Digitally-Induced Altered States of Consciousness and Playful HCI: Future Research Agenda of a Novel Perspective
ACM SIGCHI Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play October 6, 2023 Anatolii Belousov, Terho Ojell-Järventausta, Mila Bujić et al.
Digital technologies are increasingly able to induce altered states of consciousness (ASC), a phenomenon the authors term digitally-induced altered states of consciousness (DIAL). Examples range from binaural beats to video games. The authors propose DIAL as a unified field for studying all digital technologies used to alter consciousness. They argue that the societal impact of DIAL technologies will be widespread, affecting political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal (PESTEL) contexts. The paper outlines a research agenda to encourage interdisciplinary discussion and preparation for the ubiquity of these technologies.