AI is OK
In the article The Designer’s Guide to AI — a $70 Billion industry by 2020, Patrick van Hoof writes, “Design will be less about delivering on a user’s request, and more about responding to the needs they haven’t expressed yet.” (source) This is such an exciting idea. With AI, we open up the possibilities to not just design for the masses, but designing for the individual in personal, specific situations. But as he points out, there’s much more to working with AI than just design. Designers are now tasked with handling situations that deal with math, sociology, biology, and psychology.
Another area designers should consider is : how do we make people comfortable with AI?
I’ve been introducing the idea of AI to my friends and family, and the overall attitude towards it is that it’s really cool, but really creepy. I’m more open-minded to it than they are, and even I find it a little unnerving at times (but still really, really cool).
So how do we, as designers, introduce this technology to the average consumer — likely someone who came into this world before owning cell phones and computers was the norm — and convince them to make it a part of their everyday lives? Do we give it a cute face? Do we make it sing and dance in order to trick consumers into thinking that the machine is as vulnerable as we are? Do we integrate it into their experience so seamlessly that they don’t even notice? Maybe a little bit of everything?
These are questions I’ve been asking thanks to my most recent project : a dating app that uses AI to suggest better matches for its users.
Dating apps are a place where people are already expected to be somewhat vulnerable, but the level of vulnerability is in the user’s control. My project asks users to take that vulnerability, and open it up to an AI.
Vulnerability requires someone to trust their audience to the fullest degree. In our second article, 10 Principles for Design in the Age of AI, Yves Behar’s 7th principle is : good design brings about products and services that build long-term relationships. (source) Loyalty and trust in a product develop over time, and one way to gain a user’s trust is to start small and continually make changes that align with the user’s goals. Plant the seed, and let it grow with the user.
There’s no shortage of articles expressing great fear over AI. It’s understandable. Aren’t we all at least a little fearful of the unknown?
According to a recent study, 63% of people don’t even realize that they’re already using AI technologies. 47% of polled consumers in the US, UK, Germany, Mexico, Ireland, and Columbia would buy a product from a chatbot. Conversations with customer service through live phone support are popular with 58% of this same consumer group, and 54% of them are fine communicating through email — likely with AI. 57% of respondents were interesting in getting real-time answers from bots on a company website. (source) So all of these stats must mean that consumers aren’t too disturbed by AI, right? It’s relatively easy to introduce AI to consumers through aspects of customer service, ecommerce, and voice searches. It seems pretty easy to ask consumers to hand over their credit card information or to share their search habits with a bot. But asking them to openly talk about their wants, desires, and feelings with AI is a more challenging task. (Take my wallet, but don’t take my heart!)
My initial assumption is that people will need to see proof that talking openly with AI is not only okay, it’s beneficial, and that they have something to gain by accepting this new kind of dialogue into their day.
Primary Research Insights
The following are results from 18 different interviews with men and women in the target group.
Target : Someone who is single, active and social, and wants to be in a committed relationship.
Hypothesis : By introducing cognitive into the modern dating experience, users will spend less time swiping and more time going on more meaningful dates that have greater potential to turn into a relationship.
