Introduction

I started working with teams two years ago to create experiences for AI-powered tools, even before ChatGPT's great hit. In my journey to learn about AI and work on AI digital experiences, I could feel the significant impact on my design workflow and approach to AI-specific projects. Here's my take on what the rise of AI technology could mean for designers.

Designing AI and designing with AI

AI's technical evolution is revolutionizing the way digital products are built and interacted with, and this transformation brings significant changes to how designers work and think.

Designers now face the dual challenge of integrating AI into products while using AI-powered tools to streamline and improve their workflow.

Many designers have adopted AI generative tools such as ChatGPT and Midjourney to enhance their design process. As AI tools continue to advance, they will unquestionably become part of every designer's toolbox, influencing the future of design in exciting ways.

Automation might reshape our roles. But there's so much AI can only do with our creativity, problem-solving skills, and intuition. Our focus should be leveraging AI where it counts and keeping our human touch where it's needed most. 

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Creating experiences for complex AI systems with many unknowns

AI knowledge becomes essential. It's necessary to understand the limitations and capabilities of AI to create meaningful AI-powered products. Understanding what AI can and cannot do is critical for defining practical features and measuring success.

Designers are responsible for making AI understandable, promoting ethical practices, and ensuring seamless interaction between humans and machines.

Each designer should dive into the world of AI by exploring its basic building blocks to learn how AI works.👇🏽

• ✨ Elements of AI - Free online course
• 🤖 What is Human-AI Interaction (HAX)?
• 🧐 What are the different types of AI?
• 📖 IBM - Design for AI
• 📒 Google - AI Guidebook
• 👀 Explore AI tools for practical understanding

The evolution of design from traditional to AI-powered digital products

AI is different from traditional software. Unlike conventional software that operates within predefined rules and logic, AI systems can learn from data and make decisions. This learning aspect introduces variability and unpredictability in behavior, a stark contrast to the predictability of traditional software.

AI's transformative role lies in its ability to augment human skills, automate laborious tasks, provide deep insights, personalize experiences, and solve complex problems efficiently. We are no longer just using tools but collaborating with intelligent systems. It is an exciting yet challenging journey into the future, where our digital interactions are more intuitive, personalized, and impactful.

👉 Explore the different types of AI

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A shift from conventional design

Moving from traditional to AI-powered digital products means stepping into a world of dynamic, evolving design that challenges traditional methods and encourages innovation.

Designing for AI involves a change in mindset to accommodate the fluidity and unpredictability of AI. Designers must explore beyond traditional click/tap interfaces to voice commands, gestures, and adaptable elements based on user behavior. 

Many AI systems incorporate direct interaction and invisible AI, providing user-facing features while performing background tasks. Integrating invisible AI presents unique design challenges, such as crafting interfaces that subtly indicate AI's contributions. Designers must think of design solutions to make AI's invisible process perceivable and understandable to users.

Collaboration between data scientists, developers, AI experts, and designers is crucial in the early stages of product creation. Designers should aim to work with engineers early on to explore AI capabilities and propose solutions for user needs. It is also essential to try AI functionality in the early phases of development and conduct user testing to capture feedback and address ethical concerns.

The novelty of AI in digital products opens doors to experimentation. Designers should explore and use AI tools to discover new possibilities to transform digital products. It's about asking not only "How can this be done?" but also "How should this be done with AI?" and "What new possibilities does AI open up?"

This journey into AI is as much about navigating the unknown as it is about shaping it.

✨ Explore UI patterns for AI

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New challenges. New ways. New questions.

AI digital tools are in their early stages, and AI interfaces, patterns, and standards are now forming. Today, many engineering teams develop AI tools without design support or experimenting with new ways of showcasing unique behaviors.

Designers must adapt to AI development needs by reshaping their design process and acquiring new skills to navigate emerging challenges. This evolution involves:

• Experimenting with AI capabilities in early development stages
• Prototyping AI interactions
• Define invisible AI behaviors and user impact
• Conducting user testing for AI functionalities
• Addressing ethical challenges and AI governance
• Making sense of the data AI systems produce
• Understanding how AI evolves and learns
• Defining and tracking UX and success metrics for AI products
• Growing existing AI technical solutions into seamless experiences

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Essential questions to keep in mind for future AI projects:

• What problem does this product solve? For who?
• How can AI simplify and enhance the experience?
• What type of AI do we use? Does it work with our goals?
• How does this AI work? What data does it need?
• What data does this AI provide? How can we display it? 
• How will people use the data AI generates?
• How do we design for scenarios where AI acts unexpectedly?
• How can our design adapt as the AI learns and evolves?
• How can we make the AI's process transparent to users?
• How do we ensure our AI is unbiased and respects user privacy?
• How can we test and validate AI functionality with users?
• How does it impact people's behavior?
• Can this product be used to harm people or the environment?
• How will the AI's performance be monitored and maintained?

Key Takeaways

AI is transforming the digital space, challenging us to rethink how we create digital products. As we navigate this shift, embracing AI, understanding its capabilities, and integrating it into our work are crucial steps toward crafting innovative solutions. Despite the technological advancements, our core mission remains unchanged: to develop ethical products that enhance people's lives.