- 93 -
E ec s o Cul u e on Open Science and A i icial In elligence in Educa ion
Please ci e his a icle as:
D. G i i hs, J. Owe , P. Hollins, A. Ga g. Gaming as a Medium o he Exp ession o Ci izens' Views on En i onmen al Dilemmas, In e na ional Jou nal o
In e ac i e Mul imedia and A i icial In elligence, ol. 9, no. 2, pp. 93-103, 2025, h p://dx.doi.o g/10.9781/ijimai.2025.02.006
Keywo ds
Ci izen Engagemen ,
Games, Gami ica ion,
Policymake , Su ey.
Abs ac
The decline o adi ional media and channels o communica ion has led o policymake s expe iencing di icul y
in unde s anding public sen imen . A case s udy was conduc ed o explo e how games-based ac i i ies can be
used o p o ide a link be ween ci izens and policy make s. A sys em de eloped by Plane Play, and ex ended in
he GREAT p ojec , was used o embed a su ey in he game SMITE. The in e en ion and su ey ques ions
we e designed in collabo a ion wi h he Uni ed Na ions De elopmen P og amme (UNDP) and he Hi-Rez
game s udio. The e ec i eness o he in as uc u e and he collabo a i e app oach we e demons a ed. The
esul s e ealed some signi ican di e ences in iews on clima e change be ween di e en age g oups, gende s,
and educa ion le el. Howe e , he da a was hea ily skewed owa ds males in he 18-35 age g oup, and o
esponden s in he Uni ed S a es, which limi ed he gene alizabili y o he indings. I was concluded ha
in-game placemen in collabo a ion wi h games s udios is mo e e ec i e han paid placemen , and ha a
wide a ie y o games is needed o ensu e ha a s udy has an adequa e ange o esponden p o iles. Finally,
e lec ions a e o e ed on he possible ole o a i icial in elligence in ga he ing such da a. DOI: 10.9781/ijimai.2025.02.006
Gaming as a Medium o he Exp ession o Ci izens'
Views on En i onmen al Dilemmas
Dai G i i hs1*, Jude Owe 2, Paul Hollins3, Anchal Ga g3
1 Resea ch Ins i u e o Inno a ion & Technology in Educa ion (UNIR iTED), Uni e sidad In e nacional de La Rioja, Log oño,
La Rioja (Spain)
2 Plane Play (UK)
3 The Uni e si y o Bol on (UK)
* Co esponding au ho : da id.g i i hs@uni .ne
Recei ed 8 July 2024 | Accep ed 18 Decembe 2024 | Published 10 Feb ua y 2025
I. In oduc ion
THE esea ch epo ed he e was ca ied ou in he con ex o wo
in e connec ed cul u al ends. The i s , he inc easing c ea i e
ange and each o he games indus y has been gene ally welcomed.
In con as he second end, he decline o adi ional media and
channels o communica ion has gi en widesp ead cause o conce n,
pa icula ly as ega ds channels o communica ion linking ci izens
wi h ci ic au ho i ies and policymake s. The e may o may no be a
deg ee o causal ela ionship be ween he wo p ocesses, bu ha is
no ou conce n he e. Ra he , we iden i y and explo e an oppo uni y
o make use o he o me in add essing some o he conce ns aised
by he la e . Be o e desc ibing ou s udy, we b ie ly in oduce hese
wo ends.
A. The Decline o T adi ional Communica ion Channels
The e is ex ensi e e idence o suppo he s a emen by Con e as-
Espinosa and Blanco [1] ha “many democ acies a e acing, as a
g owing p oblem, a b each o communica ion be ween ci izens and
hei poli ical ep esen a i es”. Since he 1990s, he p opo ion o
ci izens who a e “dissa is ied” wi h democ acy in hei coun ies has
isen by almos 10 pe cen age poin s globally, and he de e io a ion
has been pa icula ly ma ked in high-income, “consolida ed”
democ acies, whe e he p opo ion has isen o a hi d o hal o all
ci izens [2]. Simila ly, he Uni ed Na ions [3] conside s ha dis us o
news sou ces and scien is s is a an all- ime low. Dissa is ac ion and
mis us co ela e wi h skep icism, o example conce ning accines
and co id19 [4] [5]. As Mo elli has a gued, hese lowe le els o us
in ma ke s, go e nmen s, and poli ical ins i u ions ha e led o a
c isis among adi ional pa ies, and o an associa ed ise o populis
igh wing pa ies [6].
The causes o his change a e complex and con es ed, bu i is
ele an ha he e has been a ma ked decadence o ins i u ions which
ha e adi ionally se ed o channel ci izens’ iews o policymake s.
The In e na ional Labo O ganiza ion has epo ed ha he pas hi y
o o y yea s ha e been ma ked by he eplacemen o olde unionized
wo ke s wi h less unionized bu be e educa ed younge wo ke s [7].
Simila ly, and despi e high-p o ile undamen alis excep ions, “mos
high-income coun ies show declining emphasis on eligion” [8] (p.79,
emphasis in he o iginal). Pe haps mos d ama ic is he wo ld-wide
ans o ma ion o he news media landscape. Fo example, in he Uni ed
S a es newspape ci cula ion has allen by abou wo hi ds since 1990
In e na ional Jou nal o In e ac i e Mul imedia and A i icial In elligence, Vol. 9, Nº2
- 94 -
[9] and, co espondingly, 86% o US adul s o en o some imes ge news
om a sma phone, compu e o able , wi h 56% who doing so o en
[10]. This ans o ma ion no doub e lec s he g ea e con enience
o digi al dis ibu ion bu is also impac ed by wo addi ional ac o s.
Fi s ly, some poli icians ha e unde mined news media which hey
see as opposed o hei in e es s, mos no ably Donald T ump, whose
“an agonis ic wee s a e a sys ema ic app oach o delegi imize he
news as an ins i u ion” [11]. Secondly, as K eps e al. [12] obse e,
gene a i e AI is looding he media wi h eno mous olumes o con en ,
which is usually o li le alue and may cons i u e misin o ma ion.
They a gue ha “ his unde mines e o s o unde s and cons i uen
sen imen , h ea ening he quali y o democ a ic ep esen a ion”. I is
p ecisely hese di icul ies in unde s anding public sen imen , lowing
om he ange o ac o s ha we ha e men ioned, which mo i a e he
esea ch epo ed he e.
B. The Eme gence o Game Cul u e
In pa allel wi h he decline o adi ional news media, he e has
been a adical ans o ma ion in en e ainmen media, wi h he digi al
games indus y ha ing become a la ge economic sec o han ei he
music o ilm, and which has been es ima ed o ha e gene a ed $227
billion wo ldwide in 2023 [13]. I can ha dly be doub ed ha his
majo cul u al change has had a majo impac on socie y, bu he e
is no consensus on he consequences, no e en i hese a e posi i e
o nega i e. Acco ding o Ad ienne Shaw [14], he e m ‘ ideo game
cul u e’ became common du ing he i s decade o he 21s Cen u y.
Howe e , she also wa ns ha games playe s a e highly a ied in age,
gende s, sexuali ies, aces, eligions and na ionali ies, and ha “No all
o hese ypes o play and playe s can be encompassed in a s udy o an
isola ed game communi y” [14].
