Chateau d'Edges
1:35:43 PM
We uphold courage as a virtue of which we probably all wish we had more. Why we wish we had more, and don’t just decide to have more is that courageousness is a difficult attitude to sustain.
CALL 1-800-HALLUCINATIONS
6.3.25
Stepping Out to Leap Forward
Innovation requires stepping out of your comfort zone. These are some concrete practices for how to get comfortable working in new ways.
Stepping Out to Leap Forward
Innovation requires stepping out of your comfort zone. These are some concrete practices for how to get comfortable working in new ways.
6.3.25
AI and Creative Companionship
Grishma Rao and Jenna Fizel reflect on their SXSW talk where they had participants make a book using a suite of custom AI tools.
AI and Creative Companionship
Grishma Rao and Jenna Fizel reflect on their SXSW talk where they had participants make a book using a suite of custom AI tools.
5.28.25
Snap Spectacles and Atlas Obscura
Is a city a skyline or its subtext?
Snap Spectacles and Atlas Obscura
Is a city a skyline or its subtext?
3.26.25
We Made A Game to Test Your Patience—An IDEO Playable Experiment
You're playing a digital game where your only job is to move a circle across the screen. There's just one catch—you have to wait.
We Made A Game to Test Your Patience—An IDEO Playable Experiment
You're playing a digital game where your only job is to move a circle across the screen. There's just one catch—you have to wait.
2.26.25
Against Optimization
Rediscovering the power and ethics of craft
Against Optimization
Rediscovering the power and ethics of craft
2.13.25
Beyond the Swipe: Reimagining the Future of Online Dating
We spent two weeks researching how dating could feel more social, intentional, and community driven.
Beyond the Swipe: Reimagining the Future of Online Dating
We spent two weeks researching how dating could feel more social, intentional, and community driven.
1.6.25
The Pragmatism of Courage
Courage is about staking your life on a possibility.
The Pragmatism of Courage
Courage is about staking your life on a possibility.
9.4.24
Modalities of Search
The different typologies of finding things
Modalities of Search
The different typologies of finding things
8.17.24
What are we really looking for?
Past, Present, and Future of Search: Part 1
What are we really looking for?
Past, Present, and Future of Search: Part 1
7.30.24
An LLM Mediated Manifesto
How we got an LLM to facilitate group authorship of a manifesto about AI tools.
An LLM Mediated Manifesto
How we got an LLM to facilitate group authorship of a manifesto about AI tools.
7.18.24
AI is getting emotional. Is this supposed to save the digital economy?
On retention and intimacy in a non-boring sense.
AI is getting emotional. Is this supposed to save the digital economy?
On retention and intimacy in a non-boring sense.
6.6.24
In Search of Novelty
Unlearning Through Constraints
In Search of Novelty
Unlearning Through Constraints
5.6.24
Figproxy: A Free and Open Tool to Connect Figma and Arduino
Figproxy enables rapid prototyping of tangible user experiences by allowing Figma prototypes to talk to the external world. This article dives into what it is and why I made it.
Figproxy: A Free and Open Tool to Connect Figma and Arduino
Figproxy enables rapid prototyping of tangible user experiences by allowing Figma prototypes to talk to the external world. This article dives into what it is and why I made it.
2.13.24
Game Design Principles to Improve AI-Enabled Experiences
IDEO Play Lab's Kezie, Lauren and Keren share insights on how to prototype, position and world build with AI-enabled experiences
Game Design Principles to Improve AI-Enabled Experiences
IDEO Play Lab's Kezie, Lauren and Keren share insights on how to prototype, position and world build with AI-enabled experiences
2.6.24
Behind the Scenes: Making an AI-Infused Holiday Wishing Well
Three Principles We Applied When Designing a Holiday Card With Gen AI
Behind the Scenes: Making an AI-Infused Holiday Wishing Well
Three Principles We Applied When Designing a Holiday Card With Gen AI
1.25.24
Playful Rituals, Stronger Teams: Lessons from IDEO Play Lab
Part 2 from our series on Play x Work: Setting teams up to feel seen
Playful Rituals, Stronger Teams: Lessons from IDEO Play Lab
Part 2 from our series on Play x Work: Setting teams up to feel seen
1.22.24
Olfactory Odyssey
Decoding the essence of memory with AI in scent replication
Olfactory Odyssey
Decoding the essence of memory with AI in scent replication
12.21.23
Fashion is a ruthless business
Squeezing creativity from an LLM
Fashion is a ruthless business
Squeezing creativity from an LLM
12.15.23
4 Tools to Playfully Bring Strategy and Rigor to Your Design
Strategy can be playful, too, y'all
4 Tools to Playfully Bring Strategy and Rigor to Your Design
Strategy can be playful, too, y'all
12.12.23
Poetic Algorithms
Emotional resonance in AI-Generated film and sound
Poetic Algorithms
Emotional resonance in AI-Generated film and sound
12.7.23
Do Pigeons Dream of Electric Budget Blogs?
