Google Scholar Twitter LinkedIn GitHub

About Me

Hi! I'm Samuel Rhys Cox, a postdoctoral researcher in Human–Computer Interaction (HCI) and human-centred AI with the Human-Centered Computing section at Aalborg University, where I work with Niels van Berkel.

My research explores how interactive systems (particularly conversational AI) can be designed to help people feel more supported. I am especially interested in sensitive or reflective contexts such as health, well-being, and creative practice, where interaction design choices can shape experiences of comfort, self-disclosure, encouragement, and reflection. My work primarily follows an empirical approach, including studies of how people interact with conversational systems.

I completed my PhD in Computer Science at the National University of Singapore, with primary supervisor Wei Tsang Ooi and co-supervisor is Brian Y. Lim. I hold a BSc. (Hons) in Mathematics from the University of Portsmouth, and an MSc. in Computing Science from Imperial College London.

Publications

Full Papers (Peer-Reviewed)

Samuel Rhys Cox, Joel Wester, and Niels van Berkel. "Polite But Boring? Trade-offs Between Engagement and Psychological Reactance to Chatbot Feedback Styles." In Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (2026).
To appear in ACM Digital Library — watch this space 👀 | Preprint (arXiv)

Joel Wester, Samuel Rhys Cox, Henning Pohl, and Niels van Berkel. "Chaplains' Reflections on the Design and Usage of AI for Conversational Care." In Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (2026).
To appear in ACM Digital Library — stay tuned! 📺 | Preprint PDF

Samuel Rhys Cox, Rune Møberg Jacobsen, and Niels van Berkel. "The Impact of a Chatbot's Ephemerality-Framing on Self-Disclosure Perceptions." In Proceedings of the 7th ACM Conference on Conversational User Interfaces (2025).
ACM Digital Library Page

Samuel Rhys Cox, Helena Bøjer Djernæs, and Niels van Berkel. "Beyond Productivity: Rethinking the Impact of Creativity Support Tools." In Proceedings of the 17th Conference on Creativity & Cognition (2025).
ACM Digital Library Page

Rune Møberg Jacobsen, Samuel Rhys Cox, Carla F. Griggio, and Niels van Berkel. "Chatbots for Data Collection in Surveys: A Comparison of Four Theory-Based Interview Probes." In Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (2025).
ACM Digital Library Page

Naja Kathrine Kollerup, Maria-Theresa Bahodi, Samuel Rhys Cox, and Niels van Berkel. "Enhancing Self-Efficacy in Health Self-Examination through Conversational Agent’s Encouragement." In Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (2025).
ACM Digital Library Page

Yuang Shi, Samuel Rhys Cox and Wei Tsang Ooi. "Quality Assessment and Modeling for MPEG V-PCC Volumetric Video." In MMVE '24: Proceedings of the 16th International Workshop on Immersive Mixed and Virtual Environment Systems (2024).
ACM Digital Library Page

Samuel Rhys Cox and Wei Tsang Ooi. "Conversational Interactions with NPCs in LLM-Driven Gaming: Guidelines from a Content Analysis of Player Feedback." In Springer International Workshop on Chatbot Research and Design (2023/4).
Springer Digital Library Page | Preprint PDF

Samuel Rhys Cox, Yi-Chieh Lee and Wei Tsang Ooi. "Comparing How a Chatbot References User Utterances from Previous Chatting Sessions: An Investigation of Users' Privacy Concerns and Perceptions." In Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Human-Agent Interaction (2023).
ACM Digital Library Page

Samuel Rhys Cox, May Lim and Wei Tsang Ooi. "VOLVQAD: An MPEG V-PCC Volumetric Video Quality Assessment Dataset." In Proceedings of the 14th Conference on ACM Multimedia System (2023).
ACM Digital Library Page | Dataset Github Repo

Samuel Rhys Cox and Wei Tsang Ooi. "Does Chatbot Language Formality Affect Users’ Self-Disclosure?" In CUI 2022-4th Conference on Conversational User Interfaces (2022).
ACM Digital Library Page | Video