Wha , hen cons i u es he game (o games, o gaming) cul u e
ha has been a ocus o so much discussion o e he pas i een
yea s? Pa icipan s in games cul u e canno eadily be iden i ied, as
hey do no usually wea dis inc i e clo hing, despi e he popula i y
o ‘cosplay’ on special occasions, as desc ibed by Lunning [15]. Mia
Consal o a gues ha membe ship o games cul u e is no only, o
e en mainly, conce ned wi h playing games, i is ma ked by being
knowledgeable abou games, passing ha in o ma ion on, and ha ing
opinions abou games [16].
Games cul u e has o en been c i iqued o being male domina ed,
agg essi e and sexis , and, o example, Ve gel e al. conclude ha
cybe sexism and i s mani es a ions “a e a ha sh eali y o women
who wan o play digi al and online games” [17]. Be his as i may, i is
no ewo hy ha many game s a e women ( hough i is no clea i his
unde mines he conclusion o Ve gel e al., o i i makes i s ill mo e
conce ning). In Eu ope 2022 46.7% o ideo game and console playe s
we e women, while o sma phone and able games hey we e in
he majo i y (51%) [18]. The e has also been widesp ead conce n
ha agg essi e ideo games a e omen ing iolence in socie y, and
especially among people, bu he e is con inuing doub abou he
eali y o his impac . Fo example, in 2020 D ummond e al. epo ed
ha “me a-analy ic s udies now ou inely ind ha he long- e m
impac s o iolen games on you h agg ession a e nea ze o” [19],
while in a me a-analysis o 2021 Bu kha d and Lenha d iden i ied
“a signi ican and meaning ul posi i e e ec o VVG on subsequen
physically agg essi e beha io ” [20].
F om a mo e p ac ical pe spec i e, gaming, oge he wi h social
media, web b owsing, occupies a la ge amoun o young people’s ime,
wi h one s udy es ima ing U.S. eens’ sc een ime a 8.39 hou s pe
day, excluding educa ional ac i i ies [21]. The e is conce n ha his
highly compe i i e a en ion economy [22] may esul in ‘a en ional
se dom’ [23], and a pa alysis o poli ical pa icipa ion in he ace o
he dilemmas which ace socie y.
II. Mo i a ion, Objec i es and Resea ch Ques ions
A. The Mo i a ion o This S udy
As K oge e al. a gue [24], he p e ailing business model o he
games indus y is inc easingly dependen on ha es ing and making
use o pe sonal da a o compe i i e ad an age, o en wi hou playe s
being awa e o wha da a is being collec ed o o wha pu poses.
The apid in oduc ion o a i icial in elligence (AI) ools se es o
accele a e his end and make i s ill mo e opaque. Wi hou en e ing
in o he igh s and w ongs o his p ac ice, we seek o show ha
ano he app oach o da a ga he ing h ough games is possible, wi h
playe s choosing o p o ide da a ela ing o issues which a e ele an
o hem. Mo eo e , we posi ion his da a-ga he ing in e ms o open
science, p oposing a me hodology wi hin which he pa icipa ion o
s akeholde s can be maximized, and da a can be made widely a ailable
o social bene i , in ou case he exp ession o ci izens’ iews on
policy dilemmas.
The s eng h o games cul u e has long been seen as an oppo uni y
o communica e ideas, p omo e a i udinal change, and enhance
educa ional p ocesses. Howe e , he e is a misma ch be ween he
p omise o hese app oaches and he disappoin ing scale o p ac ical
achie emen s. Mo eo e , while he Council o Eu ope has iden i ied
“g ea po en ial o ideo games in p omo ing posi i e cul u al and
social changes” [25], social and educa ional applica ions o games
usually in ol e ecep ion by he playe o ideas o knowledge, and do
no engage playe s in building an inqui y o making a con ibu ion
o socie y. Wi hin his con ex , he wo k epo ed he e add esses a
gap in he esea ch li e a u e: me hods a e no desc ibed whe eby
pa icipa ion in gaming cul u e can enable ci izens o exp ess hei
a i udes and p e e ences, and so add ess he p oblem o unde s anding
cons i uen sen imen , iden i ied by K eps e al., abo e.
The case s udy desc ibed he e leans hea ily on he in as uc u e
and business p ocesses o Plane Play (o iginally de eloped by
Playmob, who we e acqui ed by Plane Play in 2024). An addi ional
mo i a ion o his s udy is o examine he po en ial o hese ools in
he con ex o an academic case s udy, o he i s ime.
B. Objec i es and Resea ch Ques ions
In line wi h his mo i a ion, ou o e a ching esea ch objec i e
was o unde s and how games-based ac i i ies can be used o p o ide
a link be ween ci izens and policy make s. To his end, he p ac ical
objec i e o he wo k ca ied ou in he case s udy was o p o ide
insigh o he pa icipa ing policy s akeholde s abou ci izens’ iews
on a ange o clima e goals. In add essing ou esea ch objec i e, we
sough o answe h ee o he wide esea ch ques ions which ha e
been de ined o he GREAT p ojec wi hin which his esea ch was
embedded:
RQ1 Which games-based ac i i ies can be used o elici , ep esen
and communica e ci izens’ iews on policy dilemmas?
RQ2 How e ec i e a e games-based ac i i ies in elici ing, ep esen ing
and communica ing ci izens’ iews on policy dilemmas?
RQ3 How e icien is he use o games-based ac i i ies in elici ing,
ep esen ing and communica ing ci izens’ iews on policy
dilemmas?
III. Rela ed Wo k
Games ha e been used o many yea s as an educa ional esou ce,
and a subs an ial body o esea ch has in es iga ed i s impac on
di e en ields, as summa ized, o example he sys ema ic e iews
o e ed by Yu e al. [26] o online educa ion, Guan e al. [27] o
p ima y educa ion, and Vlachopoulos and Mak i [28] o schools. Mo e
- 95 -
E ec s o Cul u e on Open Science and A i icial In elligence in Educa ion
speci ically, games ha e long been used o enhance awa eness and
unde s anding o en i onmen al and o he social issues. Fo example
a sys ema ic e iew by Janaki aman e al., [29] a gues ha games ha e
demons a ed he po en ial o p oducing a i udinal change, while
Dhiman [30] concludes ha games can “educa e, ad oca e, c ea e
empa hy, and build communi ies a ound social issues”. This la ge body
o esea ch o ms he backg ound o ou wo k bu does no di ec ly
in o m ou esea ch objec i e. Howe e , he use o ‘gami ica ion’ o
ga he ci izens’ iews is mo e immedia ely ele an .
Ka l M. Kapp me ged a numbe o de ini ions o gami ica ion in
desc ibing i as “...using game-based mechanics, aes he ics and game
hinking o engage people, mo i a e ac ion, p omo e lea ning, and
sol e p oblems” [31] (p.10). Howe e , his can e e o a wide a ie y o
app oaches. In hei sys ema ic e iew, Keusch and Zhang [32] obse e
ha o ms o gami ica ion in su eys a y widely, including “simply
eph asing ques ions o sound mo e game-like … i ual badges and
o he in angible social ewa ds, and embedding he en i e su ey
expe ience in o a game whe e esponden s a e assigned o a a a s and
ad en u e h ough a an asy land as hey answe su ey ques ions”.