Rapidly prototyping a budget horoscope with AI
Do Pigeons Dream of Electric Budget Blogs?
Rapidly prototyping a budget horoscope with AI
11.29.23
What game design can teach us about leading teams at work
Part 1: Setting teams up for Success
What game design can teach us about leading teams at work
Part 1: Setting teams up for Success
11.28.23
Thomas Overthun Looks Back at 30 Years at IDEO
Grishma Rao talks with Thomas Overthun about his design legacy
Thomas Overthun Looks Back at 30 Years at IDEO
Grishma Rao talks with Thomas Overthun about his design legacy
11.28.23
Design for a Cooler Tomorrow: Part 3 of 3 - Why Haven't Refrigerators Changed?
If you compare a refrigerator from 100 years ago to today, things don’t look that different. In part 3 we address the barriers to novel refrigerator design and share our process.
Design for a Cooler Tomorrow: Part 3 of 3 - Why Haven't Refrigerators Changed?
If you compare a refrigerator from 100 years ago to today, things don’t look that different. In part 3 we address the barriers to novel refrigerator design and share our process.
11.20.23
Design for a Cooler Tomorrow: Combatting Climate Change with a Next-Gen Refrigerator - Part 2 of 3
In the future our appliances will be able to work together and work differently, supplying us with greater functionality with a much smaller impact on the environment. This installment is about one way this might play out.
Design for a Cooler Tomorrow: Combatting Climate Change with a Next-Gen Refrigerator - Part 2 of 3
In the future our appliances will be able to work together and work differently, supplying us with greater functionality with a much smaller impact on the environment. This installment is about one way this might play out.
11.8.23
Design for a Cooler Tomorrow: Combatting Climate Change with a Next-Gen Refrigerator - Part 1 of 3
This series starts with the challenge: How might we help balance the load on the electrical grid to reduce carbon emissions?
Design for a Cooler Tomorrow: Combatting Climate Change with a Next-Gen Refrigerator - Part 1 of 3
This series starts with the challenge: How might we help balance the load on the electrical grid to reduce carbon emissions?
11.7.23
How Do We Discover New Things?
Letting in the angels, spirits, subconscious, muses and dreams
How Do We Discover New Things?
Letting in the angels, spirits, subconscious, muses and dreams
10.30.23
Can You Create A Renaissance?
Thinking about the conditions for creativity to thrive
Can You Create A Renaissance?
Thinking about the conditions for creativity to thrive
10.14.23
pr;dr™️
The idea of “Folk AI” has been around for awhile. What happens when anyone can create their own personal AI applications? So, here's an AI Chrome plugin that reveals the subtext of websites
pr;dr™️
The idea of “Folk AI” has been around for awhile. What happens when anyone can create their own personal AI applications? So, here's an AI Chrome plugin that reveals the subtext of websites
9.25.23
4 parots talking
Warming up to AI
These parrots get shit started.
4 parots talking
Warming up to AI
These parrots get shit started.
9.12.23
The Power of Roleplay: Designing Gen AI Products That Pass the Gen Z Vibe Check
Understanding how the first digitally-native generation engages with AI through a tried-and-true Play Lab method: roleplay. This allowed us to think beyond current technical constraints to think about what Gen-Z really wants from this technology.
The Power of Roleplay: Designing Gen AI Products That Pass the Gen Z Vibe Check
Understanding how the first digitally-native generation engages with AI through a tried-and-true Play Lab method: roleplay. This allowed us to think beyond current technical constraints to think about what Gen-Z really wants from this technology.
8.18.23
If These Pants Could Talk
What if you could learn everything you wanted to know about a product just by asking it directly? What would you ask for a pair of jeans, if these pants could talk?
If These Pants Could Talk
What if you could learn everything you wanted to know about a product just by asking it directly? What would you ask for a pair of jeans, if these pants could talk?
8.8.23
The Insight That Could Change How Schools Think About AI
Apprehension about AI is everywhere, but few industries are passing judgment and regulation as quickly and decisively as education.
The Insight That Could Change How Schools Think About AI
Apprehension about AI is everywhere, but few industries are passing judgment and regulation as quickly and decisively as education.
7.28.23
A Legal and Ethical Framework For Gen AI
In June, the National Eating Disorders Association decided to shut down an AI-powered chatbot called Tessa. “She” was supposed to serve as a 24-hour counselor for people dealing with eating disorders. Instead, psychologists and activists found Tessa was offering dieting tips.
