Summer Secondary Research Findings and a New Project Direction

Initial Idea – Workshop

See my initial project proposal document (PDF 77KB).

I am interested in improving my workshop facilitation skills and my knowledge of Artificial Intelligence. Thus, I found the idea of creating a workshop for interdisciplinary teams that explains how AI functions for better decision-making exciting.

However, I decided against it due to the lack of:

• understanding of the technology and intricate data visualisation methods to meet the requirements of the task
• relevant contacts and challenges of teams agreeing to come together for my research.

Tangible User Interface (TUI)

The arguments of Ghajargar et al. (2022) and Colley et al. (2022) about the prospects of employing (interactive dynamic) materials for data visualisation and IBM’s ongoing efforts in explainable AI in digital dashboard format (IBM, n.d.) held my initial project direction.

The substantial challenge to this is that I would need to have access to the database of the AI. Potential applications are in high-risk domains involving private data, meaning likely I will not be granted access to it. Therefore I will keep exploring for now.

Reconsidering the TUI Direction

As (embodied design reference) focuses on physicalizing information, it doesn’t change the current centralized information processing paradigm but acts as a bridge between the digital and physical realms.

TUI will pose challenges at the micro-interaction level and in handling the required data, an area where I lack expertise. Given this, I am leaning towards forgoing the use of machine learning in my project.

Exploring Somatic design has emerged as a potential solution to the challenges posed by TUIs. This area seems more promising for creative and embodied explorations, aligning with the essence of MA UX. I am pushing beyond my comfort zone to see what project unfolds in this direction.

Trends in the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) Field

Emerging Focus

The third wave of HCI marks a technological shift, emphasizing integration into everyday life and culture (Bødker, 2015). It embraces people’s experiences as an ongoing progression towards leisure activities, distinguishing it from the second wave (ibid.). Challenges include managing the multitude of objects and experiences, and reconfiguring work boundaries, all contributing to the emergence of new experiences (Bødker, 2006).

Turn Towards Somatics

Designing technology that centres on the body’s felt experience, facilitates self-cultivation of sensory awareness (Schiphorst, 2011). Developing skills through personal bodily experiences, using the body as both instrument and material for exploration and expression—an intriguing opportunity (Loke and Schiphorst, 2018).

New Artifact Directions

Girouard et al. (2013) introduce non-2D interfaces with multi-touch displays that would potentially challenge and prompt a re-examination of fundamental principles in user interface design under the concept of computational materiality. Individual-level human-computer integration involves sensory fusion, wherein computers deliver information directly to the senses rather than relying on symbolic representations. Implicit user needs are discerned through biosensors. (Mueller, 2020)

References

Bødker, S., 2006, October. When second wave HCI meets third wave challenges. In Proceedings of the 4th Nordic conference on Human-computer interaction: changing roles (pp. 1-8).

Bødker, S., 2015. Third-wave HCI, 10 years later—participation and sharing. interactions, 22(5), pp.24-31.

Colley, A., Väänänen, K. and Häkkilä, J., 2022, November. Tangible Explainable AI-an Initial Conceptual Framework. In Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia (pp. 22-27).

Ghajargar, M., Bardzell, J., Smith-Renner, A.M., Höök, K. and Krogh, P.G., 2022, February. Graspable AI: Physical forms as explanation modality for explainable AI. In Sixteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction (pp. 1-4).

Girouard, A., Vertegaal, R. and Poupyrev, I., 2013. Organic User Interfaces. Interacting with Computers, 25(2), pp.115-116.

Loke, L. and Schiphorst, T., 2018. The somatic turn in human-computer interaction. Interactions, 25(5), pp.54-5863.

Mueller, F.F., Lopes, P., Strohmeier, P., Ju, W., Seim, C., Weigel, M., Nanayakkara, S., Obrist, M., Li, Z., Delfa, J. and Nishida, J., 2020, April. Next steps for human-computer integration. In Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1-15).Schiphorst, T., 2011. Self-evidence: applying somatic connoisseurship to experience design. In CHI’11 extended abstracts on human factors in computing systems (pp. 145-160).

What is explainable ai? (no date) IBM. Available at: https://www.ibm.com/topics/explainable-ai (Accessed: 10 July 2023).