Intergenerational linguistic differences pose challenges to effective and intimate family communication. This paper presents GenSync, a chat-based interface that supports intergenerational understanding through different forms of translation visibility. We conducted a controlled within-subjects study with 16 family dyads (32 participants), comparing three conditions: no translation, black-box translation, and transparent translation that displays both original and interpreted messages. The results show that translation visibility plays a critical role in shaping conversational experiences. Transparent translation supported conversational quality, intimacy, and usability, while black-box translation often disrupted conversational flow. These findings position intergenerational language support as a form of interpretive mediation and contribute design implications for AI-mediated communication in socially sensitive contexts.
@article{arxiv.2604.19276,
title = {Designing Transparent AI-Mediated Language Support for Intergenerational Family Communication},
author = {Sora Kang and Youjin Hwang and Joonhwan Lee},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2604.19276},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS Companion '26), June 13--17, 2026, Singapore, Singapore