A Legal and Ethical Framework For Gen AI
In June, the National Eating Disorders Association decided to shut down an AI-powered chatbot called Tessa. “She” was supposed to serve as a 24-hour counselor for people dealing with eating disorders. Instead, psychologists and activists found Tessa was offering dieting tips.
7.20.23
How AI and View-Masters are Helping Us Reimagine the Future
How we brought a beloved technology back from the dead with AI-generated imagery to envision the future of downtown Washington D.C.
How AI and View-Masters are Helping Us Reimagine the Future
How we brought a beloved technology back from the dead with AI-generated imagery to envision the future of downtown Washington D.C.
6.11.23
What’s in a /ˈneɪm/?
Getting AI to pronounce names correctly.
What’s in a /ˈneɪm/?
Getting AI to pronounce names correctly.
5.30.23
Integrating AI into Immersive Interactive Fiction
At a nondescript payphone booth in Chicago, at the corner of California and Fullerton, there’s a strange payphone that allows you to talk to a robot from the future.
Integrating AI into Immersive Interactive Fiction
At a nondescript payphone booth in Chicago, at the corner of California and Fullerton, there’s a strange payphone that allows you to talk to a robot from the future.
5.22.23
material swatch for rendering with eyes
Designing Materials for Better Storytelling with Generative AI
Everything that surrounds us tells a story, from architecture to the furniture we use to the utensils we eat with and the fashion we wear. Materials help shape those stories, communicating how it’s meant to be used and how it needs to be cared for. Industrial Designers must consider material properties, colors, function, lifespan, and cost-effectiveness when bringing a physical design to market. And digital creators must think about the physical properties as if they were in the real world. At the moment, the only creative constraint is we’re limited to using the materials we know exist. But what if we could wave a creative “I-wish-wand” and design a material first?
material swatch for rendering with eyes
Designing Materials for Better Storytelling with Generative AI
Everything that surrounds us tells a story, from architecture to the furniture we use to the utensils we eat with and the fashion we wear. Materials help shape those stories, communicating how it’s meant to be used and how it needs to be cared for. Industrial Designers must consider material properties, colors, function, lifespan, and cost-effectiveness when bringing a physical design to market. And digital creators must think about the physical properties as if they were in the real world. At the moment, the only creative constraint is we’re limited to using the materials we know exist. But what if we could wave a creative “I-wish-wand” and design a material first?
5.17.23
AI camera designs itself, (kinda).
So, what would a physical AI camera look like, anyway? Would it have a lens? How would you interact with it? How might AI play a role in the design process? Could it design itself?
AI camera designs itself, (kinda).
So, what would a physical AI camera look like, anyway? Would it have a lens? How would you interact with it? How might AI play a role in the design process? Could it design itself?
5.12.23
What’s Up Doc?
Accessing Knowledge Beyond the LLM (aka Grounding an LLM)
What’s Up Doc?
Accessing Knowledge Beyond the LLM (aka Grounding an LLM)
5.8.23
What do you want, [AI]?
Answer: To Be My Sycophant and Publish a Book
What do you want, [AI]?
Answer: To Be My Sycophant and Publish a Book
4.28.23
Vibe Camera: AI creates an impression
Capturing vibes, not photons
Vibe Camera: AI creates an impression
Capturing vibes, not photons
4.7.23
Smile
How To Use GPT-4 To Improve Your Personality
Smile
How To Use GPT-4 To Improve Your Personality
3.24.23
Parking Lotbot 2.0, pt 1
The Importance Of Explicit Prompts And Generative AI
Parking Lotbot 2.0, pt 1
The Importance Of Explicit Prompts And Generative AI
3.21.23
Crit-Bot Hotline
Call today and get an AI safeguard for free
Crit-Bot Hotline
Call today and get an AI safeguard for free
3.17.23
Future of The Comments Section
Or How Generative AI Can Make Ted Lasso Your New Chat Moderator
Future of The Comments Section
Or How Generative AI Can Make Ted Lasso Your New Chat Moderator
3.1.23
5 Ways We're Using AI at Work
Are you using ChatGPT yet? If the answer is no, keep reading. For anyone whose day job involves creating things—proposals or presentations that require fact-finding, writing, imagery, and video—it's changing how we make stuff. Love it or fear it, generative AI may be our new co-worker. And to ensure this co-worker is ethical, friendly, and aligned with our intentions, we must first explore it.