Following Hama i, Koi is o, and Sa sa [33] hey e e o such game
elemen s as ‘mo i a ional a o dances’.
Building on a widely adop ed classi ica ion p oposed by Yee [34],
Blanco e al. e iewed he use o such elemen s in e-go e nmen
se ices, and dis inguish h ee ele an ca ego ies o gami ica ion
mechanics and game-design ea u es: imme sion (e.g. s o y elling,
a a a s o ole-play); achie emen - ela ed (e.g. challenges, badges,
leade boa ds o p og ession me ics); and social (e.g. social in e ac ion
and collabo a ion) [35].
In addi ion o he di e en ca ego ies o gami ica ion ha can be
applied, i is impo an o conside he ypes o ci izen engagemen
which hey can suppo . A ns ein [36] made an ea ly con ibu ion o
his discussion, concei ing o a ladde o pa icipa ion consis ing o
h ee s ages: non-pa icipa ion, okenism and genuine pa icipa ion,
each o which has mul iple ungs. Maye [37] also iden i ies h ee
le els o ela ionship be ween ci izens and poli ical en i ies.
E-enabling is abou suppo ing hose who would no ypically access he
in e ne and ake ad an age o he la ge amoun o in o ma ion a ailable.
…
E-engaging wi h ci izens is conce ned wi h consul ing a wide audience
o enable deepe con ibu ions and suppo delibe a i e deba e on policy
issues. The use o he e m ‘ o engage’ in his con ex e e s o he op-
down consul a ion o ci izens by go e nmen o pa liamen . …
E-empowe ing ci izens is conce ned wi h suppo ing ac i e pa icipa ion
and acili a ing bo om-up ideas o in luence he poli ical agenda. … He e
he e is ecogni ion ha he e is a need o allow ci izens o in luence and
pa icipa e in policy o mula ion.
In a simila ein, Thiel e al. [38] dis inguish be ween one-way
and wo-way communica ion in gami ied pa icipa ion app oaches,
co esponding oughly o he second and hi d o Maye ’s h ee
ca ego ies.
Th ee challenges o gami ied su eys can be dis inguished in he
li e a u e. Fi s ly, he expec ed imp o emen in engagemen le els has
no ma e ialized, and Gas il and B oghamme w i e ha “Un ealis ic
expec a ions a e common when go e nmen and ci ic o ganiza ions
adop digi al echnologies o imp o e public engagemen ” [39].
This is ue o he gami ica ion o su eys, whe e e idence o a
ans o ma i e impac is scan . A sys ema ic e iew by Oli ei a and
Paula on his opic concludes ha “i is no possible o say whe he
gami ica ion s imula es engagemen ”, bu adds ha he e a e
indica ions ha gami ied su eys a e mo e a ac i e and easie o
answe [40].
Secondly, me hodological conce ns ha e been aised. In hei e iew
o gami ied su eys Keusch and Zhang discuss he isk o “po en ial
bias as a esul o making su eys un”:
The bigges issue abou su ey gami ica ion s ill conce ns he in luence o
gami ica ion on measu emen e o . One majo challenge is ha gami ying
su eys o en in ol es using echniques, such as ewo ding a ques ion,
changing esponse o ma (e.g., d ag and d op), and adding addi ional
isual elemen s, all o which inhe en ly a ec adi ional da a quali y
measu es, such as esponse imes, s aigh lining, and leng h o open-ended
ques ions. [32]
Thi dly, as Ha ms e al. commen ed “su ey gami ica ion equi es a
lo o e o ” [41], and i is no clea ha he bene i s a e commensu a e
wi h his e o .
We e u n o hese h ee challenges when we discuss ou
conclusions.
IV. Me hod and Tools
A. S udy Design
The GREAT p ojec has de eloped a case s udy me hodology o
use in a se ies o case s udies linking ci izens and policy s akeholde s
h ough games-based ac i i ies. This is designed as a cycle o s eps,
shown in Fig. 1. The expec ed ac i i ies and ou pu s o each s ep in he
cycle a e desc ibed in de ail in GREAT deli e able D4.2 [42], oge he
wi h empla es o planning and documen a ion and guidance o he
leade s o case s udies. An e alua ion amewo k has been de eloped,
wi h a se o ins umen s o use in he design o indi idual case s udies
[43]. The s eps a e no manda o y, gi en he ange o equi emen s
c ea ed by he use o wo con as ing pla o ms (Plane Play su eys
and in-dep h explo a ion o dilemmas in se ious games using
SGI’s DiBL pla o m1), o add ess a wide ange o ins i u ional and
geog aphical con ex s. In he p esen pape we epo on s eps one
o six, which co espond o ou ocus on he design, implemen a ion
and analysis o he embedded su ey. The s udy is explo a o y, in he
sense ha i in es iga es he po en ial o he app oach and seeks o
cla i y he mos e ec i e use ha can be made o he in as uc u e in
planned GREAT s udies a a la ge scale.
C ea e and
p io i ise
esea ch
opics Collabo a e in
s udy design
Collabo a e in
game ac i i y
design
Pilo ing and
ga he ing da a
Da a
in e p e a ion
and ou come
Conclusions
and ou pu s
Public
engagemen ,
dissemina e
ou comes
Ad oca e
o change a
policy le el 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
GREAT
Case S udy
Cycle
Fig. 1. The GREAT Case S udy Cycle.
1 h ps://dibl.eu/abou -us/
In e na ional Jou nal o In e ac i e Mul imedia and A i icial In elligence, Vol. 9, Nº2
- 96 -
Plane Play wo ked closely wi h he collabo a ing s udio o design
in oduc o y messaging, o encou age as many playe s as possible
o click on an in-game news i em. This is impo an , o a oid
inad e en ly p e-selec ing a ce ain p o ile o pe son wi h speci ic
opinions on he opic.
B. Tools and Ins umen s Used
This s udy makes use o he Plane Play sys em and in as uc u e,
which is designed o collec insigh s om ideo and playe s o highly
popula mobile, compu e o console games h ough a sho se o
ques ions ha a e p omo ed by game s udios a scale o hei playe
base. The Plane Play su ey sys em has been de eloped inc emen ally
since 2020 h ough a se ies o p ac ical implemen a ions o mee he
in o ma ion needs o clien s.
1. The Plane Play Sys em
The Plane Play sys em consis s o he su ey web applica ion, he
in as uc u e o hos su eys and collec and p ocess da a, a ‘Li eOps’
(li e ope a ions) dashboa d o moni o ac i i y, and in e nal ools o
assis in building and deploying hem. In a ypical deploymen , playe s
a e asked abou 7-10 ques ions cen e ed a ound a single opic.
A e a b ie in oduc ion, ques ions ei he ask abou he
esponden ’s sen imen s (opinions on a opic) o knowledge (whe e
he e is a clea igh answe ), as shown in Fig. 2. Ques ions a e usually
shown one a a ime, wi h ixed answe op ions gi en ia bu ons.
The e is no echnical limi o he numbe o al e na i e answe s, bu
o limi sc olling and maximize comp ehensibili y he e a e usually
be ween ou and six. Ques ions can also be ma ked as mul iple
choice. A small numbe o demog aphic ques ions a e added a he
end, usually ga he ing da a abou age, gende and educa ion le el.
