Reflections on the 2026 CHI Conference
In mid-April, I traveled to Barcelona, Spain, to attend CHI (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems), the largest international conference in my research field. My area of study, HCI (Human-Computer Interaction), explores how people and technology interact, and it is a multidisciplinary field that includes researchers from engineering, psychology, design, and more. In recent years, a central theme has been how AI and humans can work and communicate together. At my lab, we mainly develop LLM-based systems ourselves and conduct user studies that research the experiences of real users interacting with these systems.
1. Ideation through Other Research
The CHI program is broadly divided into sessions, workshops/meetups, and posters. Sessions are where authors present their accepted full papers, while workshops and meetups provide smaller, in-depth discussions on specific topics. Listening to presentations by other researchers gave me ideas for my own work and helped me analyze what methodologies similar studies employed.
I mainly focused on two themes during the sessions: the mental health and AI companion fields, which I have been interested in recently, and the interface field, which I’m beginning to explore. One particularly impressive study was Texterial: A Text-as-Material Interaction Paradigm for LLM-Mediated Writing, presented in the GenAI interface session. This research proposed a novel interaction paradigm treating text itself as a material, investigating through focus group studies how users can interact by cutting, pasting, and reshaping text like a physical substance within an LLM-based writing environment. It was clear that LLM interface paradigms are rapidly expanding from simple text input/output to haptics, motion, and physical interactions in real spaces.
2. A First Presentation Experience That Defied Expectations
I participated in this conference as a poster presenter. I presented on the topic of a multi-agent LLM chatbot designed to help early-career professionals manage workplace stress. The idea originated from my undergraduate background in psychology and from hearing about the experiences of friends working full-time.
The poster presentation took place in a large banquet hall-like space, where posters were displayed by topic and interested attendees could approach to discuss the research. Although I prepared and practiced multiple versions of a script for my first presentation, it turned out to be almost pointless once I was there. This was because interactions were conversational—attendees would ask spontaneous questions, and I would respond in real time, continuing the discussion on the spot. Thanks to this, I had the opportunity to engage in deep one-on-one discussions with researchers who shared similar interests.
3. Networking
Beyond academic sessions, CHI offers many informal opportunities for interaction. Among those, KAIST Night and SNU Night left a strong impression. KAIST Night was an event open to invited guests from outside, while SNU Night brought together HCI labs from Seoul National University to mingle and network.
During the two-day networking parties, I connected not only with domestic researchers but also with overseas labs, postdocs, and members from Naver AI research labs. Conversations ranged from research topics and lab cultures to current industry trends and career paths. One memorable discussion was sharing perspectives on how junior researchers and students should utilize AI. We agreed that rather than relying on AI, it is crucial to develop one’s own critical thinking skills, which ultimately become a unique competitive advantage.
Attending the conference as a first-time presenter was more than simply acquiring knowledge. Although papers can be read online, knowing that researchers worldwide are grappling with similar issues and being able to converse with them directly was unexpectedly empowering. I left highly motivated, with aspirations to present in a session next time. Above all, I was exposed to various perspectives on what it means to conduct research genuinely applicable to people and real-world settings, which I hope to integrate into my future work.