5 Ways We're Using AI at Work
Are you using ChatGPT yet? If the answer is no, keep reading. For anyone whose day job involves creating things—proposals or presentations that require fact-finding, writing, imagery, and video—it's changing how we make stuff. Love it or fear it, generative AI may be our new co-worker. And to ensure this co-worker is ethical, friendly, and aligned with our intentions, we must first explore it.
9.14.20
Designing a Video Game on a Very, Very Small Scale
When’s the last time you had to design for something as small as a pixel? In recent years, with the advance of retina displays on computers, tablets and phones, it’s easy to forget that pixels are still the building blocks for everything you see on the screen. (These new displays still use pixels; they’re just so small they can’t really be seen.) In the past, user interface designers had to build to pixel-perfect precision to avoid blurry aliasing effects and issues with displaying fonts on lower-resolution screens; today, this is all but a thing of the past.
Designing a Video Game on a Very, Very Small Scale
When’s the last time you had to design for something as small as a pixel? In recent years, with the advance of retina displays on computers, tablets and phones, it’s easy to forget that pixels are still the building blocks for everything you see on the screen. (These new displays still use pixels; they’re just so small they can’t really be seen.) In the past, user interface designers had to build to pixel-perfect precision to avoid blurry aliasing effects and issues with displaying fonts on lower-resolution screens; today, this is all but a thing of the past.
5.8.19
AI Needs an Ethical Compass. This Tool Can Help.
A design researcher, a business designer, and a data scientist were sitting at a bar. It sounds like the setup of a joke, but the conversation was actually quite serious.
AI Needs an Ethical Compass. This Tool Can Help.
A design researcher, a business designer, and a data scientist were sitting at a bar. It sounds like the setup of a joke, but the conversation was actually quite serious.
5.7.18
What the AI Products of Tomorrow Might Look Like
We’re in the midst of a revolution. Intelligent machines are able to augment our humanity in ways that seem lifted straight out of science fiction. Self-driving cars, bipedal and quadrupedal robots, and even our thermostats learn from us and get smarter over time.
What the AI Products of Tomorrow Might Look Like
We’re in the midst of a revolution. Intelligent machines are able to augment our humanity in ways that seem lifted straight out of science fiction. Self-driving cars, bipedal and quadrupedal robots, and even our thermostats learn from us and get smarter over time.
5.19.17
Could AI Replace Design Researchers?
In the top floor of London’s Design Museum, as dozens of visitors walk by and the rain hits the windows, a woman speaks with an AI bot called Spirit. It asks her how many partners she would like to have if she can live until she is 150. She giggles and answers. “Just one—and that is because my husband is next to me.” According to Spirit’s analytics, her answer is 33% sad and 12% joyful.
Could AI Replace Design Researchers?
In the top floor of London’s Design Museum, as dozens of visitors walk by and the rain hits the windows, a woman speaks with an AI bot called Spirit. It asks her how many partners she would like to have if she can live until she is 150. She giggles and answers. “Just one—and that is because my husband is next to me.” According to Spirit’s analytics, her answer is 33% sad and 12% joyful.
11.25.16
We Built a Bot to Assign Parking Spots. It Fought Back.
The chaos began the day we moved into our new building. A little plot of land outside was the scene of the terror. Not only was our Cambridge parking lot too small for the number of people in our office—21 spots for about 60 employees—getting spaces for clients was a pain, there was a pile of poop in spot 16 that even a car couldn’t clear, and a neighborhood transient liked to sleep in spot 20. Instead of managing the workings inside the office, our employee experience team was suddenly tasked with assigning parking spots. It got so bad they were often working as a valet service in addition to their day jobs. So we built a bot to do it for us.
We Built a Bot to Assign Parking Spots. It Fought Back.
The chaos began the day we moved into our new building. A little plot of land outside was the scene of the terror. Not only was our Cambridge parking lot too small for the number of people in our office—21 spots for about 60 employees—getting spaces for clients was a pain, there was a pile of poop in spot 16 that even a car couldn’t clear, and a neighborhood transient liked to sleep in spot 20. Instead of managing the workings inside the office, our employee experience team was suddenly tasked with assigning parking spots. It got so bad they were often working as a valet service in addition to their day jobs. So we built a bot to do it for us.
1.21.15
How We Did It: Buildings Tell Us Just How Green They Really Are
I've always had a layman's interest in architecture and in LEED, the U.S. Green Building Council’s certification program for sustainable buildings. I’m a software developer, so designing buildings is well outside my area of expertise.
How We Did It: Buildings Tell Us Just How Green They Really Are
I've always had a layman's interest in architecture and in LEED, the U.S. Green Building Council’s certification program for sustainable buildings. I’m a software developer, so designing buildings is well outside my area of expertise.
