Bringing computer and social/psychological/medical sciences together: The case of digital well-being and AI well-being

Electrical engineering and computer science as well as social/psychological and medical sciences have different traditions in conducting research and publishing it. These disciplines vary in the degree of focus and scrutiny they place on artifacts (e.g. software & models), knowledge, and methods, as well as the researcher's role and stance. In addition, there are differences between disciplines regarding the tools and measurements used and the subject of focus, whether human or machine. In recent years both disciplines are getting interested in studying similar research questions, whereas each party could benefit from interdisciplinary perspectives. This manuscript illustrates one relevant research area: The case of digital well-being intersects digital media design, primarily an engineering concern, with the goal of preserving and improving the well-being of users and society (the latter often being a focus of psychological and medical sciences). Logically, the goals of this research endeavor can be at best reached via interdisciplinary efforts, where the computer sciences meet the social/medical sciences. This will be also true for the new research area of AI well-being, and we discuss relationships between digital well-being and AI well-being on a theoretical level.