The in e ace design emphasizes simplici y, p io i izing esponden s
ocus on a clea ly delimi ed ask, and so o maximize comple ion
a es. Acco dingly, addi ional ea u es, such as b anching, ex e nal
links, and b anching acco ding o use s’ esponses, ha e o da e been
consciously a oided.
Fig. 2. Global Clima e Insigh s su ey in oduc ion and opening ques ion.
2. In as uc u e
The su ey sys em uses a single Nex .js app capable o handling
mul iple se s o su ey con en , which is hos ed on Amazon Web
Se ices ia SST2. Su ey pages a e s a ically gene a ed o imp o e
load imes. The p e e ed language is iden i ied based on web b owse
2 h ps://ss .de
se ings and used i localized con en is a ailable. An example su ey
is a ailable online3.
Da a is collec ed and p e iewed wi h a specialis eal- ime
da abase pla o m, Tinybi d, ha makes i possible o quickly c ea e
an in as uc u e ha scales well. The Tinybi d managed E en s
API ecei es da a di ec ly om he su ey web app, con inuously
agg ega ing esponses o indi idual ques ions, so da a is no los i he
su ey is no comple ed. To ack esponses, su eys a e agged wi h
up o 4 iden i ie s:
• su ey: he speci ic se o con en (ques ions/answe s) o a su ey.
• sou ce: he name o he game s udio and/o hei game p omo ing
a su ey.
• dis ibu ion: one o mo e speci ic dis ibu ion me hods (social
media, in-game e c.) used o a su ey/sou ce.
• a ian : used when A/B es ing is employed, e.g. o es esponse
a e changes o UI a ia ions.
A ‘Li eOps’ dashboa d has been de eloped o he GREAT p ojec
using Nex .js and he T emo 4 amewo k o moni o su ey campaigns
which o m a pa o case s udies. I is used by Plane Play s a and
GREAT P ojec pa ne s oo:
• Re iew ecen su ey ac i i y and op-le el pe o mance indica o s
o su eys.
• View agg ega e answe s gi en o su ey ques ions.
• See geog aphical and language dis ibu ion o esponses.
• T igge da a expo s (summa ies o ull da a se s).
• Lis links o he adminis a ion panels o GREAT se ious games,
using he DIBL pla o m o Se ious Games In e ac i e5.
• Moni o Tinybi d in as uc u e esou ce usage/cos s.
The Li eOps dashboa d, shown in Fig. 3, also o e s a quick way o
copy summa ies o a pa icula s udio’s dis ibu ion, so ha high le el
esponse b eakdowns can easily be sha ed wi h a game s udio wi hou
he need o a da a analys .
Fig. 3. Li eOps dashboa d.
I should be s essed ha he Li eOps dashboa d is no a ool o
da a analysis, bu a he a quick way o sha ing a iew o he da ase
in a way which is comp ehensible o non- echnical use s. When he
su ey is comple e, all he da a is expo ed in CSV o ma , using
h ee ables o minimize ile size, hen p ocessed ia he p e e ed
3 h ps://su ey.plane play.com/su ey/
gci_2?sou ce=cases udy&dis ibu ion=sampleu l
4 h ps:// emo .so
5 h ps://www.se iousgames.ne /en/
- 97 -
E ec s o Cul u e on Open Science and A i icial In elligence in Educa ion
da a analysis ools o he analys , in his case SPSS. Agg ega e su ey
esponses can also be made a ailable o he public on he Plane Play
websi e in a da a panel, as well as being published as open da a in line
wi h GREAT p ojec policy.
3. Su ey Ques ions
The ques ions o be included in he embedded su ey we e
de eloped in close collabo a ion wi h he Uni ed Na ions De elopmen
P og amme6 (UNDP), who we e he policy s akeholde s in ol ed in
he s udy. The inal se o ques ions was as ollows:
• Wha should he wo ld do abou clima e change?
• To add ess he clima e c isis, how should you coun y imp o e
anspo ?
• To add ess he clima e c isis, wha should you coun y do abou
ene gy?
• To add ess he clima e c isis, wha do you hink you coun y
should do abou na u e?
• To add ess he clima e c isis, wha should go e nmen s do abou
a ms and ood?
• To add ess he clima e c isis, wha should go e nmen s do abou
he economy?
• How can you coun y be e p o ec people om ex eme s o ms,
looding, d ough s, o es i es and o he clima e impac s?
• Do you hink games can con ibu e o esol ing clima e change?
• In you iew How do you hink games could bes help ackle
clima e change?
• Wha clima e opics do you hink games can bes co e ?
• Age.
• Gende .
• How old we e you when you le educa ion?
C. Pa icipan s
Policy s akeholde s and o he case s udy pa ne s engage wi h he
GREAT p ojec o a a ie y o di e en easons. The p ima y pu pose
o he s akeholde s in his case s udy, UNDP, was o explo e me hods
and app oaches ha could engage he global communi y in hei
Clima e change policy discussions, as amed by hei o ganiza ion
objec i es, which include he engagemen o ci izens in suppo o
he achie emen Na ionally De e mined Con ibu ions (NDC). Each
coun y which is pa y o he Pa is Ag eemen [44] is equi ed o
es ablish a NDC plan o adap o clima e impac s. and upda e i e e y
i e yea s.
Plane Play wo ks wi h game de elope s and publishe s o each
su ey esponden s om hei playe base in se e al ways, including
h ough, paid placemen o ad e isemen s, di ec ly in-game, o
h ough social media channels, QR codes and o he channels such as a
newsle e o homepage link.
The case s udy explo ed wo app oaches o eaching pa icipan s
h ough embedded con en in he game. The i s in ol ed explo ing
he use o paid placemen using he Me a ads pla o m on Facebook
and Ins ag am. A/B es ing was ca ied ou o see i a be e esponse
was ob ained when showing he i s ques ion di ec ly, o when
showing an in oduc o y sc een.
The second app oach was in-game oll ou . This access was no
paid o bu was he esul o di ec nego ia ion wi h Game s udios
o allow he inco po a ion o he ac i i y wi hin he game. P io
expe ience had indica ed ha in-game p omo ions implemen ed in
collabo a ion wi h a publishe ended o ge he highes olume o
6 h ps://www.undp.o g/
esponses and esponse/comple ion a es. Candida e games usually
ha e a ‘li e se ice’ model (also known as Games as a Se ice) and a e
designed o a long li espan wi h a con inuous elease schedule o new
con en . To suppo his model, hey usually ha e exis ing in-game
news/messaging sys ems ha can be le e aged o p omo e a su ey.
In collabo a ion wi h UNDP s akeholde s, he game s udio Hi-Rez
was selec ed, and he embedded QR code is shown in Fig. 4. SMITE,
o iginally published in 2014, is a ee- o-play hi d pe son Mul iplaye
Online Ba le A ena (MOBA) digi al game published on mul iple
pla o ms including he Mic oso X Box, Sony PlayS a ion 4, Nin endo
Swi ch and Amazon Luna. Playe s con ol a ‘god’ ‘goddess’ o o he
my hological igu es o pa icipa e in eam-based comba ac i i ies
wi h o he playe s and non-playe cha ac e s (NPC) ‘minions’.
