In the interaction history class, we learned that early devices like blackberry had actually influenced the relationship between people and technology. At that time, interaction design focused on how to type on the small physical keyboard and how to maximize work efficiency. Although blackberry’s goal is to serve work, we have also witnessed that it has gradually changed people’s communication methods, such as sending emails at any time and chatting with BBM. At that time, what designers had to consider was how to create a good experience within the limitations of hardware.
I think what we are facing now are completely different challenges. AI is no longer a tool in itself, but a part involved in decision-making. For instance, the AI writing tools, recommendation systems, and even chat AI like ChatGPT that we are currently using often help us make choices and filter information. This means that what interaction designers need to consider is not only whether the interface operation is smooth, but also whether the system is fair to users, whether it misleads or overly relies on others, whether the content recommended by AI is objective, and whether it exposes users’ privacy. All these are questions we need to ask ourselves.
I think designers of our generation face more responsibilities than those in the blackberry era. What we do is not just interaction, but designing the relationship between humans and machines. I think we should polish the details as carefully as we did when making blackberry keyboards, and at the same time add a new sensitivity: Is the system transparent? Does the user have the right to choose? Is AI really helping people? These issues may seem significant, but in fact, every time we put an AI recommendation tag and every time we give users a button to turn off AI suggestions, it is part of responsible design.