Animals' Entanglement with Technology: a Scoping Review

Kleinberger, Rebecca, Lena Ashooh, Keavan Farsad, Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas.

Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. 2025, PDF, DOI

ABSTRACT

Animals living alongside humans are navigating a world increasingly filled with technology, yet little is known about how they interface with these systems, whether designed for, with, or around them. Anchored in HCI and ranging across diverse fields, this scoping review analyzes nearly 800 research works to explore the diverse realities of animal-technology research, examining the who, what, why, and how of animal-technology entanglements. Our analysis revealed 11 research objectives and eight types of technologies across six animal contexts. By categorizing the literature based on authors’ aims and intended beneficiaries, we highlight trends, gaps, and ethical considerations. We find that most systems involve animals with limited potential for direct engagement or sense-making. We propose a framework to understand animals as users versus subjects of interactive systems, focusing on feedback, empirical testing, and projected animal benefits. Our findings offer a foundation to understand current and future animal technology research and the diversity of animal user experience.