The CHI26 Workshop on the Future of Cognitive Personal Informatics
Christina Schneegass, Francesco Chiossi, Anna L. Cox, Dimitra Dritsa, Teodora Mitrevska, Stephen Rainey, Max L. Wilson
TL;DR
Cognitive Personal Informatics (CPI) aims to quantify cognitive states using wearable and ambient signals, but presents complex, context-dependent data with ethical risks. This CHI26 workshop proposes a structured, discussion-driven agenda to explore what signals to sense, how to present cognitive data, how to keep users engaged, how to integrate and moderate AI, and how to address neuroethics and inclusivity, while leveraging genAI for data sensemaking. The event seeks to distill urgent CPI challenges and craft a research agenda and roadmap, accompanied by publications and community-building activities to advance responsible CPI development. By focusing on signal choice, data presentation, AI mediation, and governance, the workshop aims to shape practical CPI designs that empower users without compromising agency or safety amid rapidly evolving wearables and AI technologies.
Abstract
Research on Cognitive Personal Informatics (CPI) is steadily growing as new wearable cognitive tracking technologies emerge on the consumer market, claiming to measure stress, focus, and other cognitive factors. At the same time, with generative AI offering new ways to analyse, visualize, and interpret cognitive data, we hypothesize that cognitive tracking will soon become as simple as measuring your heart rate during a run. Yet, cognitive data remains inherently more complex, context-dependent, and less well understood than physical activity data. This workshop brings together HCI experts to discuss critical questions, including: How can complex cognitive data be translated into meaningful metrics? How can AI support users' data sensemaking without over-simplifying cognitive insights? How can we design inclusive CPI technologies that consider inter-personal variance and neurodiversity? We will map