Welcome to CONVERSATIONS 2024, a two-day workshop on chatbots and human-centred AI. This is the 8th workshop in the CONVERSATIONS series. We invite researchers and practitioners with an interest in the workshop topics to submit papers reporting research outcomes, preliminary findings or positions for sharing and discussion at the workshop. Accepted full papers will be published in the workshop proceedings at Springer LNCS.

This year the scope of the workshop extends beyond chatbot research to include also other highly relevant application areas of human-centred AI – including human-AI interaction, human-AI collaboration and decision making, trustworthy AI, human-centred research on generative AI and large language models.

Paper presentations will be conducted on-site at the workshop location. However, to allow for a broadest possible involvement of interested researchers and practitioners in sharing and discussion, there will be opportunities for online participation for non-presenting participants.

- DATE: December 4-5
- LOCATION: CERTH, Thessaloniki, Greece
- WORKSHOP FORMAT: On-site presentations, on-site and online attendance.
- PAPER SUBMISSION DEADLINE (firm deadline): September 25
- WORKSHOP WEBSITE: https://2024.conversations.ws/

Researchers and practitioners are encouraged to submit papers and presentations for inclusion in the workshop, considering the following submission categories:

- FULL PAPERS: Empirical studies, theoretical contributions, design research, or presentations of chatbots and human-centred AI that advance the state-of-the-art (12-16 pages, Springer LNCS format). To be presented at the workshop and published in the Springer LNCS workshop proceedings.

- SHORT PAPERS: Preliminary findings from empirical studies or innovative implementations of chatbots and human-centred AI with potential to advance the state-of-the-art (6-8 pages, Springer LNCS format). To be presented at the workshop and published in the Springer LNCS workshop proceedings.

- POSITION PAPERS AND PROJECT PRESENTATIONS: Presentations of exciting research projects, sharing of preliminary results and work in progress, or author positions on open issues regarding chatbots and human-centred AI (3-6 pages, Springer LNCS format). To be presented at the workshop and published at the workshop webpage.

The workshop is truly interdisciplinary, historically spanning fields such as informatics, media and communication science, linguistics and philosophy, psychology and sociology, management and marketing, engineering, design, and human-computer interaction.

IMPORTANT DATES
- September 25: Submission deadline (firm deadline)
- October 25: Author notification
- November 10: Submission of revised papers
- December 4-5: Workshop

KEY TOPICS OF INTEREST
The following topics are of particular interest to the workshop.

1. CHATBOT RESEARCH AND DESIGN. Insight on chatbot user groups, their context of use, and their user experience. Design for efficient and engaging conversational interactions. Democratization of chatbots and chatbots for all. Developments in chatbot frameworks and platforms.

2. HUMAN-AI INTERACTION. Studies of the dynamics of human interaction with AI systems. Insight to help understand and improve how humans perceive, interpret, and respond to AI. Design principles and guidelines for human-AI interaction.

3. HUMAN-AI COLLABORATION AND DECISION MAKING. Explorations of the synergy between humans and AI in collaboration and decision-making. Sliding decision making between humans and AI. Collaborative intelligence, where human intuition and creativity are enhanced by AI’s data-processing capabilities. Frameworks for effective human-AI partnerships in various domains.

4. TRUSTWORTHY AI. Human agency and oversight of AI systems. Ethical aspects of AI, including fairness and non-discrimination. Transparency and accountability of AI. Alignment of AI-systems to human values. Building justified public trust in AI. AI for societal and environmental well-being.

5. HUMAN-CENTRED RESEARCH ON GENERATIVE AI AND LARGE LANGUAGE MODELS. User uptake and experiences of generative AI and large language models. Business and government applications. Societal implications. Impact of generative AI and large language models on education, creativity and knowledge work.

APPLICATION AREAS
The set of relevant application areas for chatbots and large language models is increasing. We hope at the workshop to include work in areas such as the following:

- GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SERVICE. Providing information and services to citizens or supporting government service provision.
- AT WORK. The use of chatbots and human-centred AI applications in decision support tools, as interface for business intelligence applications, and to support general office work.
- AT HOME. The use of chatbots and human-centred AI to find and access information and services in a home environment. Applications for home assistants.
- CUSTOMER SERVICE. Chatbots and human-centred AI applications used as part of service provision involving end with users – e.g., for support and information purposes.
- EDUCATION. Chatbots and human-centred AI used to support teaching, training, or administrative and social tasks in a learning environment.
- SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT. Chatbots and AI applications for coding support. Opportunities and challenges.
- HEALTH AND THERAPY. Chatbots and human-centre AI applications for health advice, medical counselling, therapeutic programs, or physical training programs.
- MEDIA AND JOURNALISM. Chatbots and AI applications supporting news reporting and consumption. Use cases and critical discussions.
- CREATIVE INDUSTRIES. Chatbots and human-centred AI applications to engage consumers in creative industries services or events.
- ECOMMERCE AND MARKETING. Chatbots and large language models supporting marketing for brands or brokering and sales of goods and services.

The above list is not exhaustive. One can go beyond it to explore novel areas of applications.

WORKSHOP ORGANIZERS
The workshop organising committee includes:
- Asbjørn Følstad, SINTEF, Norway
- Symeon Papadopoulos, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, Greece
- Theo Araujo, University of Amsterdam, the Netherland
- Effie L.-C. Law, Durham University, UK
- Ewa Luger, University of Edinburgh, UK
- Sebastian Hobert, TH Lübeck – University of Applied Sciences, Germany
- Petter Bae Brandtzaeg, University of Oslo and SINTEF, Norway