IXD Futures

Innovation in Human-Computer Interaction

As an Interaction Design student, the experience of visiting the Computer History Museum gave me a deeper understanding of the evolution of technology and its impact on design.

First, seeing the journey from Babbage’s Differential Machine to today’s smart devices made me realize the accelerated pace of technological development, which directly impacts the field of interaction design. Advances in computers have not only driven innovation in human-computer interaction, but also changed user expectations and needs. Each technological leap brings new design challenges and opportunities.

For me, the biggest inspiration is realizing that design is not just about the product of the moment, but must also look to the future. Understanding history can help us anticipate trends and better respond to future technological changes. For example, from the early days of graphical interfaces to today’s artificial intelligence interactions, designers must constantly adapt to technological advances and anticipate how users will interact with new systems.

The experience also made me rethink pervasiveness in design. As technology becomes more pervasive, interaction design must not only serve professional users, but also consider a wide range of generalists. How to create inclusive, easy-to-use designs has become a direction I want to explore in depth in the future.

Overall, the visit reminded me that as designers, we must not only focus on the current user experience, but also understand the history and development of technology in order to design innovative products for the future.

Fei-Fei Li’s AI Journey

I recently had the opportunity to learn about Fei-Fei Li’s new book, The Worlds I See, in which she shares her journey from immigrating from China to the United States to becoming a global AI leader. As an interaction design student, I was deeply moved by her experience, especially her resilience and perseverance in the face of challenges.

Feifei Li immigrated to the U.S. with her parents at the age of 16, and initially faced obstacles such as language barriers and cultural differences. As she recounted these experiences, she made me realize that as an immigrant, there are no “shortcuts” to being a newcomer. Starting from scratch means extra effort and perseverance. Instead of letting these difficulties get her down, she took them as her motivation. Eventually, she not only finished her studies, but also became a professor at Stanford University, leading an AI lab.

As a student, I often encountered various challenges in my studies, and Feifei Li’s story made me realize that no matter what difficulties I encountered, as long as I focused and persevered, I would eventually see results. She not only changed the future of AI with her scientific achievements, but also inspired young people like me to follow their dreams.

Fei-Fei Li’s AI Journey

Shuoning liang 2024/9/23

Fei-Fei Li’s speech demonstrated the profound connection between technological innovation and human needs through her personal growth and her contribution to artificial intelligence (AI). In “The World in My Eyes” and her sharing at the Computer History Museum, Fei-Fei Li talked about how she combined her immigrant experience with technological exploration to promote the development of computer vision and AI. Her work especially focuses on how to make AI more humane, which has important implications for interactive design (IXD).

A key point she emphasized is that AI must serve humans, which made me realize that in IXD practice, design is not just about pursuing functions, but also about bringing more humane interactive experiences. Fei-Fei Li’s development of ImageNet showed how large-scale datasets can provide cognitive capabilities for AI, which inspired me to have a deep understanding of user needs in the design process and prompted me to think about how to better understand user behavior through technology to optimize interactive design.

At the same time, her experience in applying computer vision to various fields such as medical care made me realize that in IXD, designers should not only consider the direct needs of users, but also apply technology to broader social issues to make design more socially influential.

Insights-Computer History Museum

The presentation at the Computer History Museum, featuring Fei-Fei Li, offered deep insights into AI’s transformative role and its human-centered approach. One key point was how AI’s development—such as ImageNet—ushered in a new era of deep learning and machine learning. Li emphasised the responsibility we hold in harnessing AI’s potential for good, especially in areas like healthcare and education. As she noted, “AI is made by people, used by people, and will impact people’s lives.”

This presentation reshaped my perspective on interaction design (IXD), pushing me to think beyond functionality and aesthetics. Li’s focus on the societal implications of AI reinforces the importance of empathy in design, ensuring that technological solutions are inclusive and serve broader human needs.

For example, her discussion of “spatial intelligence” highlighted how AI can revolutionise various industries, from healthcare to robotics, through 3D reasoning and problem-solving in physical spaces. This encourages me to incorporate similar forward-thinking approaches in my own design work, considering how interactions might evolve in environments beyond screens—like augmented reality or robotics.

Lessons from Feifei Li: Perseverance, Interdisciplinary Thinking, and Social Responsibility in Interaction Design

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I was deeply touched by Feifei Li’s sharing of her AI journey. Her experience demonstrates the spirit of perseverance and the persistent pursuit of knowledge. From her story, I learned the following points:

  1. Perseverance and Courage: You cannot give up easily when facing difficulties and challenges. On the road to interaction design, you will also encounter various problems and must have enough courage and perseverance to overcome them.
  2. Interdisciplinary thinking: Feifei Li’s research involves a variety of fields, such as computer science, artificial intelligence, and neuroscience. This reminds me that in interaction design, I can’t limit myself to a single subject knowledge but actively draw on the results of other fields to broaden my horizons and cultivate interdisciplinary thinking ability.
  3. Social responsibility: Feifei Li is committed to promoting technology development and is concerned about its impact on society. She emphasizes that AI should serve human beings and solve problems in the real world. As an interaction designer, I should also thoroughly consider the needs of users and the interests of society when designing medical apps to improve the quality and efficiency of medical services.

Implications for IXD practice:

  1. Innovative Design Ideas: Feifei Li’s AI journey has shown me the great potential of AI in the medical field. When designing medical APPs, I can consider introducing AI technologies, such as intelligent diagnosis and personalized treatment suggestions, to provide users with more convenient and efficient medical services. The image recognition technology of AI can also be utilized to help users quickly identify drug packages or symptom manifestations and provide preliminary diagnostic advice. For example, if the user takes a picture of the drug label, the APP automatically recognizes the drug information and gives medication reminders.
  2. User Experience Optimization: After learning Feifei Li’s thoughts on the relationship between technology and human beings, I will pay more attention to optimizing user experience. When designing medical apps, we should fully consider users’ needs and psychology, design simple and clear interfaces, provide easy-to-operate functions, and make users feel cared for and supported in the process of using.
  3. Teamwork and communication: The success of Feifei Li must be connected to teamwork. I must also communicate and cooperate with developers, doctors, patients, and other parties in the interaction design project. This viewing made me realize the importance of teamwork, and I will try to improve my communication and teamwork skills.

Terry Winograd: User-Centered Design and HCI’s Future

In the video “A Discussion with Professor Terry Winograd of Stanford,” Professor Terry Winograd shares his research experience in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and his insights into the future of technology.

Professor Winograd emphasized the importance of user-centered design. He pointed out that understanding the user’s needs is crucial before designing any product. This fits well with what we learned in our Human-Computer Interaction course: always prioritizing the user experience.

The professor also discussed the advancements in Natural Language Processing (NLP) and its application in HCI. This made me excited about the future direction of interaction design as well. Interaction design will face more opportunities and challenges with the continuous development of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, and other technologies. We need to actively explore the application of these new technologies in interaction design to create a richer and more immersive interaction experience for users.

Prof. Winograd’s arguments made me reflect on some of my problems in design and the direction of my learning. I have often focused too much on visual design and interaction patterns in my studies and neglected the impact of design on the whole social ecosystem; Prof. Winograd reminded me that we are designing a product or service for users and a new way of life or interaction. At the same time, I started to think about the social responsibility of design, and Prof. Winograd’s point of view made me realize that interaction design is not just about providing users with an easy interface but also about solving real social problems and making design have a positive impact on society.