User-Centered AI Weekly

Editor's thoughts

Every week, I gather the best pieces on the topics of how AI can be user-centered. Here are the week's top contents:"

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Human-AI Emotions

AI Companions: Good or Bad for Users?

The researchers discovered three main themes that users mentioned as reasons for liking their AI companions:

AI friends help people feel less alone as they do not feel judged by it.
AI friends are always available and kind. Users feel that they can establish proper relationships with them.
AI friends don’t have a mind and tell users what they want to hear

For better or worse, virtual companions are shaping up to be one of the major uses of AI that will consume billions of person-hours per year. By comparison, in the United States alone (only counting people aged 15 years or more), 300 billion person-hours per year are spent watching television. I am not sure whether AI companions are better or worse than TV, but they have the potential to be better because they address each user’s individual needs. It behooves us to take this application seriously and do what we can to make it have a positive impact on users’ well-being. AI friends don’t have a mind and tell users what they want to hear.

Design & AI

Andrew Ng: Opportunities in AI - 2023 - YouTube

Andrew Ng is a computer scientist, co-founder of Coursera, and managing director of AI Fund, known for his contributions to AI research, including co-founding Google Brain and pioneering online AI education. Ng’s core message is crystal clear: AI is not just about riding the latest technology wave; it's about addressing real-world problems. He underscores the importance of democratizing AI, extending its benefits beyond tech and consumer software—from seemingly simple tasks as ensuring even cheese distribution on pizzas, to more complex ones like optimizing agriculture and making our roads safer.

"What excites me about the rise of AI tools is the opportunity to create those deep, challenging applications that hopefully can create very long-term value. A lot of the work that lies ahead of us is finding those diverse use cases and building them."

HCAI - Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence

Toyota Research Institute - Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence

It is a short video but it was interesting to see how a global company like Toyota thinks about the value of Human centered AI. TRI is using AI technology to augment and enhance human capabilities to advance its mission towards achieving carbon neutrality, driving future product innovations, and creating harmonious communities for Toyota’s goal of “happiness for all.”

Mixed Reality & Spatial Design

Spatial UI Design: Tips and Best Practices | IxDF

UX design for AR has some different guidelines than what is used for screen-based UX. Designers must consider the space and the physical limits of what is comfortable for the human body. Also, as AR overlays physical space, you must be very aware of the cognitive load because you add to the existing distractions of the real world. Because of how it interacts with physical space, AR needs to follow specific guidelines to make an experience that isn't unpleasant for viewers. Object placement should fall within a central area in the user's field of vision, and objects shouldn't be too close or far away from the user.

What is mixed reality? - Mixed Reality | Microsoft

Mixed reality is a blend of physical and digital worlds, unlocking natural and intuitive 3D human, computer, and environmental interactions. This new reality is based on advancements in computer vision, graphical processing, display technologies, input systems, and cloud computing. The term "mixed reality" was introduced in a 1994 paper by Paul Milgram and Fumio Kishino, "A Taxonomy of Mixed reality Visual Displays." Their paper explored the concept of a virtuality continuum and the taxonomy of visual displays. Since then, the application of mixed reality has gone beyond displays to include: Environmental understanding: spatial mapping and anchors. Human understanding: hand-tracking, eye-tracking, and speech input. Spatial sound. Locations and positioning in both physical and virtual spaces. Collaboration on 3D assets in mixed reality spaces.