Me²: Co-designing deepfake encounters with one's child self in XR
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Author (Corporation)
Publication date
13.04.2026
Type of student thesis
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04B - Conference paper
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Parent work
CHI EA '26: Proceedings of the Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
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Pages / Duration
1-7
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Publisher / Publishing institution
ACM
Place of publication / Event location
New York
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Abstract
Mental-health interventions often rely on imaginary self-dialogues. However, sustaining mental imagery can be a barrier for some people. XR approaches to overcome this often involve complex technical efforts to personalize content, which might hinder clinical adoption. Here, we present Me², a deepfake-enabled XR system that requires only a single childhood photograph to support encounters with one’s younger self: enabling users to verbally and tactilely comfort a hyperrealistic, emotionally expressive child replica, and subsequently switch perspectives to receive that comfort themselves. We report on a co-design process with psychotherapists, a multidisciplinary team, and naive participants, describing emerging technology and study protocols highlighting trade-offs between clinical efficacy and adoption feasibility. The final design incorporates minimal haptic feedback solution and control over emotional expressions, resulting in feelings of embodiment, emotional engagement and increased self-compassion in naïve participants.
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Event
CHI EA '26: Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
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Conference start date
13.04.2026
Conference end date
17.04.2026
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ISBN
979-8-4007-2281-3
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Language
English
Created during FHNW affiliation
Yes
Strategic action fields FHNW
Publication status
Published
Review
not peer-reviewed
Open access category
Gold
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Citation
Frund, R. L., Zybinska, P., Wiesendanger, J., Brandenberger, D., Márquez Segura, E., Rühlmann, C., Kivelitz, L., Kleim, B., Lenggenhager, B., & Roel Lesur, M. (2026). Me²: Co-designing deepfake encounters with one’s child self in XR. CHI EA ’26: Proceedings of the Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1145/3772363.3799394