papers conference video gather-town

The World's First Paper That is Not a Paper

This contribution to the ever-popular alternative track at the Human Factors in Computing Conference (alt.CHI) offers a novel lens on what the future of conferences could be.

Dr Joseph Lindley 15 Apr 2021

This is not a paper

This is the world’s first ever academic paper which is not a paper. Presented at the world’s leading conference on Human-Computer Interaction, this work plays with the very concept of what a research paper actually is.

You can actually walk ‘in’ to this paper. Each room is a section where you can read the text, but you can also actually bump into other conference delegates there.

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused us to reassess many things in life, this work does the same, it’s about collapsing barriers between video chat, research conferences, and publication traditions.

You can visit (and ‘walk around’) the work here: https://designresearch.works/thisisnotapaper

Written by

Dr Joseph Lindley

Joe leads Design Research Works and is a Senior Research Fellow at Lancaster University. He is passionate about the value of Design Research, in particular in applying that value to the challenges associated with emerging technologies, rapid societal change, and living sustainably. Probably best described as a 'generalist' his research practice usually involves material engagements with possible futures.