Invisible Machines podcast by UX Magazine

Cammy Crolic, Oxford Professor, researching human behavior, discusses hedonic escalation, anthropomorphization, and the impact of human-like bots on consumer behavior. She explores how complexity and personalization in conversational AI affect enjoyment and engagement. The podcast also delves into unintended consequences of diet composition, negative outcomes of anthropomorphizing chatbots, the use of anger in customer interactions, and the evolving expectations of consumers for chatbots.

Robb and Josh welcome Ben Goertzel for a deep exploration of the narrow AIs we are quickly growing accustomed to and our fraught transition to artificial general intelligence, or singularity. As the founder and CEO of SingularityNET, Ben has been working to democratize access to artificial intelligence through decentralization. He's also a leader of both the OpenCog Foundation and the AGI Society, having helped to popularize the term 'artificial general intelligence'. Topics in this episode include balancing design near-term design concerns—like anthropomorphization—against more consequential issues, such as who will control these systems and how they will interact with humanity.

Robb and Josh welcome David Bingham for an exploration of design and conversational AI, from our homes, to our workplaces, to industrial settings. David is a senior experience design executive who’s held positions at GE and Workday and is currently Director of User Experience at Schneider Electric (named one of Fortune’s Most Desirable Companies four years running and deemed the world’s most sustainable company in 2021). The trio discusses the uncanny valley in conversational AI, the true shape and purpose of digital twins, and updating CRUD (adding "seek" to create, read, update, and delete).

Robb and Josh welcome industry veteran Yoav Shoham for a thoughtful examination of the inner-workings of AI. As the co-founder of AI21 labs and a former professor in the Computer Science Department of Stanford University, Yoav has a rich history of working with these technologies and thinking through some of their more profound applications. This thoughtful discussion examines just how much the ways we live and work might begin to change as we become further intertwined with AI.

Robb and Josh welcome Shep Hyken for a conversation about the evolution of customer experience and the role AI will take in moving it forward. As a sought-after keynote speaker and the bestselling author of numerous books, including "Be Amazing or Go Home," Shep has a deep understanding of what companies are up against when it comes to creating truly dynamic experiences. This lively discussion explores those constraints as well as the massive possibilities new technologies have unlocked.

Robb and Josh welcome food futurist Mike Lee for a sprawling and fascinating exploration of the surprisingly similar worlds of food safety and technology regulation. As the founder of The Future Market, a consultancy in food innovation and strategy, Mike's investigations into the food industry led to hands-on work with generative AI. This conversation provides forward thinking in how we might regulate the unpredictable and now ubiquitous generative tools flooding into all industries and aspects of life.

Cassie Kozyrkov, Former Chief Decision Scientist at Google, discusses the limitations of data and the need to put a face on technology. They explore the evolution of prompts, the fallacy of data as god, and the distinction between thinking and thunking in different professions. They also emphasize the importance of collaboration, measuring and evaluating technology, and responsible AI use.

Renowned publisher and information architect Lou Rosenfeld joins the hosts for an insightful conversation on the roots of experience design and the full bloom of generative AI. They discuss the phenomenon of 'moment prisons' in the UX world, the impact of natural language on coding languages, the importance of synthesis in UX, redefining productivity and embracing creativity, systemic change and the role of AI, and the intersection between moment prisons and storytelling.

Jenna Fizel and Danny DeRuntz from IDEO join the hosts to discuss the creation of Lotbot, digital twins, machines communicating for safety, composability in technical architectures, Google's new tool and updates, the impact of technology on jobs, the value of anthropomorphism, prompt engineering and coding similarities, language standpoint and providing context, singularity and chatbot moderation challenges, and discoverability challenges in UI design.

Don Scheibenreif, Gartner VP, talks about machines becoming customers, transparency in healthcare, impact of machines on decision-making, designing forecasting dashboards for financial services, and trust in influencers and purchasing behaviors.