Activities and Events

In June 2024, Martin Cunneen organised an international-focused workshop on participatory technology assessment. The workshop brought together academics from the University of Cambridge, the University of Limerick, and members of the Irish Chamber Orchestra to explore the use of Extended Reality (XR) and Mixed Reality (MR) in classical music. Discussions focused on a trustworthy framework for Extended Reality Applications and potential new immersive environments. The brainstorming focused on assessing the value of participatory technology assessments while also addressing governance and ethics. In addition, there was a focused discussion on the social benefits of extended reality and its possible health applications that offer therapeutic applications. The event highlighted interdisciplinary collaboration and the role of MR in advancing ethical technology, therapeutic innovation, and academic dissemination through targeted publications.

The XTREME project team participated in the Tacit Engagement in the Digital Age (TEDA) 2024 conference, held on September 19-20, 2024, at the University of Cambridge. During the event, we had the opportunity to meet other XTREME project members and share insights about our work on mixed reality (MR) technologies with experts from various disciplines. Our contribution focused on introducing the XTREME project and showcasing how MR can enrich engagement. We are pleased to announce that our contributions were accepted for publication as part of a special issue in the AI & Society Journal.

The annual Irish Association of Law Teachers Conference took place on the 15th and 16th of November 2024 at Maynooth University. The theme of the conference was Technology and Humanity: Enabling, Restricting or Prohibiting. Dr Ruhi Anand presented a paper titled Data Work and Artificial Artificial Intelligence which discussed the precarity of digital /data work on which digital technologies (like AI and XR) heavily rely and critically evaluated the safety net afforded to data workers following the introduction of the new Platform Work Directive of the EU.