Moirai: Negotiation-through-Interaction for Healthy Exercizing

Scientific Conference (2023, April)

We present Moirai, a device that aids runners in self-regulating their running routine. By negotiating with the device, runners can balance their desire to achieve their goals while preventing ... [more ▼]

We present Moirai, a device that aids runners in self-regulating their running routine. By negotiating with the device, runners can balance their desire to achieve their goals while preventing overtraining injuries. The interaction relies on the strategic repertoire principle, a five-way taxonomy of strategies used in human- human negotiation. The user and the system can use the following strategies: contending, conceding, compromising, problem-solving, and avoiding. Behavior change design predominantly focuses on the first two: contending relates to hard paternalism, where the user has no choice but to accept, and conceding to soft paternalism or nudging, where the user can deviate from a default. The other three strategies are relatively underexplored, the closest to some of these being the aesthetic of friction. Relying on data and human negotiation strategies to reach a goal that is not solely one of the users, Moirai can appear as a moral agent. We envision these principles as applicable beyond the exercising context to other domains that require self-regulation, such as health, sustainability, or productivity- related applications. [less ▲]