The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Exploring the Potential of VR for Decolonial Storytelling
A key focus of the CIIIC stimulus programme is public values. How do we ensure that IX applications are developed, applied and used responsibly? This theme runs as a common thread through all funded projects. The project by Inholland University of Applied Sciences (with, among others, the Nationaal Archief and the Koninklijke Bibliotheek) even focuses entirely on public values. Central to it is the question of how scriptwriters can responsibly develop cinematographic VR narratives about colonial histories and their repercussions in present-day society.
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Van ethische dilemma’s naar toekomstdenken: immersieve technologie als katalysator voor inclusieve besluitvorming
Technological innovations bring urgent ethical questions with them. These questions call not only for an assessment of what is desirable, but also for anticipating possible futures and the values that are central to them. A major barrier to inclusive decision-making is a lack of futures awareness and ethical capacity. Many people find it hard to imagine the implications of technology. Non-users in particular experience a knowledge gap and feel they cannot join the conversation, even though they do undergo technology's impact. This problem is reinforced because the future of a technology is often imagined by a handful of companies whose business models encourage polarisation and digital dependency, while environmental impact and social costs are externalised. This increases the likelihood of one-sided decision-making. The project applies ethics-by-design by involving a city's residents inclusively and actively in exploring ethical dilemmas around emerging technology. We use social friction as a source of innovation and connect technology development to values such as safety, power and inclusion. The research focuses on strengthening the imagination through two 'Moral Labs': 1 - a traditional presentation (image and text), followed by a conversation; 2 - an immersive presentation in Virtual Reality (VR), followed by a conversation. In both scenarios, several participants discuss the positions taken and the moral dilemmas together. The VR intervention uses multiplayer functionality to create social presence. By running a moderated split test on the two scenarios above, this research weighs the effectiveness of an immersive experience against the traditional presentation. The richness of both conversations is analysed using Ahvenharju's (2018) five dimensions of futures consciousness and the LIWC tool (Boyd, 2022). The results offer insight into how immersive technology can contribute to inclusive ethical dialogue and democratic decision-making.
EGG: Hoe een immersieve kunst beleving over transitie doorwerkt in het dagelijks leven van mensen en groepen in een wijk
EGG is a large-scale, sensory, interactive and learning art installation in the shape of an egg that invites encounter and conversation about societal system transitions. The sculpture has a smooth, organic form. Visitors can lean against it, climb on it and move around it freely. They can experience, through their senses, the 'hatching process' of an unknown, fictional creature inside the egg. Using augmented reality (AR) and sensor technology, EGG responds to heat, light and sound. This creates a responsive and partly unpredictable system that prompts spontaneous encounters and conversations among bystanders about transitions in the neighbourhood. In carrying out the project and the research, the Public Values Guideline for Immersive Experiences (CIIIC) is used as a framework for the careful handling of visitors, data and societal impact. Art and performance can have substantial effects on empathy, meaning-making and shifts in perspective (Brown & Novak-Leonard, 2011; Broadhead & Hooper, 2024; Norton, 2015). Knowledge about how such experiences carry over into everyday behaviour, social relationships and neighbourhood-based transition practices (Spaas, 2024; Horvath et al., 2025) is, however, limited. This research addresses the question: how do the installation and its development over time resonate through people and through neighbourhood-based transition processes (Vervoort et al., 2020)? And how can the effects of human-art interaction be understood in terms of values, relationships and community formation (scaling deep), as a basis for a meaningful translation to other contexts (scaling out) (Fraser, 2010 & 2023; Moore et al., 2015)? The research maps experiences, emotions, meanings and possible shifts in thinking and acting, and uses qualitative research to build on the data the installation generates: • EGG as Canvas: visitors leave written, drawn and material traces; • EGG Radio: a participatory platform where young people in particular discuss their experiences; • AR and sensor data: making interactions, attention and patterns of resonance visible.
Responsible Immersive Support for Firefighter Retreat under Unreliable Spatial and Communication Information
Firefighters retreating from a building work under extreme time pressure, poor visibility and high mental load - precisely when positioning and communication can become unreliable. The University of Twente is investigating how immersive systems can make that uncertainty visible and understandable, so that digital cues support decision-making without creating false certainty or placing an extra burden on users.
Experience the future, embrace the change: The potential of IX to create and leverage teachable moments and improve lifestyle behaviors in osteoarthritis patients
A healthy lifestyle is crucial for many patients, but a doctor's advice alone rarely leads to lasting behaviour change. Tilburg University is investigating whether immersive experiences can create and reinforce so-called teachable moments in osteoarthritis patients: moments in which a patient vividly realises the consequences of an unhealthy lifestyle. In IX, patients experience the long-term consequences of their behaviour in an emotionally resonant way, as a driver of motivation to live more healthily.