The Emerging Wave
The Emerging Wave is a R&D weekly forum for probing the edges of emerging tech and human‑centered design through talks, brainstorms, and hands‑on making. Summaries of select sessions are published here.
6.3.25
Stepping Out to Leap Forward
Innovation requires stepping out of your comfort zone. These are some concrete practices for how to get comfortable working in new ways.
Stepping Out to Leap Forward
Innovation requires stepping out of your comfort zone. These are some concrete practices for how to get comfortable working in new ways.
6.3.25
AI and Creative Companionship
Grishma Rao and Jenna Fizel reflect on their SXSW talk where they had participants make a book using a suite of custom AI tools.
AI and Creative Companionship
Grishma Rao and Jenna Fizel reflect on their SXSW talk where they had participants make a book using a suite of custom AI tools.
5.28.25
Snap Spectacles and Atlas Obscura
Is a city a skyline or its subtext?
Snap Spectacles and Atlas Obscura
Is a city a skyline or its subtext?
3.26.25
We Made A Game to Test Your Patience—An IDEO Playable Experiment
You're playing a digital game where your only job is to move a circle across the screen. There's just one catch—you have to wait.
We Made A Game to Test Your Patience—An IDEO Playable Experiment
You're playing a digital game where your only job is to move a circle across the screen. There's just one catch—you have to wait.
2.26.25
Against Optimization
Rediscovering the power and ethics of craft
Against Optimization
Rediscovering the power and ethics of craft
2.13.25
Beyond the Swipe: Reimagining the Future of Online Dating
We spent two weeks researching how dating could feel more social, intentional, and community driven.
Beyond the Swipe: Reimagining the Future of Online Dating
We spent two weeks researching how dating could feel more social, intentional, and community driven.
1.6.25
The Pragmatism of Courage
Courage is about staking your life on a possibility.
The Pragmatism of Courage
Courage is about staking your life on a possibility.
9.4.24
Modalities of Search
The different typologies of finding things
Modalities of Search
The different typologies of finding things
8.17.24
What are we really looking for?
Past, Present, and Future of Search: Part 1
What are we really looking for?
Past, Present, and Future of Search: Part 1
7.30.24
An LLM Mediated Manifesto
How we got an LLM to facilitate group authorship of a manifesto about AI tools.
An LLM Mediated Manifesto
How we got an LLM to facilitate group authorship of a manifesto about AI tools.
7.18.24
AI is getting emotional. Is this supposed to save the digital economy?
On retention and intimacy in a non-boring sense.
AI is getting emotional. Is this supposed to save the digital economy?
On retention and intimacy in a non-boring sense.
6.6.24
In Search of Novelty
Unlearning Through Constraints
In Search of Novelty
Unlearning Through Constraints
5.6.24
Figproxy: A Free and Open Tool to Connect Figma and Arduino
Figproxy enables rapid prototyping of tangible user experiences by allowing Figma prototypes to talk to the external world. This article dives into what it is and why I made it.
Figproxy: A Free and Open Tool to Connect Figma and Arduino
Figproxy enables rapid prototyping of tangible user experiences by allowing Figma prototypes to talk to the external world. This article dives into what it is and why I made it.
2.13.24
Game Design Principles to Improve AI-Enabled Experiences
IDEO Play Lab's Kezie, Lauren and Keren share insights on how to prototype, position and world build with AI-enabled experiences
Game Design Principles to Improve AI-Enabled Experiences
IDEO Play Lab's Kezie, Lauren and Keren share insights on how to prototype, position and world build with AI-enabled experiences
2.6.24
Behind the Scenes: Making an AI-Infused Holiday Wishing Well
Three Principles We Applied When Designing a Holiday Card With Gen AI
Behind the Scenes: Making an AI-Infused Holiday Wishing Well
Three Principles We Applied When Designing a Holiday Card With Gen AI
1.25.24
Playful Rituals, Stronger Teams: Lessons from IDEO Play Lab
Part 2 from our series on Play x Work: Setting teams up to feel seen
Playful Rituals, Stronger Teams: Lessons from IDEO Play Lab
Part 2 from our series on Play x Work: Setting teams up to feel seen
1.22.24
Olfactory Odyssey
Decoding the essence of memory with AI in scent replication
Olfactory Odyssey
Decoding the essence of memory with AI in scent replication
12.21.23
Fashion is a ruthless business
Squeezing creativity from an LLM
Fashion is a ruthless business
Squeezing creativity from an LLM
12.15.23
4 Tools to Playfully Bring Strategy and Rigor to Your Design
Strategy can be playful, too, y'all
4 Tools to Playfully Bring Strategy and Rigor to Your Design
Strategy can be playful, too, y'all
12.12.23
Poetic Algorithms
Emotional resonance in AI-Generated film and sound
Poetic Algorithms
Emotional resonance in AI-Generated film and sound
12.7.23
Do Pigeons Dream of Electric Budget Blogs?
