Researchers from the Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society at the University of Notre Dame have been honored with the “Best Paper Award” at the 27th ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW 2024) held in San José, Costa Rica.
The paper, “From Awareness to Action: Exploring End-User Empowerment Interventions for Dark Patterns in UX,” investigates dark patterns—or, the design features on digital platforms that subtly nudge users to perform specific actions—and how they are used on websites to manipulate customers. The researchers proposed an end-user-empowerment intervention approach that helps users raise awareness of dark patterns, understand their underlying design intents, and take actions to counter the effects of dark patterns using a web augmentation approach.
The research was led by first author Yuwen Lu, a Ph.D. student in Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Notre Dame and a Lucy Graduate Scholar from the 2022-2024 cohort.
The paper is co-authored by Lu’s advisor, Toby Li, assistant professor of computer science and engineering and the director of the newly established Human-Centered Responsible AI (HRAI) Lab at the Lucy Family Institute. Collaborators from Zhejiang University, New York University, and Virginia Tech also contributed to the work.
The CSCW is a premier venue for research in designing and using technologies that affect groups, organizations, communities, and networks. Awards and recognitions for CSCW are based on nominations by ACs and reviewers during the paper review processes and chosen by a separate Awards Committee later. Best Paper Awards represent 1% of all submitted papers.
“Dark patterns exploit user trust and manipulate user behaviors, often without their awareness,” said Li, “By equipping users with actionable AI-enabled tools, we aim to shift the balance of power and create a digital world where transparency and fairness are the norm, not the exception.”
This project is part of broader efforts by the HRAI Lab to create AI-driven tools that empower underprivileged users and address systemic inequalities and power imbalances in online spaces.
To learn more about research being powered by the HRAI Lab, please visit the Lucy Family Institute website.
Contact:
Toby Li, Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
Director, Human-Centered Responsible AI (HRAI) Lab
Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society / University of Notre Dame
toby.j.li@nd.edu
About the Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society
Guided by Notre Dame’s Mission, the Lucy Family Institute adventurously collaborates on advancing data-driven and artificial intelligence (AI) convergence research, translational solutions, and education to ethically address society’s wicked problems. As an innovative nexus of academia, industry, and the public, the Institute also fosters data science and AI access to strengthen diverse and inclusive capacity building within communities.