Fig. 4. SMITE in-game p omo ion on a console pla o m, wi h Global Clima e
Insigh s su ey QR code.
The game has mul iple modes, suppo s an ac i e e-spo s
communi y, and cu en ly has o e en million global playe s. This
game was chosen as ha ing a high numbe o use s bu no so many
ha da a managemen would be p oblema ic o an explo a o y s udy.
The g aphics shown in Fig. 5 we e used o link o he embedded su ey.
Fig. 5. The g aphics used o link o he su ey.
Deli e y o he su ey can be igh ly a ge ed, down o he le el o
a own o pa o a ci y. Howe e , i was decided o ga he da a a a
global le el, o explo e he esponses ac oss di e en coun ies.
D. P ocedu e
The p ocedu e ollowed he o e all s uc u e o he GREAT case
s udy s eps 1 o 6.
S ep 1 o he case s udy cycle was e y b ie , as UNDP al eady
had a clea iew on he opic i wan ed o add ess, i.e. pe spec i es o
ci izens on he app op ia e ac ions o add ess clima e change which
could in o m NDCs.
Co esponding o s ep 2 o he case s udy cycle, he p ojec eam
wo ked wi h UNDP and Hi-Rez S udios o design he in e en ion.
I was decided o combine paid placemen and in-game oll ou , wi h
In e na ional Jou nal o In e ac i e Mul imedia and A i icial In elligence, Vol. 9, Nº2
- 98 -
Hi-Rez s udios p o iding he case s udy wi h ee access o he game
SMITE h ough a QR code linking o he su ey in hei main menu.
The design o ac i i ies, s ep 3 o he case s udy cycle, was limi ed
o he collabo a i e au ho ing o ques ions (see p e ious sec ion) wi h
he policy s akeholde UNDP.
In s ep 4, da a was collec ed anonymously, wi hou he esponden
needing an accoun o being acked o iden i ied ia cookies. This
s eamlined he use expe ience and allowed a ull su ey o be
comple ed in unde a minu e o abou 10 ques ions. Answe s we e
submi ed o he su ey sys em when he esponden p oceeded
o a new ques ion, ensu ing ha e en i a su ey ins ance was no
comple ed, as many answe s as possible we e collec ed. Along wi h
he language used, he esponden ’s coun y and ci y we e deduced
and logged on he basis o he HTTPS heade s om Cloud on ,
oge he wi h he b owse ’s use agen s ing which includes hei
de ice and ope a ing sys em ype. Iden i ica ion a his le el main ains
anonymi y bu o e s addi ional dimensions o segmen a ion du ing
da a analysis.
E o s we e made o discou age mul iple esponses om he
same pe son, by showing a message eminding he playe i hey
ha e al eady pa icipa ed in a pa icula su ey a he han aking
hem o he ques ions. Howe e , his is b owse dependen and can
be ci cumna iga ed by a echnically awa e esponden . Addi ionally,
he hashed IP add ess o he esponden was also logged, and his
can be aken in o conside a ion du ing analysis o lag po en ial
epea ed esponses. As wi h he in e ac ion design, his a oidance o
all iden i y managemen e lec s he p io i y gi en o a s eamlined
use expe ience in o de o achie e la ge scale esponses. Finally, he
su ey/sou ce/dis ibu ion/ a ian iden i ie s used du ing he su ey
p omo ion we e also logged pe session.
In addi ion o he answe s gi en, he dwell ime o a ques ion be o e
an answe was cap u ed, gi ing an indica ion o how much ime
someone migh ha e hough abou hei esponse. The su ey sys em
also acked ‘e en s’, e.g. when a su ey is i s loaded up, he ini ial
engagemen , when ques ions a e shown, and i a link a he end o he
su ey is ollowed. This allowed engagemen and comple ion a es o
be calcula ed o measu e he e ec i eness o a su ey ins ance wi h a
speci ic pa ne and dis ibu ion me hod.
S ep 5, Da a In e p e a ion and Ou comes, and S ep 6, Conclusions
and Ou pu s, a e discussed in he ollowing wo sec ions.
V. Resul s
A. Response Ra e by Dis ibu ion Me hod
TABLE I. Response Ra es by Dis ibu ion Me hod
Paid placemen
(ad e isemen ) In-Game Roll ou
Reach/Fi s page load 7,257 4,352
Engagemen 398 (5%) 2,539 (58%)
Comple ion 179 (45%) 2,148 (84%)
Communi y Sign Up 18 (10%) 282 (13%)
The ca ego ies in Table I, abo e, a e de ined as ollows:
• Reach: people who saw he ini ial ad e isemen o su ey sc een
page.
• Engagemen : people who pe o med an ac ion on he ini ial page.
• Comple ion: people who comple ed he su ey.
• Communi y sign up: people who esponded o he p omp “Join us
and you a o i e games, o igh agains clima e change and sa e
ou plane ! T ack ou collec i e p og ess and ake ac ion now!” by
c ea ing a Plane Play accoun .
Gi en he poo esponse a e o paid placemen , his da a was
disca ded in u he analysis. No only was i conside ed ha he low
le el o engagemen migh be associa ed wi h poo quali y da a, bu
also his enabled us o ocus clea ly on e alua ing he esul s o he
in-game oll ou .
The e was a small inc ease in engagemen when an in oduc o y
page was shown (58.1% s 61.6%). Simila ly, he e was sligh p e e ence
o he g aphic link showing a woman a wo k a he han a bu ning
plane . Howe e , bo h e ec s we e small, and a e no conside ed o be
s a is ically ele an .
B. Geog aphical Dis ibu ion
The case s udy was open o pa icipan s om a ound he wo ld
(see Table II). E e y ime a playe isi ed he su ey a ‘session’ was
c ea ed, including people who simply isi ed he in oduc o y page. A
session is he pa en o all he answe and e en da a om a speci ic
use in a b owse .
TABLE II. Sessions by Coun y
Coun y Sessions
Uni ed S a es 2119
Canada 289
B azil 225
Uni ed Kingdom 184
Mexico 157
Spain 156
A gen ina 138
Ge many 126
F ance 114
Russia 93
Colombia 50
TOTAL 3651
F om he o al o 3651 sessions, 2200 comple ed esponses we e
ob ained.
Response a es can also be acked by ci y. As can be seen in Table
III, hese we e widely dis ibu ed.
TABLE III. Response Ra es by Ci y
Ci y Coun y Sessions
Buenos Ai es A gen ina 27
Chicago Uni ed S a es 27
Lima Pe u 26
Los Angeles Uni ed S a es 22
Moscow Russia 21
Bogo á Colombia 21
Mon eal Canada 21
Hous on Uni ed S a es 19
C. Da a Analysis
Da a analysis co esponds o S ep 5 o he case s udy cycle. The ull
da a se om he in-game placemen has been made a ailable as open
da a o inspec ion o u he analysis by in e es ed pa ies [45]. Se e al
in e es ing ends we e iden i ied, as we discuss below. Howe e , as
shown in Fig. 6, he da a was s ongly skewed o he 18-35 age g oup,
and he male gende . In iew o he small numbe o esponden s in
some age g oups, and he e en smalle numbe o emale esponden s
- 99 -
E ec s o Cul u e on Open Science and A i icial In elligence in Educa ion
wi hin hose age g oups, he esul s should be seen as indica i e wha
can be achie ed using his app oach and should no be gene alized o
a wide popula ion.