Rapidly prototyping a budget horoscope with AI
Do Pigeons Dream of Electric Budget Blogs?
Rapidly prototyping a budget horoscope with AI
11.29.23
What game design can teach us about leading teams at work
Part 1: Setting teams up for Success
What game design can teach us about leading teams at work
Part 1: Setting teams up for Success
11.28.23
Thomas Overthun Looks Back at 30 Years at IDEO
Grishma Rao talks with Thomas Overthun about his design legacy
Thomas Overthun Looks Back at 30 Years at IDEO
Grishma Rao talks with Thomas Overthun about his design legacy
11.28.23
Design for a Cooler Tomorrow: Part 3 of 3 - Why Haven't Refrigerators Changed?
If you compare a refrigerator from 100 years ago to today, things don’t look that different. In part 3 we address the barriers to novel refrigerator design and share our process.
Design for a Cooler Tomorrow: Part 3 of 3 - Why Haven't Refrigerators Changed?
If you compare a refrigerator from 100 years ago to today, things don’t look that different. In part 3 we address the barriers to novel refrigerator design and share our process.
11.20.23
Design for a Cooler Tomorrow: Combatting Climate Change with a Next-Gen Refrigerator - Part 2 of 3
In the future our appliances will be able to work together and work differently, supplying us with greater functionality with a much smaller impact on the environment. This installment is about one way this might play out.
Design for a Cooler Tomorrow: Combatting Climate Change with a Next-Gen Refrigerator - Part 2 of 3
In the future our appliances will be able to work together and work differently, supplying us with greater functionality with a much smaller impact on the environment. This installment is about one way this might play out.
11.8.23
Design for a Cooler Tomorrow: Combatting Climate Change with a Next-Gen Refrigerator - Part 1 of 3
This series starts with the challenge: How might we help balance the load on the electrical grid to reduce carbon emissions?
Design for a Cooler Tomorrow: Combatting Climate Change with a Next-Gen Refrigerator - Part 1 of 3
This series starts with the challenge: How might we help balance the load on the electrical grid to reduce carbon emissions?
11.7.23
How Do We Discover New Things?
Letting in the angels, spirits, subconscious, muses and dreams
How Do We Discover New Things?
Letting in the angels, spirits, subconscious, muses and dreams
10.30.23
Can You Create A Renaissance?
Thinking about the conditions for creativity to thrive
Can You Create A Renaissance?
Thinking about the conditions for creativity to thrive
10.14.23
pr;dr™️
The idea of “Folk AI” has been around for awhile. What happens when anyone can create their own personal AI applications? So, here's an AI Chrome plugin that reveals the subtext of websites
pr;dr™️
The idea of “Folk AI” has been around for awhile. What happens when anyone can create their own personal AI applications? So, here's an AI Chrome plugin that reveals the subtext of websites
9.25.23
4 parots talking
Warming up to AI
These parrots get shit started.
4 parots talking
Warming up to AI
These parrots get shit started.
9.12.23
The Power of Roleplay: Designing Gen AI Products That Pass the Gen Z Vibe Check
Understanding how the first digitally-native generation engages with AI through a tried-and-true Play Lab method: roleplay. This allowed us to think beyond current technical constraints to think about what Gen-Z really wants from this technology.
The Power of Roleplay: Designing Gen AI Products That Pass the Gen Z Vibe Check
Understanding how the first digitally-native generation engages with AI through a tried-and-true Play Lab method: roleplay. This allowed us to think beyond current technical constraints to think about what Gen-Z really wants from this technology.
8.18.23
If These Pants Could Talk
What if you could learn everything you wanted to know about a product just by asking it directly? What would you ask for a pair of jeans, if these pants could talk?
If These Pants Could Talk
What if you could learn everything you wanted to know about a product just by asking it directly? What would you ask for a pair of jeans, if these pants could talk?
8.8.23
The Insight That Could Change How Schools Think About AI
Apprehension about AI is everywhere, but few industries are passing judgment and regulation as quickly and decisively as education.
The Insight That Could Change How Schools Think About AI
Apprehension about AI is everywhere, but few industries are passing judgment and regulation as quickly and decisively as education.
7.28.23
A Legal and Ethical Framework For Gen AI
In June, the National Eating Disorders Association decided to shut down an AI-powered chatbot called Tessa. “She” was supposed to serve as a 24-hour counselor for people dealing with eating disorders. Instead, psychologists and activists found Tessa was offering dieting tips.
