AI for Human-Computer Interaction (AI for Everything)

Every AI system needs to interact with humans and AI is affecting nearly every human engagement with digital technology from simple word processors to autonomous vehicles. This book explores these rich human aspects of AI: how AI can help in user experience (UX) design and how effective user interfaces can help AI.

The term artificial intelligence has become inescapable in news and product adverts – some is mere hype, but some is transforming the way we live, work and see ourselves as human beings. To be truly useful, the developers of AI need to understand the people who use their systems. Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is both an area of academic research that looks at the way humans engage with digital technology, and a design discipline that tries to make digital systems better for people. In both HCI research and practical user experience design, AI is ubiquitous. This book presents guidelines and methods for the design and evaluation of systems with AI at their core including smart environments and intelligent web and mobile applications. It also looks at the way AI can help the behind-the-scenes work of user experience designers and how better user interfaces can help AI developers navigate the complexity of vast and seemingly impenetrable AI models. It includes an examination of explainable AI and discussion of wider societal issues including the dangers of AI bias. The book website includes extensive additional material, including case studies, further reading, slides, videos, interactive demos and a substantial glossary of terms in both AI and HCI.

AI for Human-Computer Interaction offers a concise, accessible and actionable introduction to the interplay between AI and HCI whether you come from a background in one of these or neither. Read it for the joy of understanding this exciting area or to learn specific methods and techniques to use in your own projects.

Alan Dix is Professor Emeritus at Cardiff Metropolitan University and at Swansea University. He is known for his research and textbooks in human–computer interaction, and has often worked at the intersection of HCI and AI including a dot-com startup and the earliest work warning of bias in machine learning.