SYNAPSE: A Sociotechnical Taxonomy of Bioadaptive Media
Full citation (APA): Bujić, M., & Hamari, J. (2026). SYNAPSE: A Sociotechnical Taxonomy of Bioadaptive Media. In Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. ACM.
Abstract: With advances in biosensing and artificial intelligence, we are seeing fast developments of recursive biocybernetic closed-loop systems. These media technologies adapt the content in real-time based on users’ psychophysiological input, with the goal of modulating users' affective responses. However, existing research primarily focuses on technical design aspects.
Building on Science, Technology, and Society, media, and HCI studies, we developed a critically grounded sociotechnical taxonomy of bioadaptive media with three interdependent dimensions: System Objective, Feedback Logic, and User Agency. By analysing these dimensions on artifact, organisational, and socio-political/ontological levels using our reflexive tool, we can interrogate whose perspectives and epistemologies these systems prioritise.
We illustrate the application of the taxonomy through a critical evaluation of three speculative case studies, namely immersive journalism, collaborative VR, and mind-altering. Finally, we identify and discuss normalisation of affect; agency, power, and politics; and reflexivity and pluralism in design as core issues.
