Intimate Computing

Towards a caring and inspiring Digital Society

Welcome to Dr. M. Birna van Riemsdijk’s website! Intimate Computing is about digital technologies that in some sense “come close” to us in our daily lives. Examples are quantified self, mobile location sharing apps, social media, wearables and high-tech clothing, as well as behaviour support technology such as smart homes.

I posit that the intimate nature of these technologies makes us vulnerable in specific ways. In line with this idea, I put forward a vision of intimate computing as computing with vulnerability. This means that intimate technologies should take into account human vulnerabilities, allowing people to reflect on and actively shape their vulnerable existence in interaction with these technologies. In this way, we create a caring and inspiring digital society that embraces softness and vulnerability, allowing us to feel wonder and tenderness in our intimate technological experiences.

Do you want to know more? Then take a look at the research page or read more about me!

I wish you an inspiring site visit,
Birna van Riemsdijk
Associate professor Intimate Computing, University of Twente


Latest News

July 3, 2020

New 4TU.NIRICT Call Diversity-Equity-Inclusion!

4TU.NIRICT strives to create a united 4TU ICT community, which requires a culture and environment where all members can participate...
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June 17, 2020

PhD Vacancy Interactive Machine Reasoning for Responsible Hybrid Intelligence

We have an open a vacancy for a PhD student to work within the national Dutch gravitation programme on Hybrid...
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March 26, 2020

First publication on Social Situation Awareness accepted!

I am happy to report that our first publication on Social Situation Awareness for behaviour support agents with Ilir Kola...
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February 21, 2020

We’re hiring! #PhDposition

We will soon start looking for a PhD student to work on "Interactive Machine Reasoning for Responsible Hybrid Intelligence" within...
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November 6, 2019

Joined Lorentz Center Informatics Advisory Board

I've joined the Informatics Advisory Board of the Lorentz Center in Leiden. The Lorentz Center is a national center for...
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October 4, 2019

Paper accepted for PRIMA’19!

Our paper "From good intentions to behaviour change: Probabilistic Feature Diagrams for Behaviour Support Agents" with Malte Kliess and Marielle...
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July 3, 2019

UNESCO Video on AI & Society

UNESCO has released a beautiful video on AI, Ethics & Society with interviews by myself, prof. Peter-Paul Verbeek, and others....
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March 25, 2019

New “Videos” Section

I have added a new "Videos" section to the website! Featuring lectures and pitches on Intimate Technology, Responsible Data Sharing, and Social Sensing. Continue Reading →
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March 10, 2019

New “About Me” Section

I've written a new "About Me" section for this website, with pages about my career, my values, and my inspiration. Check it out if you want to know more! Continue Reading →
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January 1, 2019

New year, new website!

A skeleton of my new Intimate Computing website is available! Check back in the coming weeks to see it develop! Continue Reading →
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