The research focuses on concepts that utilize artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and other educational technologies in sales, customer service, marketing, and education.
The research group provides various concepts for sales research. Sales research laboratory at the heart of Helsinki makes it possible to implement controlled research setups including physiological measuring. Portable equipment make it possible to use multiple tools for implementing research in-situ at service provider's or customer's site. Further, different kinds of pop-up events can be organized for collecting data. The gropus provides possibilities to validate your own concepts or prototype services by using MRStudio - originally a university teaching platform created by the group - to test ideas rapidly. By generating and validating measurement tools, the research is focused on user experience, user value, and user engagement.
Service design principles for marketing and sales tools can be found here (only in Finnish):
The group is experienced in the fields of technology and service innovation, management and strategy development research in various industries including machinery, natural resources, medicine and education to name a few. The group is also actively involved in developing educational technologies and new pedagogical concepts. The team aims at lowering the barrier to companies and education organizations for creating and testing new, digitally supported service concepts. The hub integrates information from application developers, customers, business managers, students and teachers to accelerate the business ecosystem development in the field of industrial training and teaching.
Check out the latest training and educational videos and research setups from our youtube channel:
Below you'll find the active research themes related to MRHUB's ALIVE-project.
As computer-generated humanlike avatars gain prominence, debate has intensified regarding disclosure practices: should audiences be informed when AI generates content? Conventional wisdom suggests that such disclaimers would negatively impact user experience. However, preliminary findings from our MRHUB research group challenge this assumption, indicating that transparency about AI usage may not produce the anticipated adverse effects on audience perception. Nevertheless, further research is required to comprehensively understand the full range of effects that AI disclosure may produce.
Robocalling (automated, AI-driven cold-calling systems), often faces criticism as an intrusive practice. However, emerging applications reveal potentially beneficial use cases where both companies and customers gain value from these automated interactions.
For businesses, robocalling offers substantial operational advantages, including cost reduction, increased contact volume, and improved lead capture rates. From the customer perspective, benefits extend beyond mere efficiency: AI-powered systems enable 24/7 availability and global reach through real-time translation capabilities. At the same time, standardization ensures consistent, high-quality service delivery regardless of time or location.
Nevertheless, significant questions remain unaddressed. Customer perception of these automated interactions requires systematic investigation, particularly regarding transparency requirements and appropriate disclosure practices. Technical challenges persist in training AI systems to demonstrate emotional intelligence and empathy—qualities traditionally associated with human interaction. Additionally, organizations must weigh substantial implementation costs against potential returns.
People continue to view cyborgs and bots with unease, even though such technologies have been integrated into daily life for decades. Automated call responders, for example, represent an early form of bot technology that has long been commonplace, yet apprehension persists.
The uncanny valley theory offers one explanation for this phenomenon. This theory posits that when robots appear and behave almost, but not exactly, like humans, they trigger discomfort, fear, or revulsion rooted in evolutionary threat detection systems. Additional factors contributing to this unease include concerns about losing control over autonomous technologies and the lack of transparency in their decision-making processes.
Despite these concerns, cyborgs and bots offer significant practical benefits, including potential assistance with household chores, manual labor, and other demanding tasks. Given this tension between utility and discomfort, investigating the sources of public unease and developing strategies to address these concerns becomes essential for successful technology adoption.
What if, instead of replacing human experts, AI enabled professionals to create digital versions of themselves, making their knowledge and expertise more widely accessible? We term this approach "digital-me"—video and voice content combined with substantive domain knowledge that replicates a human expert's ability to provide interactive advice within their field of expertise.
The topic is closely related to transhumanism, a philosophical, scientific, and cultural movement advocating the use of advanced technologies to enhance human physical and cognitive capacities. Transhumanists aim to transcend biological limitations, extend the human lifespan, and potentially achieve immortality through technological advancements (Couderc, 2025). The movement promotes the deployment of genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and biotechnology to augment human performance and intelligence and overcome inherent limitations.
However, transhumanism raises critical ethical concerns. These include fundamental questions about the boundaries of human nature, equitable access to enhancement technologies, and the broader societal implications of transformative technological change. Such considerations demand careful scholarly attention as enhancement technologies move from theoretical possibility to practical reality.
References
Couderc, B. (2025). Transhumanism: Towards a new Adam?. Ethics, Medicine and Public Health, 33, 101091.
Parvinen, P., Mattila, O., Soltanieh-ha, M., Tuunanen, T. In-press. My Fate Is to Die Young, But to Live Forever in Song: Echeloned Design Science Research to a Digital-Me Expert System Design. 59th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, HICSS 2025, Maui, Hawaii, USA.