GuestXR partners have developed two applications based on immersive technologies that aim to promote perspective taking between different parties for conflict mediation and prevent escalation in social conflicts.
The GuestXR project, coordinated by Eurecat Technology Center, has employed virtual reality and artificial intelligence to build a metaverse for good, aiming to reduce conflict and boost empathy and understanding. With this aim, project partners have created an immersive solution integrated by an AI agent, known as the “Guest”, that monitors interactions and dynamically adjusts the virtual environment to promote calm, mitigate tensions, and encourage constructive dialogue.
“We are investigating how virtual reality environments can serve as powerful platforms for addressing and potentially resolving conflicts,” said Mel Slater, GuestXR scientific leader from the University of Barcelona.
Following this endeavour, the project developed applications allowing participants to, on one hand, explore different perspectives in conflict situations and, on another hand, examine the dynamics of social protests, exploring factors that can turn these gatherings violent.
VR as a tool for conflict mediation in a metaverse for good
By immersing participants in virtual environments that replicate real-life scenarios, virtual reality offers an avenue for mediation that may otherwise be difficult to find in traditional settings. The GuestXR project team has developed virtual reality scenarios allowing individuals in conflict to explore other perspectives and engage in constructive dialogue.
“We aim to humanize opposing perspectives, making it possible for individuals to experience each other’s point of view in a more empathetic and understanding way,” said Esen Küçüktütüncü PhD student from the Event Lab of the University of Barcelona and responsible for the conflict resolution application of the GuestXR project. “We believe this technology can revolutionize how mediation is conducted, creating more effective pathways toward peace and finding common ground.”
To date, the conflict mediation solution has been tested in a virtual reality application focused on climate change, where participants discussed differing views on reducing air travel. Preliminary findings indicate that participants experienced attitude shifts after engaging in the application. Moreover, deeper analysis indicated an increase in openness and positive sentiment among participants.
Studying protest dynamics and triggers of violence through virtual reality
Moreover, the GuestXR project delved into the complex nature of social protests, using virtual reality to investigate the behaviours and conditions that can escalate peaceful gatherings into violent conflicts. Researchers from the UiT The Arctic University of Norway, with support from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), together with the support of GuestXR partner Virtual Bodyworks, are focusing on the virtual recreation of three contemporary protests to analyse individual and group responses.
The scenarios developed include a demonstration for the women’s abortion rights in Warsaw, the pro-democracy “Be Water” protests in Hong Kong, and the climate demonstrations in Norway.
“We aim to explore protest dynamics from multiple perspectives, including pedagogical and artistic, to gain a comprehensive understanding of the factors that promote peaceful demonstrations versus those that trigger crowd violence,” explained Ana Luisa Sanchez Laws, Full Professor at the Centre for Peace Studies at UiT The Arctic University of Norway.
“The experience, including detailed visual and auditory components of each of the protests, will also investigate at which extent the Guest can influence participants to engage peacefully in the virtual protests”, adds Bernhard Spanlang Co-founder and CTO of Virtual Bodyworks.
Supported by a consortium of international partners, the GuestXR project brings together expertise in technology, psychology, and conflict studies to break new ground in understanding and responding to complex social challenges. With VR as its vehicle, GuestXR is advancing research that has the potential to reshape conflict mediation and protest analysis, aiming for a metaverse for good.
Alongside Eurecat, four universities (the University of Maastricht, the University of Warsaw, the University of Barcelona and Reichman University), a research institute (Inria) and two businesses (Virtual Bodyworks and g.tec medical engineering GMBH) are also taking part in the project.