I is no su p ising ha he e should be an imbalance in he gende
dis ibu ion, bu i was no an icipa ed ha his would be so ex eme. I
is o en epo ed ha he male- o- emale a io o game playe s is close
o 50:50, bu we ob ained a ewe emale esponden s. We examined
he da a o see i his could be due o o e - ep esen a ion o console
playe s (a pla o m ha is o en seen as being mo e male domina ed)
bu he esponse a es we e simila o PlayS a ion (male 85.15%,
emale 8.25% and o he 6.60% (n=303)) and o he da a o e all (male
83.72%, emale 8.78%, o he 7.50% (n=2107)). I is he e o e concluded
ha he imbalance e lec s an unexpec edly la ge gende di e gence
among playe s o SMITE.
In esponses o ques ions on speci ic clima e change s a egies, age
was no a signi ican ac o in iews on he conse a ion o o es s and
land o p omo ion o plan -based die s. Howe e , he o e 60s di e ged
signi ican ly in hei esponses o anspo , ene gy, he economy and
p o ec ing people.
Gende di e ences we e obse ed ac oss a iables, wi h s a is ical
di e ences ela ed o imp o ing anspo a ion o goods (X2 (2, 2107)
= 12.263, p = 0.002), design and planning o ci ies and communi ies
(X2 (2, 2107) = 6.579, p = 0.037), suppo ing communi ies (X2 (2, 2107)
= 29.186, p = 0.000), using enewable powe (X2 (2, 2107) = 7.696, p =
0.021), educing ood was e (X2 (2, 2107) = 10.808, p = 0.004), building
in as uc u e and conse ing na u e (X2 (2, 2107) = 15.828, p = 0.000)
as well all on all economical in e en ions (p<0.05). Howe e , he e was
ag eemen on se e al opics, such as using elec ic ehicles, was ing
less ene gy, s opping uel bu ning, conse a ion o o es s and land,
and p omo ing plan -based die s. All he esponden s i espec i e o
gende ag eed ha games can suppo clima e change ini ia i es in
a eas like anspo , ood and a ms, and p o ec ing people.
An in e es ing esul is ha iews on he app op ia e esponse
o clima e change a y subs an ially wi h age, as shown in Fig. 7.
Responden s unde 60 we e s ongly in a o o “Do e e y hing
necessa y u gen ly” whe eas he majo i y o hose o e 60 chose “Do
no hing”. The ela i ely small numbe o esponden s o e 60 means
ha he eliabili y o his esul should be ea ed wi h cau ion. I
could also be a gued ha , because o hei small numbe s, playe s o
SMITE who a e o e 60 may be a niche popula ion wi h cha ac e is ic
a i udes, whe eas his is less likely o age g oups whe e he game is
mo e widely played. Consequen ly, he o e 60s may be less ypical o
ci izens as a whole han a e hose age g oups which a e mo e s ongly
ep esen ed.
Rega ding esponses o ques ions on speci ic clima e change
s a egies, he chi-squa e esul s indica ed ha age was no a
signi ican ac o in iews on he conse a ion o o es s and land (X2
(3, 2107) = 7.655, p = 0.054) o p omo ion o plan -based die s (X2 (3,
2107) = 3.075, p = 0.380). Howe e , signi ican di e ences we e seen in
he a eas o anspo , ene gy, he economy, p o ec ing people (p<0.05)
bu no o na u e (X2 (3, 2107) = 7.212, p = 0.065) and ood and a ms
(X2 (3, 2107) = 4.976, p = 0.174).
Rega ding le el o educa ion (see Fig. 8), hose esponden s who
le school a e he age o 17 we e s ongly con inced ha games can
con ibu e o sol ing he clima e c isis, whe eas hose who had le
be o e 16 we e la gely unsu e. Those who had ne e been o school
we e p edominan ly nega i e o unsu e abou his opic, bu hei
numbe s we e oo low o be eliable.
500
400
300
200
100
How old we e you when you le educa ion?
Unde
12
12-16 17-19 20 o
o e
S ill in
educa ion
Ne e
wen
o school
Coun
Do you hink
ha games can
con ibu e o
sol ing clima e
change?
Yes
No
Don’ know
Fig. 8. Educa ional le el o esponden s / “Do you hink ha games can
con ibu e o sol ing clima e change”.
The s a is ical chi-squa e es esul s e ealed signi ican di e ences
in iews on clima e change ac oss di e en educa ion le els o
mos a iables, as all p- alues we e below he h eshold o 0.05.
Howe e , he e was no signi ican di e ence o a iable conce ning
Do e e y hing
necessa y
u gen ly
Age 60+
36-5919-35Unde 18
Coun
200
400
600
800
1000
1200 Wha should
he wo ld do
abou clima e
change?
Ac slowly
while we lea n
mo e abou
wha o do
Do no hing
Fig. 7. Age / “Wha should he wo ld do abou clima e change?”.
Gende
Coun
Age
1500
1000
500
Unde 18
18-35
36-59
60+
X
Male
Female
Fig. 6. Age and gende o esponden s.
In e na ional Jou nal o In e ac i e Mul imedia and A i icial In elligence, Vol. 9, Nº2
- 100 -
conse a ion o o es and land as indica ed by chi-squa e alue (X2 (6,
2255) = 10.023, p = 0.124) indica ing ha he esponden iews do no
a y signi ican ly by educa ion le el.
VI. Discussion
We now discuss ou esul s in e ms o he esea ch ques ions se
ou in Sec ion II.
RQ1 Which Games-based Ac i i ies Can Be Used o Elici , Rep esen
and Communica e Ci izens’ Views on Policy Dilemmas?
The esul s show ha embedding ques ions wi hin a popula
comme cial game is a iable s a egy o ga he ing ci izens’ iews on
policy dilemmas, and, in pa icula , wi h ega ds o clima e change.
The da a collec ion, da a o ma s and p ocedu es es ed in his case
s udy p o ed o be i o pu pose. I is concluded ha he app oach
does enable a link be ween policy make s and he a ge ed sec o
o games cul u e, bu conce ns a e aised abou po en ial dis o ion,
which need o be add essed (see RQ2, below).
Mo e speci ically, he esul s show ha in-game oll ou in
collabo a ion wi h a game s udio is a mo e e ec i e han paid
placemen , as shown in Table I. One ac o which may in luence his
esul is ha in-game oll ou enables a esponden o scan a QR code
on hei mobile phone, and o answe he ques ions he e while lea ing
he s a e o he game unchanged on hei PC o console.
Ou su ey was deli e ed h ough a QR code link on he main
menu o he game. O he games may ha e a news sys em ha shows
egula upda es and a su ey can be p omo ed he e, wi h a link
bu on opening an ex e nal b owse window. These exis ing news (o
playe messaging) sys ems a e p ima ily designed o p omo e new
game con en and e en s, which keep playe s engaged and e en ually
mone ized, so hey could also be a e y e ec i e and isible way o
each playe s wi h a su ey.
