Machine Learning for Designers

Introduction

Since the dawn of computing, we have dreamed of (and had nightmares about) machines that can think and speak like us. But the computers we’ve interacted with over the past few decades are a far cry from HAL 9000 or Samantha from Her. Nevertheless, machine learning is in the midst of a renaissance that will transform countless industries and provide designers with a wide assortment of new tools for better engaging with and understanding users. These technologies will give rise to new design challenges and require new ways of thinking about the design of user interfaces and interactions.

To take full advantage of these systems’ vast technical capabilities, designers will need to forge even deeper collaborative relationships with programmers. As these complex technologies make their way from research prototypes to user-facing products, programmers will also rely upon designers to discover engaging applications for these systems.

In the text that follows, we will explore some of the technical properties and constraints of machine learning systems as well as their implications for user-facing designs. We will look at how designers can develop interaction paradigms and a design vocabulary around these technologies and consider how designers can begin to incorporate the power of machine learning into their work.

Why Design for Machine Learning is Different

A Different Kind of Logic

In our everyday communication, we generally use what logicians ...