Exchange, Reddit, and Zhihu have long functioned as socio technical infrastructures for collective problem solving. The rapid adoption of Generative AI (GenAI) introduces both complementarity and substitution. Large language models (LLMs) offer faster, more accessible drafts, yet divert traffic and contributions away from OKC that also provided their training data. To understand how communities adapt under this systemic shock, we report a mixed-methods study combining an online survey (N=217) and interviews with 11 current users. Findings show that while users increasingly rely on AI for convenience, they still turn to OKC for complex, ambiguous, or trust sensitive questions. Participants express polarized attitudes toward AI, reflecting divergent hopes and uncertainties about its role. Yet across perspectives, sustaining sociability, empathy, and reciprocity emerges as essential for community resilience. We argue that GenAI's impact constitutes not a terminal decline but a design challenge: to reimagine socio-technical complementarities that balance automation's efficiency with human judgment, trust, and collective stewardship in the evolving knowledge commons. To decline or sustain, it is now or never to take action.

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arXiv2026

The AI Amplifier Effect: Defining Human-AI Intimacy and Romantic Relationships with Conversational AI

What does it mean to fall in love with something we know is virtual? The proliferation of conversational AI enables users to create customizable companions, fostering new intimate relationships that, while virtual, are perceived as authentic. However, public understanding of these bonds is limited, and platform policies regarding these interactions remain inconsistent. There is a pressing need for further HCI research to investigate: (a) the design affordances in AI that construct bonds and a sense of intimacy, (b) how such long-term engagement impacts users' real lives, and (c) how to balance user autonomy with platform regulation in the design of these systems without compromising users' well-being and experiences. This paper takes a step toward addressing these goals by providing a concrete definition of human AI intimacy based on in depth interviews with 30 users engaged in romantic relationships with AI companions. We elucidate the complexities of these relationships, from their formation to sustainability, and identify key features of the bonds formed. Notably, we introduce the AI Amplifier Effect, where the AI serves as a medium that intensifies the user's existing emotional state, leading to divergent positive, neutral, and negative impacts. We argue that designing for emotion must extend beyond technical affordances to encompass the essence of human affection. This paper's contributions aim to initiate a conversation and guide future research on human AI relationships within the HCI community.

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arXiv2025

Talking Spell: A Wearable System Enabling Real-Time Anthropomorphic Voice Interaction with Everyday Objects

Virtual assistants (VAs) have become ubiquitous in daily life, integrated into smartphones and smart devices, sparking interest in AI companions that enhance user experiences and foster emotional connections. However, existing companions are often embedded in specific objects-such as glasses, home assistants, or dolls-requiring users to form emotional bonds with unfamiliar items, which can lead to reduced engagement and feelings of detachment. To address this, we introduce Talking Spell, a wearable system that empowers users to imbue any everyday object with speech and anthropomorphic personas through a user-centric radiative network. Leveraging advanced computer vision (e.g., YOLOv11 for object detection), large vision-language models (e.g., QWEN-VL for persona generation), speech-to-text and text-to-speech technologies, Talking Spell guides users through three stages of emotional connection: acquaintance, familiarization, and bonding. We validated our system through a user study involving 12 participants, utilizing Talking Spell to explore four interaction intentions: entertainment, companionship, utility, and creativity. The results demonstrate its effectiveness in fostering meaningful interactions and emotional significance with everyday objects. Our findings indicate that Talking Spell creates engaging and personalized experiences, as demonstrated through various devices, ranging from accessories to essential wearables.

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arXiv2025

`My Dataset of Love': A Preliminary Mixed-Method Exploration of Human-AI Romantic Relationships

Human-AI romantic relationships have gained wide popularity among social media users in China. The technological impact on romantic relationships and its potential applications have long drawn research attention to topics such as relationship preservation and negativity mitigation. Media and communication studies also explore the practices in romantic para-social relationships. Nonetheless, this emerging human-AI romantic relationship, whether the relations fall into the category of para-social relationship together with its navigation pattern, remains unexplored, particularly in the context of relational stages and emotional attachment. This research thus seeks to fill this gap by presenting a mixed-method approach on 1,766 posts and 60,925 comments from Xiaohongshu, as well as the semi-structured interviews with 23 participants, of whom one of them developed her relationship with self-created AI for three years. The findings revealed that the users' willingness to self-disclose to AI companions led to increased positivity without social stigma. The results also unveiled the reciprocal nature of these interactions, the dominance of 'self', and raised concerns about language misuse, bias, and data security in AI communication.

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arXiv2024

Artificial Human Lecturers: Initial Findings From Asia's First AI Lecturers in Class to Promote Innovation in Education

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has become increasingly integrated into education, reshaping traditional learning environments. Despite this, there has been limited investigation into fully operational artificial human lecturers. To the best of our knowledge, our paper presents the world's first study examining their deployment in a real-world educational setting. Specifically, we investigate the use of "digital teachers," AI-powered virtual lecturers, in a postgraduate course at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). Our study explores how features such as appearance, non-verbal cues, voice, and verbal expression impact students' learning experiences. Findings suggest that students highly value naturalness, authenticity, and interactivity in digital teachers, highlighting areas for improvement, such as increased responsiveness, personalized avatars, and integration with larger learning platforms. We conclude that digital teachers have significant potential to enhance education by providing a more flexible, engaging, personalized, and accessible learning experience for students.

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arXiv2023

StoryChat: Designing a Narrative-Based Viewer Participation Tool for Live Streaming Chatrooms

Live streaming platforms and existing viewer participation tools enable users to interact and engage with an online community, but the anonymity and scale of chat usually result in the spread of negative comments. However, only a few existing moderation tools investigate the influence of proactive moderation on viewers' engagement and prosocial behavior. To address this, we developed StoryChat, a narrative-based viewer participation tool that utilizes a dynamic graphical plot to reflect chatroom negativity. We crafted the narrative through a viewer-centered (N=65) iterative design process and evaluated the tool with 48 experienced viewers in a deployment study. We discovered that StoryChat encouraged viewers to contribute prosocial comments, increased viewer engagement, and fostered viewers' sense of community. Viewers reported a closer connection between streamers and other viewers because of the narrative design, suggesting that narrative-based viewer engagement tools have the potential to encourage community engagement and prosocial behaviors.

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