Ou expe ience o collabo a ion sugges s wo mo i a ions
which explain why game s udios migh be willing o o e access o
o ganiza ions such as UNDP. Fi s ly, his shows ha a s udio is using
i s powe as a media p o ide in a socially esponsible way, con ibu es
o mee ing hei Co po a e and Social Responsibili y commi men s,
and imp o es hei image and b and associa ion. Secondly, i helps
he s udio o be e unde s and he issues ha a e impo an o hei
playe base, which assis s hem in game design and con en decisions.
RQ2 How E ec i e A e Games-based Ac i i ies in Elici ing,
Rep esen ing and Communica ing Ci izens’ Views on Policy Dilemmas?
The esul s show ha ou app oach is an e ec i e al e na i e o
gami ied su eys. Th ee challenges o be add essed we e iden i ied
in Sec ion III abo e. Rega ding challenge one ‘engagemen le els’, he
me hod and ools we e e ec i e in ob aining a la ge sample size wi h
ela i ely li le echnical e o , once ag eemen had been eached
wi h he s udio. The esponse a e was good, as was he quali y o he
engagemen , pa icula ly in he in-game oll ou , whe e 84% comple ed
he su ey once hey had s a ed, and 13% ook he addi ional s ep o
en olling in he Plane Play clima e change communi y. We conclude
ha he app oach is e ec i e in e ms o engagemen .
Challenge wo was ‘measu emen e o ’ caused by he gami ied
elemen s o a gami ied su ey. Ou sepa a ion o he su ey om he
mechanics and in e ac ions o he hos game wo ked well, and while
we did no di ec ly e alua e compa a i e measu emen e o , his
s a egy add esses some o he unde lying conce ns o his c i ique.
Howe e , he e y la ge skewing o he da a owa ds males be ween
18 and 25 yea s old is a conce n, as i may mis ep esen he iews o all
ci izens. In o ma ion abou he p o ile o playe s o pa icula games
is published o di e en gen es [46] [47], bu he skew in ou da a
is much mo e subs an ial han we an icipa ed om such high le el
analyses o playe p o iles.
RQ3 How E icien Is he Use o Games-based Ac i i ies in Elici ing,
Rep esen ing and Communica ing Ci izens’ Views on Policy Dilemmas?
Challenge h ee iden i ied in Sec ion III was ‘e o ’, which ela es
s ongly o ou RQ3. In his espec we can o e some encou aging
ini ial esul s. The Plane Play in as uc u e enabled he in e en ion
o be designed and deli e ed and he da a managed wi h a ela i ely
low le el o skilled echnical inpu , in he o de o pe son days
a he han pe son mon hs. The sys em was easily able o handle he
numbe o esponden s, and he e we e no indica ions ha he sys em
would no be scalable o e y la ge numbe s. Ou expe ience in his
case s udy, he e o e, was ha he sys em used is highly e icien
in echnical e ms. This does no ake in o conside a ion he e y
conside able e o in ol ed in c ea ing he sys em, which would need
o be eplica ed by anyone adop ing he app oach who did no pa ne
wi h Plane Play.
As discussed in ela ion o RQ2, in-game ollou was a a mo e
e ec i e way o engaging wi h game s han paid placemen . Howe e ,
he case s udy unde lined he essen ial ole played by he GREAT
p ojec , and speci ically pa ne Plane Play, in media ing be ween he
policy s akeholde UNDP and he games indus y. This e o equi ed
o es ablish collabo a ion wi h games s udios o ob ain access o hei
pla o ms also needs o be aken in o conside a ion when assessing
he e iciency o he app oach. Howe e , his is ha d o quan i y, as i
a ies g ea ly om case o case, and depends s ongly on he s eng h
o he exis ing connec ions o he eam ca ying ou he case s udy
wi h app op ia e sec ions o he games indus y.
VII. Re lec ions and Fu u e Wo k
A. Limi a ions
An impo an limi a ion o his s udy is he highly skewed age
and gende o he esponden s. This cons ains he gene alizabili y o
in e es ing esul s, such as he p e e ence o o e 60s o doing no hing
o add ess clima e change, in con as o he iews o younge people.
In e ms o he o e all GREAT case s udy me hodology, his s udy is
limi ed by ocusing only on he i s i e s eps o he cycle. I he e o e
does no conside he alue o s akeholde s o he in o ma ion
ob ained, no i s use o in o m hei decision making.
Fo bo h o he abo e easons, he alue o he s udy lies mo e in
he alida ion o he me hod, a he han in he impac o alue o he
speci ic da a which was gene a ed abou ci izens iews.
I should also be ecognized ha ou app oach co esponds o he
second o Maye ’s h ee ca ego ies ci ed in Sec ion III, e-engaging, and
he e o e in ol es “ op-down consul a ion o ci izens by go e nmen
o pa liamen ”. This is no p esen ed as an al e na i e o e-empowe ing,
bu a he as he p o ision o a ool o linking ci izens and policymake s
a a scale which would no be possible o app oaches which in ol e
games playe s in collabo a i e policy making.
B. Implica ions
This case s udy has demons a ed ha he in-game oll ou app oach
o ob aining he iews o ci izens is e ec i e and can gene a e
in o ma ion which is o alue o policy s akeholde s. This p o ides
e idence in suppo o he use o he app oach by policymake s and
o he policy s akeholde s who expe ience di icul ies in es ablishing
a ull pic u e o he iews o ci izens wi h ega d o policy dilemmas.
I he policy s akeholde is in e es ed in he iews o ci izens o e
la ge geog aphic a eas, hen in-game oll ou is app op ia e, as he
in e en ion is deli e ed in he egions whe e a game is ma ke ed,
- 101 -
E ec s o Cul u e on Open Science and A i icial In elligence in Educa ion
and indeed his is o en global. In collabo a ion wi h s udios, an in-
game oll ou s udy can selec games o he s udy wi h con as ing
age, gende and geog aphic p o iles. Fo example, Table II shows ha
SMITE would be a pa icula ly good choice o an inqui y cen e ed
on he Uni ed S a es. Al e na i ely, i policy s akeholde s ha e a
need o wo k wi h a highly ocused popula ion, paid placemen o
playable ad e isemen s is mo e app op ia e, as his can be es ic ed
o a pa icula ci y o egion. Ve y speci ic a ge ing can be achie ed
by making use o mo e de ailed da a om a paid se ice p o ided
by companies such as I onsou ce and Loopme. Consequen ly, paid
placemen may s ill be a aluable op ion o mo e local inqui ies,
despi e he lowe esponse a e we ha e epo ed.
The wo k epo ed he e may be seen as a case s udy which
examines he po en ial o maximizing scale and ease o pa icipa ion
a he cos o he dep h o games playe s’ engagemen o collabo a ion.
This s a egy has been shown o be e ec i e, in as much as i has been
well ecei ed by he policy s akeholde , UNDP, who ha e commi ed
o a la ge scale s udy in o med by he esul s and limi a ions o his
case s udy, being implemen ed a he ime o w i ing. Howe e , o he
app oaches, wi h di e en ade-o s be ween hese aspec s, would
po en ially be equally e ec i e. These would esul in di e en bene i s
and cos s, which may be mo e sui able o o he con ex s. Indeed, in
pa allel wi h he wo k epo ed he e, he GREAT p ojec is wo king
wi h se ious games o explo e ci izens’ iews on policy dilemmas in
in ensi e in e ac ions be ween small numbe s o pa icipan s.
