Designing Assistant Technology - by Christopher Noessel (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

When artificial intelligence is designed poorly, it diminishes people's skills rather than enhancing them. It can even make users less capable and more dependent on AI. In Designing Assistant Technology, Christopher Noessel provides a framework for how to use AI to assist users, as well as mitigating the risks of de-skilling and overreliance on AI.

Who Should Read This Book

This book was written with four audiences in mind:

• Product owners and technology strategists who want to ensure that the software they offer is doing everything it can for users and their organizations.
• Interaction designers, user experience professionals, educators, and students who will build and inform the direct experiences with these systems.
• Futurists and tech sector pundits who might want to understand that AI is only as dark as they let it become.
• Everyone else because part of the responsibility of being a citizen is building literacy in the major forces at play, what biases those forces have, and what needs to be done to combat negative effects.

Takeaways

You'll learn to:

• Understand the conceptual difference between an agent and an assistant.
• Better understand your business's challenges and how AI can help.
• Incorporate the book's framework into an existing design process.
• De-risk how assistants are introduced to a workflow.
• Learn design patterns to mitigate the risks of assistants.
• Rely on AI assistants just enough, but not too much.

Review Quotes

--B Cavello, Director of Emerging Technologies, The Aspen Institute

"This is a crucial exploration of the evergreen, core principles of assistance and how to blend those with emerging technology for great societal outcomes. Chris shows us how to explore this fascinating frontier with care, intentionality, and an ethical lens."

--Katja Forbes, Author Machine Customers: The Evolution Has Begun

"A compelling call for ambitious AI designers to lift people up from device-bound dependency to a cognitive ascendancy."

--John V. Willshire, Founder, Smithery

"At a time when most AI guidance is short-sighted and reductionist, Chris Noessel offers a holistic, human-centered alternative. A well-grounded, balanced guide on how to design assistants that make users better without devaluing their work."

--Dr. Llewyn Paine, Researcher & AI consultant, Llewyn Paine Consulting, LL

"Modern airline cockpits are so automated that pilots need to constantly train so they don't de-skill. With the rise of AI, we're now all facing a similar risk. This book explains how to design AI systems that make us smarter rather than more reliant. The perfect companion for anybody tasked with designing the next generation of AI assistants."

--Andy Budd, Investor, advisor, and coach

"This book will delight you, provoke you, challenge your assumptions, and spark the kind of deep thinking we desperately need right now. It's full of groundbreaking insights delivered with wit, clarity, contagious imagination, and so much heart and admiration for UX."

--Greg Nudelman, Principal AI Advisor & Founder, Snowball Sprint

"A refreshing move away from the concern that AI makes us stupider, Noessel's book is an insightful and practical guide to designing AI that truly augments and amplifies human intelligence, empowering people by making us smarter, not just faster."

--Elizabeth F. Churchill, PhD. Department Chair and Professor of Human Computer Interaction, Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI)

"This is a book with a spine. Noessel delivers an urgent wake-up call to design assistants that amplifies judgment instead of replacing it--an unapologetic blend of pragmatism, optimism, politics, and conscience. Noessel's assistants make us smarter by using them;his book does the same."

--Josh Clark, Co-author of Sentient Design

"This book teaches you how to prepare for the AI chaos of today. Now I am confident I can thrive with Chris's brilliant ideas."

--Satoshi Kikuchi, Founder of UX DAYS TOKYO

"For designers worried about AI's impact, Noessel's book is a beacon of light: a practical primer with clear frameworks and enlightening examples to guide you in designing AI experiences that center people's abilities, wisdom, and curiosity."

--Sheryl Cababa, Founder, Optimistic Design, and author, Closing the Loop: Systems Thinking for Designers

"Chris's book is really useful for all of us grappling with the current technology shift and wanting to do good--wanting to be a good navigator!"

--James Royal-Lawson, Senior digital advisor and co-host of UX Podcast