The Role of HCI in the Age of AI

This article examines some of the mystique surrounding AI, including the interrelated notions of explainability and complexity, and argues that these notions suggest that designing human-centered AI is difficult. It explains how, once these are put aside, an HCI perspective can help define interaction between AI and users that can enhance rather than substitute one important aspect of human life: creativity. Key to developing such creative interactions are abstractions and grammars of action and other notions; the article explores the history of these in HCI and how they are to be used in the contemporary interaction and design space, in relation to AI. The article is programmatic rather than empirical though its argument uses real-world examples.