This week we are leaning into multiple metaphors: AI as a mirror, UX design as a window or room, and life as information. Plus: read about Michael Levin's upcoming presentation at the Imagining Summit, Helen's Book of the Week, and our upcoming events.
It’s easy to fall prey to the design illusion that because LLMs look sleek, they must be well-designed. But aesthetics alone do not equal design. As Steve Jobs once said, “Design is not just what it looks and feels like. Design is how it works.”
It’s curious that these two papers, tackling such similar ideas, came out at the same time. Is this coincidence, or does it tell us something about where the study of life and intelligence is heading?
An interview with Ben Shneiderman about his book Human-Centered AI.
Many of our listeners will be familiar with human-centered design and human-computer interaction. These fields of research and practice have driven technology product design and development for decades. Today, however, these fields are changing to adapt to the increasing use of artificial intelligence, leading to an emerging field called human-centered AI.
Prior to the widespread use of AI, technology products were powerful, yet, predictable—they operated based on the rules created by their designers. With AI, however, machines respond to data, providing predictions that may not be anticipated when the product is designed or programmed. This is incredibly powerful but can also create unintended consequences.
This challenge leads to the questions: How can we design AI-based products that provide benefits to humans? How can we create AI systems that learn and change with new data but still provide consequences intended by the system’s designers?
These questions led us to interview Ben Shneiderman, an Emeritus Distinguished University Professor in the department of Computer Science at the University of Maryland. Ben recently published a wonderfully approachable book, Human-Centered AI, which provides a guide to how AI can be used to augment and enhance humans’ lives. As the founding director of the Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory, Ben has a 40-year history in researching how humans and computers interact, making him an ideal source to talk with about how humans and AI interact.
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Thanks to Jonathan Coulton for our music
The Artificiality Weekend Briefing: About AI, Not Written by AI