A Legal and Ethical Framework For Gen AI
In June, the National Eating Disorders Association decided to shut down an AI-powered chatbot called Tessa. “She” was supposed to serve as a 24-hour counselor for people dealing with eating disorders. Instead, psychologists and activists found Tessa was offering dieting tips.
7.20.23
How AI and View-Masters are Helping Us Reimagine the Future
How we brought a beloved technology back from the dead with AI-generated imagery to envision the future of downtown Washington D.C.
How AI and View-Masters are Helping Us Reimagine the Future
How we brought a beloved technology back from the dead with AI-generated imagery to envision the future of downtown Washington D.C.
6.11.23
What’s in a /ˈneɪm/?
Getting AI to pronounce names correctly.
What’s in a /ˈneɪm/?
Getting AI to pronounce names correctly.
5.30.23
Integrating AI into Immersive Interactive Fiction
At a nondescript payphone booth in Chicago, at the corner of California and Fullerton, there’s a strange payphone that allows you to talk to a robot from the future.
Integrating AI into Immersive Interactive Fiction
At a nondescript payphone booth in Chicago, at the corner of California and Fullerton, there’s a strange payphone that allows you to talk to a robot from the future.
5.22.23
material swatch for rendering with eyes
Designing Materials for Better Storytelling with Generative AI
Everything that surrounds us tells a story, from architecture to the furniture we use to the utensils we eat with and the fashion we wear. Materials help shape those stories, communicating how it’s meant to be used and how it needs to be cared for. Industrial Designers must consider material properties, colors, function, lifespan, and cost-effectiveness when bringing a physical design to market. And digital creators must think about the physical properties as if they were in the real world. At the moment, the only creative constraint is we’re limited to using the materials we know exist. But what if we could wave a creative “I-wish-wand” and design a material first?
material swatch for rendering with eyes
Designing Materials for Better Storytelling with Generative AI
Everything that surrounds us tells a story, from architecture to the furniture we use to the utensils we eat with and the fashion we wear. Materials help shape those stories, communicating how it’s meant to be used and how it needs to be cared for. Industrial Designers must consider material properties, colors, function, lifespan, and cost-effectiveness when bringing a physical design to market. And digital creators must think about the physical properties as if they were in the real world. At the moment, the only creative constraint is we’re limited to using the materials we know exist. But what if we could wave a creative “I-wish-wand” and design a material first?
5.17.23
AI camera designs itself, (kinda).
So, what would a physical AI camera look like, anyway? Would it have a lens? How would you interact with it? How might AI play a role in the design process? Could it design itself?
AI camera designs itself, (kinda).
So, what would a physical AI camera look like, anyway? Would it have a lens? How would you interact with it? How might AI play a role in the design process? Could it design itself?
5.12.23
What’s Up Doc?
Accessing Knowledge Beyond the LLM (aka Grounding an LLM)
What’s Up Doc?
Accessing Knowledge Beyond the LLM (aka Grounding an LLM)
5.8.23
What do you want, [AI]?
Answer: To Be My Sycophant and Publish a Book
What do you want, [AI]?
Answer: To Be My Sycophant and Publish a Book
4.28.23
Vibe Camera: AI creates an impression
Capturing vibes, not photons
Vibe Camera: AI creates an impression
Capturing vibes, not photons
4.7.23
Smile
How To Use GPT-4 To Improve Your Personality
Smile
How To Use GPT-4 To Improve Your Personality
3.24.23
Parking Lotbot 2.0, pt 1
The Importance Of Explicit Prompts And Generative AI
Parking Lotbot 2.0, pt 1
The Importance Of Explicit Prompts And Generative AI
3.21.23
Crit-Bot Hotline
Call today and get an AI safeguard for free
Crit-Bot Hotline
Call today and get an AI safeguard for free
3.17.23
Future of The Comments Section
Or How Generative AI Can Make Ted Lasso Your New Chat Moderator
Future of The Comments Section
Or How Generative AI Can Make Ted Lasso Your New Chat Moderator
3.1.23
5 Ways We're Using AI at Work
Are you using ChatGPT yet? If the answer is no, keep reading. For anyone whose day job involves creating things—proposals or presentations that require fact-finding, writing, imagery, and video—it's changing how we make stuff. Love it or fear it, generative AI may be our new co-worker. And to ensure this co-worker is ethical, friendly, and aligned with our intentions, we must first explore it.
5 Ways We're Using AI at Work
Are you using ChatGPT yet? If the answer is no, keep reading. For anyone whose day job involves creating things—proposals or presentations that require fact-finding, writing, imagery, and video—it's changing how we make stuff. Love it or fear it, generative AI may be our new co-worker. And to ensure this co-worker is ethical, friendly, and aligned with our intentions, we must first explore it.
