Josh Clark enlightens us to everything we need to know about the current state of UX in AI. He takes us on an unsettling stroll through uncanny valley. He encourages us to let machines do what they’re really good at, and humans do what they’re really good at. He guides us into how to begin getting our hands dirty with AI/Machine-Learning. He also articulates how our software/machines are embedded with values, and inspires us (for future’s sake) to be intentional about the kinds of values we embed into them.
Josh Clark spent nearly two hours with me talking all about the state of UX in AI. He answers important questions like:
How will failure and presenting errors be addressed as people rely on AI more & more?
Is there hope for the UX of Voice UI?
How do algorithm’s work?
What part of the AI development process should UX get involved?
Should we be worried about our jobs?
Will the machines we’ve built one day eventually overtake and possibly destroy us?
Alan Cooper teaches us what it means to be a good ancestor. He enlightens us to why it’s so hard to build good software. He reveals how money trumps good UX and ethics far too often. He explains why UX is not about finding the best location for a hamburger menu, but about solving the big problems that exist for the user and the business. He also inspires us to consider (and potentially redirect) the footprints we’re leaving now, for the generations to come.
Alan Cooper wants to be a good ancestor. That is why he is the co-creator of the “Ancestry Thinking Lab”. It’s an organization dedicated to finding and teaching practical methods for assuring that technology products behave in an ethical manner. This is just his latest effort in a long career as an inventor and thought leader in the world of software. In 2017, Alan and his wife, Sue, sold Cooper, the company they had founded 25 years earlier. It was the very first interaction design consulting firm.
Early on, he established the basic design methods that are used across the industry today and helped to popularize the notion that digital technology shouldn’t terrorize its human users. In particular, his invention, design personas, is almost universally used in the field. He shared his tools, knowledge, and experience in two best-selling books, still in print and widely referenced. The company’s new owners are a European design firm, Designit, owned by Wipro, a tech company based in Bangalore, India.
In 1988 Alan invented a dynamically extensible visual programming tool and sold it to Bill Gates, who released it to the world as Visual Basic, arguably the most successful programming language ever. This is how Alan earned the sobriquet, “The Father of Visual Basic.” He started his first software company in 1976 and produced what has been called “The first serious business software for microcomputers.”
In 2017, Alan was named a Fellow of the Computer History Museum in Silicon Valley, California. In 1998 he was named a Visionary by the Silicon Valley Forum, and in 1995 Bill Gates named him the first Windows Pioneer. In 2011, Cooper left Silicon Valley to live on a 50-acre former dairy farm in the rolling hills north of San Francisco where he continues to advocate for more humane technology.
Fun fact about Alan is he’s a former aircraft pilot, and a sheep and chicken farmer.
TIMESTAMPS
Should designers code? (4:40)
Specialization vs. generalization (7:41)
How do designers get business on board with building great products? (13:19)
How do you be a good ancestor? (25:30)
Ancestry Thinking (40:03)
What does the future of UX look like to you? (43:00)
What advice do you have for aspiring UX designers? (51:48)
Alan Cooper teaches us what it means to be a good ancestor. He enlightens us to why it’s so hard to build good software. He reveals how money trumps good UX and ethics far too often. He explains why UX is not about finding the best location for a hamburger menu, but about solving the big problems that exist for the user and the business. He also inspires us to consider (and potentially redirect) the footprints we’re leaving now, for the generations to come.
Alan Cooper wants to be a good ancestor. That is why he is the co-creator of the “Ancestry Thinking Lab”. It’s an organization dedicated to finding and teaching practical methods for assuring that technology products behave in an ethical manner. This is just his latest effort in a long career as an inventor and thought leader in the world of software. In 2017, Alan and his wife, Sue, sold Cooper, the company they had founded 25 years earlier. It was the very first interaction design consulting firm.
Early on, he established the basic design methods that are used across the industry today and helped to popularize the notion that digital technology shouldn’t terrorize its human users. In particular, his invention, design personas, is almost universally used in the field. He shared his tools, knowledge, and experience in two best-selling books, still in print and widely referenced. The company’s new owners are a European design firm, Designit, owned by Wipro, a tech company based in Bangalore, India.
In 1988 Alan invented a dynamically extensible visual programming tool and sold it to Bill Gates, who released it to the world as Visual Basic, arguably the most successful programming language ever. This is how Alan earned the sobriquet, “The Father of Visual Basic.” He started his first software company in 1976 and produced what has been called “The first serious business software for microcomputers.”
In 2017, Alan was named a Fellow of the Computer History Museum in Silicon Valley, California. In 1998 he was named a Visionary by the Silicon Valley Forum, and in 1995 Bill Gates named him the first Windows Pioneer. In 2011, Cooper left Silicon Valley to live on a 50-acre former dairy farm in the rolling hills north of San Francisco where he continues to advocate for more humane technology.
Fun fact about Alan is he’s a former aircraft pilot, and a sheep and chicken farmer.
TIMESTAMPS
There’s no such thing as UX Design? (8:13)
Why do you put so much emphasis on Interaction Design? (24:41)
How important are design patterns? (31:35)
How do you build a product you can’t prove is valuable yet? (45:58)
Why are there so many bad products in the world? (50:50)
Tim Hykes shines a light on black designers. He shows us how an inspiring idea, and a lot of hard work can make a huge impact. He inspires us to challenge everything, especially the status quo. He motivates us to not wait to be asked to solve a problem, but to be a self-starter and solve it. He also teaches us how being a great designer starts with being a great person.
Timothy Hykes aka Tim Hykes is a User Experience designer and Illustrator working in Saint Louis, Missouri. He’s had the pleasure of seeing his work featured on FastCompany, Adobe, nationally with AIGA, InVision App, and socially with Behance and many other sites and publications. He is nationally known for his side projects which includes the 28 Days of Black Designers project, the Design + Diversity conference, and podcast, the #WeStandTogether project, and on YouTube on the Tim Hykes channel. A fun fact about Tim is that he’s really shy in a one on one situation.
