Rosenverse

This video is only accessible to Gold members. Log in or register for a free Gold Trial Account to watch.

Log in Register

Most conference talks are accessible to Gold members, while community videos are generally available to all logged-in members.

Augment the Human. Interrogate the System.
Gold
Wednesday, June 7, 2023 • Enterprise UX 2023
Share the love for this talk
Augment the Human. Interrogate the System.
Speakers: Helen Armstrong
Link:

Summary

Designers stand at the verge of a great professional opportunity: artificial intelligence. This technology enables computers to study the world and make predictions using unstructured data. We can speak to machines—and machines can speak back. We can gesture to devices, expressing emotion and intent, and machines can respond meaningfully. We can look to computers not just for interaction, but for companionship. How can designers adapt and thrive in this evolving terrain? How might we map out new brands, platforms and experiences between human and machine? What dangers must we address? What destructive ideologies must we reveal? What possibilities for a better future might we explore and prototype?

Key Insights

  • Designers and data scientists approach problems differently, so collaboration is essential to merge human values with data capabilities.

  • Anticipatory design allows systems to predict and respond to user needs without explicit requests, enhancing relevance and convenience.

  • Humans tend to overtrust AI systems, but lose trust quickly when predictions are wrong, requiring designs that balance skepticism with recourse.

  • The pedal assist metaphor frames AI as augmenting human skill rather than replacing it, allowing users to adjust levels of automation.

  • Using AI to scaffold human memory and intuition supports cognition instead of automating it away, preserving human abilities.

  • Teaming humans with AI helps users handle complex data patterns that are otherwise difficult to perceive or verify.

  • Effective design interfaces provide users with in-moment verification tools to explore, challenge, and correct AI-generated content.

  • Ethical concerns about manipulation, surveillance, and marginalization need careful consideration in anticipatory systems.

  • Younger, digital native designers are more enthusiastic but less critical about AI, while older students bring caution and skepticism.

  • Building shared vocabulary between designers and data scientists is crucial to creating meaningful AI-driven design solutions.

Notable Quotes

"Designers need data, but data also needs designers."

"If we aren’t crafting experiences that support a thoughtful, ethical confluence of human and machine, humanity is never gonna get to enjoy that meal."

"Anticipatory design is design anticipating customer needs and serving up what they want before they request it."

"Humans tend to give too much authority to autonomous systems, which can lead to overtrust."

"Trust erodes very quickly the moment an AI prediction is a little off or wrong."

"Elizabeth Churchill framed AI as a pedal assist system, helping us go further and faster but sometimes needing to dial it back."

"Working with AI is a lot less like working with another human and more like working with some weird force of nature."

"AI has no understanding of consequences — humans are the ones to bring that understanding."

"The relationship between designers and data scientists can actually be pretty magical."

"Building skepticism into users is essential because if you’re not skeptical as a designer, it’s hard to build it into your customers."

Ask the Rosenbot
Jon White
Unsticking Research for Better Information Flow
2026 • Advancing Research 2026
Conference
Billy Carlson
Tips to Utilize Wireframes to Tell an Effective Product Story
2023 • Enterprise UX 2023
Gold
Christian Bason
Expand—Rethinking Design for Public Challenges
2022 • Civic Design Community
Aaron Stienstra
Leveraging Civic Design to Advance Equity and Rebuild Trust in the US Federal Government
2021 • Civic Design 2021
Gold
Saskia Liebenberg
Start Small for Big Impact
2019 • DesignOps Community
Mike Brzozowski
UX in everyday products: Empowering climate conscious choices
2024 • Climate UX Interest Group
Maria Rosala
Research Repositories
2026 • Advancing Research 2026
Conference
Sofia Quintero
Beyond Tools: The Messy Business of Implementing Research Repositories
2022 • Advancing Research 2022
Gold
Michael Weir
Mixed Methods and Behavioural Science
2023 • Rosenfeld Community
Jon Fukuda
All the Ops: Successful cross-functional collaboration
2025 • DesignOps Summit 2025
Gold
Andrew Webster
Scaling Design Capability: How Involved Should You Be?
2021 • DesignOps Summit 2021
Gold
Dominique Ward
The Most Exciting Time for DesignOps is Now
2022 • DesignOps Summit 2022
Gold
Dan Willis
Enterprise Storytelling Sessions
2016 • Enterprise UX 2016
Gold
Robin Beers
Research as a Catalyst for Organizational Transformation
2021 • Advancing Research 2021
Gold
Taylor Jennings
Research Debate Club
2026 • Advancing Research 2026
Conference
Theresa Marwah
How Atlassian is Operationalizing Respect in Research
2020 • Advancing Research Community

More Videos

Angelos Arnis

"There is no such thing as a single issue struggle because we do not live single issue lives."

Angelos Arnis

Navigating the Rapid Shifts in Tech's Turbulent Terrain

October 2, 2023

Dr. Jamika D. Burge

"User research's value lies in linking user needs and pain points directly to business profit and loss."

Dr. Jamika D. Burge Nick Fine Alexandra Jayeun Lee Greg Nudelman Bo Wang

How UX researchers can partner with (and not be replaced by) AI [Advancing Research Community Workshop Series]

August 31, 2023

Kristin Wisnewski

"We want to send fewer mailers but make them more impactful, using A/B testing to optimize open and click rates."

Kristin Wisnewski

Measuring What Matters

October 23, 2019

Jake Burghardt

"Insight summaries create durable knowledge that only goes away when it's been resolved or no longer relevant."

Jake Burghardt

Stop wasting research: Create new value with insight summaries

July 9, 2025

Louis Rosenfeld

"If you talk about the conference in social, please use the eUX 2023 hashtag and help us spread the word."

Louis Rosenfeld

Welcome / Housekeeping

June 7, 2023

Sam Proulx

"Confidence is a higher burden in retail because people are giving real money; inaccessible flows cause quick abandonment."

Sam Proulx

Online Shopping: Designing an Accessible Experience

June 7, 2023

Hugh Dubberly

"You don’t think of raising a child or teaching a student as solving a problem, it’s an ongoing process—and so is design today."

Hugh Dubberly

Problems with Problems: Reconsidering the Frame of Designing as Problem-Solving

June 19, 2019

Bria Alexander

"The stories you’re gonna hear today really reflect the world we live in, design operations, and resilience."

Bria Alexander

Theme 1 Intro

September 23, 2024

Greg Petroff

"The code starts to follow the outcomes and might even start to write itself at some level."

Greg Petroff

Software as Material—A Redux

June 6, 2023