In u u e s udies, g ea e a en ion needs o be paid o he selec ion
o he game o games which hos he su ey, in o de o achie e a
be e balance o gende and age. This can be done h ough selec ion
o app op ia e games, wi h he possibili y o adap ing he dis ibu ion
o he su ey in he ligh o da a collec ed in he ‘Li eOps’ dashboa d.
This app oach will no gua an ee equal numbe s o esponden s om
all gende s and age g oups bu should p o ide su icien esponses
om all gende s o ensu e he alidi y o he esul s.
C. The Po en ial Use o A i icial In elligence
A possible s a egy which could change he equa ion be ween he
scale o an in e en ion and he dep h o he in e ac ions would be o
make use o a i icial in elligence (AI). In aising his possibili y we
a e no e e ing o he au oma ed gene a ion o su eys o su ey
ques ions, as p oposed by Gonzalez Bono ino [48] and by nume ous
websi es such as esponsly.com. Ra he we see wo po en ial
echniques. Fi s ly, as sugges ed by Xiao e al. [49], AI-based cha bo s
could be used o gene a e in e ac ions wi h playe s. This could ac as
a i ual equi alen o he amilia esea che wi h a clipboa d who
engages wi h a esponden . While one migh associa e cha bo s wi h
ex , pe haps he mos compelling applica ion would be o gene a e
con e sa ional spoken language in e ac ions be ween an app and a
game playe , which would p o ide iche da a abou playe s iews
han is a ailable wi h ex . The in e ac ions could be as sho o
ex ended as he designe wished o could adap o he esponden ’s
inpu . To add ess p i acy conce ns, i would be ad isable o ans o m
he speech in o ex , and o s o e he esul s o sen imen analysis, in
as close o eal- ime as possible, and o a oid s o ing a eco ding o he
playe ’s oice. Such a use o cha bo s could, in p inciple, be compa ible
wi h he b oad app oach ha we ha e discussed.
Secondly, i would be possible o implemen AI based non-playe
cha ac e s which could in e ac wi h playe s o a game. Johnson’s
desc ip ion o he goal o AI in comme cial ideo games, om 2014,
emains ele an :
... o p oduce belie able beha io ha is p edic able and unp edic able and
eels as i he playe is being challenged and gi en in e es ing decisions o
make in ela ion o an in elligen agen o cha ac e . [50]
I is easy o see how gi ing playe s “in e es ing decisions o make”
in ela ion o policy dilemmas could p o ide ich da a abou playe s
iews. Such an app oach mo es away om he highly ocused la ge-
scale in e ac ions in he p esen case s udy. I would also equi e
subs an ial in es men o each game in which i was included and
would engage playe s in ex ended in e ac ions. Mo eo e , i is
doub ul ha games s udios would gene ally be willing o p o ide
he access o hei games which would be needed o implemen his
kind o in e ac ion, as i would in e e e di ec ly in he gameplay.
Consequen ly, i seems mo e likely ha his app oach would equi e
he c ea ion o a speci ic p ojec o c ea e a pu pose-buil game, wi h
an alliance be ween esea che s and indus y.
Acknowledgmen s
The au ho s would like o acknowledge he essen ial collabo a ion
o he Uni ed Na ions De elopmen P og amme, wi hou whom
his wo k would no ha e been possible. They would also like o
acknowledge he aluable con ibu ions o Ka ha ina Kolle in
iden i ying ela ed wo k, o Joos Schuu in cleaning and o ma ing
he da a and cla i ying he echnical in as uc u e, and o P adeep
Hewage in suppo ing he da a analysis.
This esea ch was pa ially unded by he Eu opean Commission
and by UK Resea ch and Inno a ion (UKRI), h ough he Ho izon
Eu ope esea ch p ojec GREAT, g an ag eemen 101094766. Views
and opinions exp essed a e, howe e , hose o he au ho s only and do
no necessa ily e lec hose o he Eu opean Union o UKRI. Nei he
he Eu opean Union no UKRI can be held esponsible o hem.
Re e ences
[1] R. S. Con e as-Espinosa and A. Blanco-M, “A Li e a u e Re iew o
E-go e nmen Se ices wi h Gami ica ion Elemen s”, In e na ional
Jou nal o Public Adminis a ion, ol. 45, no. 13, pp. 964–980, 2021, doi:
10.1080/01900692.2021.1930042.
[2] R. S. Foa, A. Klassen, M. Slade, A. Rand, and R. Collins, “The Global
Sa is ac ion wi h Democ acy Repo 2020”, Benne Ins i u e o Public
Policy, Camb idge, UK, 2020. Accessed: Aug. 08, 2024. [Online]. A ailable:
h ps://www.cam.ac.uk/sys em/ iles/ epo 2020_003.pd
[3] Uni ed Na ions, “T us in public ins i u ions: T ends and implica ions
o economic secu i y (Policy B ie 108)”, Uni ed Na ions Depa men
o Economic and Social A ai s, 2021. Accessed: Aug. 08, 2024. [Online].
A ailable: h ps://www.un.o g/de elopmen /desa/dpad/wp-con en /
uploads/si es/45/publica ion/PB_108.pd
[4] D. F eeman e al., “Co ona i us Conspi acy Belie s, Mis us , and
Compliance wi h Go e nmen Guidelines in England”, Psychological
Medicine, ol. 52, pp. 251–263, 2020, doi: 10.1017/S0033291720001890.
[5] A. Caplano a, R. Si ak, and E. Szakada o a, “Ins i u ional T us and
Compliance wi h Measu es o Figh COVID-19”, In e na ional Ad ances
in Economic Resea ch, ol. 27, no. 1, pp. 47–60, 2021, doi: 10.1007/s11294-
021-09818-3.
[6] M. Mo elli, “Sad populism and he policies o hope”, EconPol Fo um, ISSN
2752-1184, CESi o GmbH, Munich, ol. 25, no. 2, pp. 40-42.
[7] J. Visse , “T ade Unions in he Balance, ILO ACTRAV Wo king Pape ”,
2019, Accessed: Aug. 05, 2023. [Online]. A ailable: h ps://e u egyp .com/
wp-con en /uploads/2019/10/wcms_722482.pd
[8] R. F. Ingleha , Religion’s Sudden Decline. Ox o d Uni e si y P ess, UK,
2021. doi: h ps://doi.o g/10.1093/oso/9780197547045.001.0001
[9] N. Fo man-Ka z, “Ame icans a e ollowing he news less closely han
hey used o”, Pew Resea ch Cen e , Washing on DC, USA. Accessed:
Jun. 14, 2024. [Online]. A ailable: h ps://www.pew esea ch.o g/sho -
eads/2023/10/24/ame icans-a e- ollowing- he-news-less-closely- han-
hey-used- o/
[10] Pew Resea ch Cen e , ‘News Pla o m Fac Shee ’. Accessed: Jun. 14,
2024. [Online]. A ailable: h ps://www.pew esea ch.o g/jou nalism/ ac -
shee /news-pla o m- ac -shee /
[11] J. A. Lischka, “A Badge o Hono ?: How The New Yo k Times disc edi s
P esiden T ump’s ake news accusa ions”, Jou nalism S udies, ol. 20, no.
