“Feels Like Paper!”: Interfacing AI through Paper
This video is featured in the Designing with AI 2025 playlist and 1 more.
Summary
“Feels Like Paper!” is a series of prototypes about augmenting physical paper through AI. Various ML models, LLMs and a mixed reality headset are used to infuse physical paper and ink with properties of the digital world without compromising on their physical traits.
Key Insights
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Physical paper retains unique tactile qualities that people naturally gravitate toward for reading, writing, and drawing.
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Augmented reality can augment handwriting math input and provide instant, contextual AI-generated answers projected close to the user’s writing.
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Mixed reality interfaces enable a tight coupling between physical and virtual objects, making digital content feel part of the physical world with shadow and spatial alignment.
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AI agents embodied in physical objects scattered in our environment offer localized, context-aware assistance rather than a single all-knowing AI entity.
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Designing AI interfaces means designing for variable behaviors, as AI outputs are not deterministic and can change with context and prompts.
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Embodied interfaces can sometimes function without visible augmentation, using physical actions like highlighting combined with speech to synchronize digital data.
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Real-time image diffusion used as a co-creative muse on physical drawings creates a hierarchical relationship where AI inspires but does not dictate final outcomes.
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Smart glasses with egocentric cameras offer new opportunities for natural interaction but raise significant privacy concerns that need careful attention.
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Interaction choreography and microgestures are critical for socially acceptable use of smart glasses in public or professional environments.
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Future interfaces may allow uninterrupted coexistence of physical and virtual content on a single perceptual layer, enhancing sensory saturation and collaboration.
Notable Quotes
"Conventional user interfaces have a very low rate of information exchange between the user and the technology."
"Augmenting our sensors through AI becomes possible with increasingly egocentric perspectives on the user’s context."
"The interaction comes to the foreground mainly when there’s a negotiation of intentionality between the user and the technology."
"Physical paper has a special tactility to it; people still gravitate back to it because of this nature."
"It is very important to be aware of augmentations because otherwise they can feel very intrusive to the user."
"There is a tight coupling of physical and digital objects that makes the physical world more fluid and the virtual world gain physical traits."
"With Draw Dream, the AI acts as a muse, giving inspiration but not the final outcome."
"Realtime model feedback on egocentric inputs really feels like lucid dreaming."
"Designing for AI means designing for behavior because you will not always get the same result for the same question."
"We need to factor in the specifics of the social situation when designing interaction models and gestures for smart glasses."
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