Design Thinking in HCI/AI

Introduction

The intersection of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is arguably becoming more important in modern society. Organizations may need to take a more intentional approach to designing AI systems with which humans interact. One methodology that might be leveraged is “design thinking.” This paper will cover how design thinking impacts and is impacted by HCI and AI. Additionally, it will cover how the study of AI in HCI benefits from design thinking. Finally, the merits of using design thinking for simple (such as this paper) tasks will be discussed.

Design Thinking

“Design thinking is a systemic, intuitive, customer-focused problem-solving approach that organizations can use to respond to rapidly changing environments and to create maximum impact” (What Is Design Thinking?, 2023, p. 1). One of the key principles in design thinking is to anticipate the needs of the user beyond the currently accepted modality (What Is Design Thinking?, 2023). Another key principle is rapid iteration, where designers develop concepts and then quickly deliver prototypes for feedback from their target audience and refinement (What Is Design Thinking?, 2023).

This may sound similar to other design techniques, such as user-centered design; however, user-centered design generally focuses on design for improving specific features or products, whereas design thinking is a higher-level approach to solving problems within complex systems (What Is Design Thinking?, 2023).

AI & HCI

Researchers within the field of HCI are studying how AI systems can be effectively leveraged to augment human capabilities (Chignell et al., 2022). This intersection of AI and HCI is sometimes referred to as Human AI Interaction (HAII).

In his book titled “Designing Human-Centric AI Experiences,” Kore (2022) describes a future where AI may be ubiquitously found in all of the products humans interact with, both physical and otherwise. This is due to the decreasing cost of compute combined with the rapid development in the field of AI (Kore, 2022). Kore (2022) compares AI to databases in the sense that most of our current software products include a database of some sort; however, we don’t refer to these products as database products. Kore (2022) argues that products with AI powering certain features will not be seen as just “AI products.”

Design Thinking and HAII

The transformative nature of AI offers an opportunity to develop new solutions for how humans interact with various products across almost every category (Kore, 2022). Kore (2022) argues that many researchers are currently focused on the technological aspects of AI systems and should rather place more focus on the human element. This may arguably be the perfect conditions for design thinking to be applied. Humans need productive methods to interact with AI systems that improve rather than inhibit their current workflows.

Merits of Design Thinking for Simple Problems

Design thinking may be an effective tool even for the simpler tasks a person may face. Approaching a problem with the user and desired outcome in mind may yield desirable results beyond what is normally achieved.

References

Chignell, M., Wang, L., Zare, A., & Li, J. (2022). The evolution of HCI and Human Factors: Integrating human and artificial intelligence. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, 30(2), 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1145/3557891

Kore, A. (2022). Designing Human-Centric AI Experiences. In Design Thinking. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-8088-1

What is design thinking? (2023, March 6). McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-design-thinking