9.14.20
Designing a Video Game on a Very, Very Small Scale
When’s the last time you had to design for something as small as a pixel? In recent years, with the advance of retina displays on computers, tablets and phones, it’s easy to forget that pixels are still the building blocks for everything you see on the screen. (These new displays still use pixels; they’re just so small they can’t really be seen.) In the past, user interface designers had to build to pixel-perfect precision to avoid blurry aliasing effects and issues with displaying fonts on lower-resolution screens; today, this is all but a thing of the past.
Designing a Video Game on a Very, Very Small Scale
When’s the last time you had to design for something as small as a pixel? In recent years, with the advance of retina displays on computers, tablets and phones, it’s easy to forget that pixels are still the building blocks for everything you see on the screen. (These new displays still use pixels; they’re just so small they can’t really be seen.) In the past, user interface designers had to build to pixel-perfect precision to avoid blurry aliasing effects and issues with displaying fonts on lower-resolution screens; today, this is all but a thing of the past.
5.8.19
AI Needs an Ethical Compass. This Tool Can Help.
A design researcher, a business designer, and a data scientist were sitting at a bar. It sounds like the setup of a joke, but the conversation was actually quite serious.
AI Needs an Ethical Compass. This Tool Can Help.
A design researcher, a business designer, and a data scientist were sitting at a bar. It sounds like the setup of a joke, but the conversation was actually quite serious.
5.7.18
What the AI Products of Tomorrow Might Look Like
We’re in the midst of a revolution. Intelligent machines are able to augment our humanity in ways that seem lifted straight out of science fiction. Self-driving cars, bipedal and quadrupedal robots, and even our thermostats learn from us and get smarter over time.
What the AI Products of Tomorrow Might Look Like
We’re in the midst of a revolution. Intelligent machines are able to augment our humanity in ways that seem lifted straight out of science fiction. Self-driving cars, bipedal and quadrupedal robots, and even our thermostats learn from us and get smarter over time.
5.19.17
Could AI Replace Design Researchers?
In the top floor of London’s Design Museum, as dozens of visitors walk by and the rain hits the windows, a woman speaks with an AI bot called Spirit. It asks her how many partners she would like to have if she can live until she is 150. She giggles and answers. “Just one—and that is because my husband is next to me.” According to Spirit’s analytics, her answer is 33% sad and 12% joyful.
Could AI Replace Design Researchers?
In the top floor of London’s Design Museum, as dozens of visitors walk by and the rain hits the windows, a woman speaks with an AI bot called Spirit. It asks her how many partners she would like to have if she can live until she is 150. She giggles and answers. “Just one—and that is because my husband is next to me.” According to Spirit’s analytics, her answer is 33% sad and 12% joyful.
11.25.16
We Built a Bot to Assign Parking Spots. It Fought Back.
The chaos began the day we moved into our new building. A little plot of land outside was the scene of the terror. Not only was our Cambridge parking lot too small for the number of people in our office—21 spots for about 60 employees—getting spaces for clients was a pain, there was a pile of poop in spot 16 that even a car couldn’t clear, and a neighborhood transient liked to sleep in spot 20. Instead of managing the workings inside the office, our employee experience team was suddenly tasked with assigning parking spots. It got so bad they were often working as a valet service in addition to their day jobs. So we built a bot to do it for us.
We Built a Bot to Assign Parking Spots. It Fought Back.
The chaos began the day we moved into our new building. A little plot of land outside was the scene of the terror. Not only was our Cambridge parking lot too small for the number of people in our office—21 spots for about 60 employees—getting spaces for clients was a pain, there was a pile of poop in spot 16 that even a car couldn’t clear, and a neighborhood transient liked to sleep in spot 20. Instead of managing the workings inside the office, our employee experience team was suddenly tasked with assigning parking spots. It got so bad they were often working as a valet service in addition to their day jobs. So we built a bot to do it for us.
1.21.15
How We Did It: Buildings Tell Us Just How Green They Really Are
I've always had a layman's interest in architecture and in LEED, the U.S. Green Building Council’s certification program for sustainable buildings. I’m a software developer, so designing buildings is well outside my area of expertise.
How We Did It: Buildings Tell Us Just How Green They Really Are
I've always had a layman's interest in architecture and in LEED, the U.S. Green Building Council’s certification program for sustainable buildings. I’m a software developer, so designing buildings is well outside my area of expertise.
The Emerging Wave
The Emerging Wave is a R&D weekly forum for probing the edges of emerging tech and human‑centered design through talks, brainstorms, and hands‑on making. Summaries of select sessions are published here.