Let’s not try ‘beat the brain’, let’s partner with it
I’ve been doing a few courses through the fantastic Interaction Design Foundation (IDF), on all things related to the brain and UX. The key takeaway from this is that we need to ‘build technology to partner with the brain, rather than try and replace it’. In the age of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), we often think we are in a race to create an all conquering technology. A technology that limits the need for a user and increases the tasks of a computer. We do this, in part, because we entirely underestimate the abilities of the human brain. I personally believe, this is because we don’t yet a unified theory of mind, and it’s just plain jealousy. The brain can still many things the machine can’t and in turn we feel the human mind is competition to, rather than a partner for technology.
After decades of progress in computer science, neuroscience and psychology, we still don’t know exactly how the brain does such marvelous things. This ‘resistant brain’, that refuses to reveal all its secrets, has become something to be ‘cracked’ like a safe. The brain instead should be partnered with, for the marvelous tool it is. I’ve listened to many cognitive scientists say things like, ‘look how much we know about the brain, philosophers of old were completely off’, à la Daniel Dennet. Others have said things like, ‘we are so close to a unified theory of mind and we will crack in the next X years!’ to paraphrase Jeff Hawkins. Articles, like this one from Live Science, titled ‘Scientists Closing in on Theory of Consciousness‘, show a push to outdo the brain.
Now you might say, why is this a problem? Science has always sought to outdo human capability and now we have marvelous machines that can aid us in building once impossible structures, send us to the moon or advance industry. The human body has many physical limitations and is oft bettered by machines in various feats of strength and raw power. Taking all of this into account, we must remember that the body is still capable of beautiful forms of expression from painting to dance, that is yet to be outdone by any machine nor should we aim to create machines that can do so. As the 90s cyberpunk era proposed, machines should augment human ability because it is through this partnership, that we can do the incredible.
A collaborative effort between human and machine, should inform the design of technological products as both have their strengths and weaknesses. A user-centred approach, as opposed to a computer-centred approach, means we are able to create this collaboration. Let’s look at the core aspects of each:
Computer centered approach
- Person is another peripheral
- Maximise what computer does
- Minimise what person does
- Technology above people*
*Risk is this can create negative user-experiences i.e. phone addiction; users reverting to smart phones; leaving social media
User centered approach
- Computer and other devices are the peripheral
- Enable people to make their lives better
- Give people more control over their tasks
- People and their need defines the technology
The user-centred approach does two key things for us, as UX professionals. It allows us to focus on user needs to better define technological advancement that will be truly adopted and it also allows us to collaborate with another hugely powerful processor – the human brain. There are many things the brain can do, that computers can’t and vice versa. By enabling users through technology, we are able to achieve great things.