Tzu-Kuang Hung, I-Chun Huang, Samuel Rhys Cox, Wei Tsang Ooi, and Cheng-Hsin Hsu. "Error Concealment of Dynamic 3D Point Cloud Streaming." In Proceedings of the 30th ACM International Conference on Multimedia (MM'22) (2022).
ACM Digital Library Page | Video

Samuel Rhys Cox, Yunlong Wang, Ashraf Abdul, Christian von der Weth, and Brian Y. Lim. "Directed Diversity: Leveraging Language Embedding Distances for Collective Creativity in Crowd Ideation." In Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (2021).
ACM Digital Library Page | Video

Full Papers (Under Review)

Samuel Rhys Cox, Jade Martin-Lise, Simo Hosio, and Niels van Berkel. "Watching AI Think: User Perceptions of Visible Thinking in Chatbots." Preprint, under review (2026).
Preprint (arXiv)

Meilan Hu, Gabriel R. Lau, Adalia Y. H. Goh, Samuel Rhys Cox, Louis Tay, and Andree Hartanto. "Using Customisable GPT Chatbots in Psychology Research: A Practical Tutorial." Preprint, under review (2026).
Preprint (OSF)

Short Papers (Peer-Reviewed)

Samuel Rhys Cox, Grace Cheong and Wei Tsang Ooi. "The Use of Deception in Dementia-Care Robots: Should Robots Tell "White Lies" to Limit Emotional Distress?" In Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Human-Agent Interaction (2023).
ACM Digital Library Page | Poster (PDF)

Samuel Rhys Cox, Ashraf Abdul and Wei Tsang Ooi. "Prompting a Large Language Model to Generate Diverse Motivational Messages: A Comparison with Human-Written Messages." In Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Human-Agent Interaction (2023).
ACM Digital Library Page | Poster (PDF)

Ding Dan, Oleksandra Poquet, Joseph Jay Williams, Radhika Nikam, and Samuel Rhys Cox. "Increasing Response Rates to Email Surveys in MOOCs." In Adjunct Publication of the 26th Conference on User Modeling, Adaptation and Personalization (2018).
ACM Digital Library Page | Poster (PDF) | Video

Workshops (Peer-Reviewed)

Samuel Rhys Cox. "Theory of Mind and Self-Disclosure to CUIs." In ToMinHAI at CUI'2025: Theory of Mind in Human-CUI Interaction, held in conjunction with the 2025 ACM conference on Conversational User Interfaces (2025).
arXiv Preprint

Samuel Rhys Cox, Helena Bøjer Djernæs, and Niels van Berkel. "Reflecting Human Values in XAI: Emotional and Reflective Benefits in Creativity Support Tools." In XAIxArts'25 - the third international workshop on eXplainable AI for the Arts, held in conjunction with the ACM Creativity and Cognition conference (2025).
arXiv Preprint

Samuel Rhys Cox. "The Use of Multiple Conversational Agent Interlocutors in Learning." In Inter.HAI’23 – the first workshop on Interdisciplinary Approaches in Human-Agent Interaction, held in conjunction with the International Conference on Human-Agent Interaction (2023).
arXiv Preprint

Awards and Activities

  • Scholarships and Funding: CAISA Fellowship (2026); Gary Marsden Travel Award (2021); A*STAR Singapore International Graduate Award; Imperial Master's Support Scholarship
  • Organising Committee: ACM CUI'26 Provocations Chair
  • Program Committee: ACM CHI'26 (Understanding People: Mixed Methods); ACM CUI'23, '24, '25; ACM C&C'25; ACM IMX'24; CONVERSATIONS'24, '25
  • Reviewing (non-exhaustive): ACM CHI, CHI PLAY, CSCW, CUI, C&C, DIS, HAI, IMWUT, IMX, ISMAR, IUI, UIST,... ; Elsevier IJHCS; T&F IJHCI; APA Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts
  • Student Volunteer: ACM IMX'21, ACM ISMAR'22