User Experience of AI

Why does a high-end mechanical watch sell for tens of thousands, while an Apple Watch, which does far more, sells for a fraction of that? Why do gamers invest so deeply in fictional digital worlds? Why do fans pack arenas for a hologram pop star?

Technology design usually focuses on helping its users get things done. But the technologies people care most about often do something else: they make people feel something they desire to feel. This course introduces the cognitive psychology behind how interactive technologies bring people joy and thrill, and how they make people feel more connected to who they are and more like who they aspire to be. It then teaches how to design dyadic, interactive AI systems that purposefully create these experiences. Although intended for future software and UX designers, this course is open to students from any background.

Prerequisite: None.

Format: This course interleaves reading-and-discussion lectures with project work sessions. Students will complete a course project individually or in pairs, primarily outside lecture hours.

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Lecture 1 | Design Ludic Technologies

Lecture 2 | Design Playful Technologies (And How Does It Differ from Designing Games?)

Lecture 3 | Design Enchanting, Thrilling Technologies

Lecture 4 | Project Work Hour 🤹

No lecture this week; students will schedule office hours with the instructor for early project feedback.

Lecture 5 | Project Play-Testing 🤹

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Lecture 6 | Introduction to Tech Design and the Theater of Social Life

Lecture 7 | Design Tech that Helps People Fit In; Design Tech that Helps People Stand Out Positively

Lecture 8 | Project Work Hour 🤹

Lecture 9 | Project Play-Testing 🤹

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Lecture 10 | Design Tech as an Extension of Its User’s Body and Mind

Lecture 11 | Design for Reminiscence

Lecture 12 | Design Tech that Connects People with Their Inner Selves

Lecture 13 | Design Tech that Makes People Feel Like Who They Aspire to Be

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Lecture 14 | Synthesis and Reflection + Project Work Hour 🤹

We have so far learned the various ways interactive technologies can be psychologically, if not existentially, valuable to people, beyond helping them get things done faster, cheaper, or more accurately. The former are the user experience affordances of interactive technologies; the latter are functional affordances. When we design computational systems, we design their physical form, temporal form, and interaction gestalt to create specific user experiences, not only functional ones.

Now, let’s put the concepts we learned throughout this course into practice: design interactive AI systems that create specific psychological experiences for their users while also providing functional value.

Lecture 15 | Student Project Show-and-Tell 🤹

Student project showcase.