
When society relies on computer models and their interfaces to explain and predict everything from love to geopolitical conflicts, our own behaviour and choices are artificially changed. Zachary Kaiser explores the harmful social consequences of this idea - balanced against speed and ease for the user - and how design practice and education can respond positively.

UXMatters devoted two articles to the business value of user experience: one by Irwin Hau (Chromatix, Australia) on why companies reject it, and one by Irfan Rehman (Clickysoft, USA) on the benefits of user experience consulting for businesses.

A new area called "human-centered machine learning" (HCML) promises to balance technological possibilities with human needs and values. However, there are no unifying guidelines on what "human-centered" means, nor how HCML research and practice should be conducted.
This article by Stevie Chancellor in Communications of the ACM draws on the interdisciplinary history of human-centered thinking, HCI, AI, and science and technology studies to propose best practices for HCML.

Two articles in the last few days took on the world of consulting. Rebecca Ackermann in the MIT Technology Review wrote on how the shine of design thinking has worn off, while Henry Mance interviewed Mariana Mazzucato in the Financial Times on her new book The Big Con, where she lambasts business consultancies for having no expertise in the areas that they’re advising in.

Hal Wuertz, Adam Cutler and Milena Pribic of IBM Design defined a unique set of five skills for “AI Design.”

Cornelius Rachieru describes the current trend of extreme commoditisation of UX design in corporate environments, and the consequences this has on the quality of the design delivery, and on the designers themselves.

Samsung US newsroom published an interview with Federico Casalegno, Executive Vice President of Design and Head of Samsung Design Innovation Center; Mark Benson, Head of Samsung SmartThings U.S.; and Inhee Chung, Vice President of the Corporate Sustainability Center to discuss how Samsung’s philosophy of prioritizing more seamless connected experiences is driving the innovation behind its latest products.

"What’s mine is mine: unpicking the psychological reasons people like to own things" is the title of a highly recommended article by Claire Murphy of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

PepsiCo’s award-winning chief design officer reveals the secret to creating life-changing innovations: putting human needs at the center of any design process.

At the "AI in the Loop: Humans in Charge" conference, which took place Nov. 15 at Stanford University, panelists proposed a new definition of human-centered AI – one that emphasizes the need for systems that improve human life and challenges problematic incentives that currently drive the creation of AI tools.

In this Nature Reviews Method Primer, Eleanor Knott, Aliya Hamid Rao, Kate Summers & Chana Teeger off the London School of Economics focus on the stages and challenges of designing and conducting an interview project and analysing data from it, as well as strategies to overcome such challenges.

This Focus of Nature Magazine, a collaboration between Nature Human Behaviour and Nature Climate Change, features a broad range of Review and Opinion content on the role of human behaviour in adaption to climate change and mitigation of its negative consequences.

Approaching architectural design with a UX designer’s mindset ensures a more holistic approach to designing the experience of using a building. From the outset, a stronger understanding of the user enables human behavior to dictate the design to a greater degree.

This book explores the application of service design to urban commons, focusing on the Reggio Emilia Ducal Palace in Italy.

In an uncertain world, the safe bet to futures is to explore, identify and invest in what will most likely not change.

Julia Tan and Carolina Aldas of Spotify provide some recommendations on how user research and Engineering can improve their collaboration during the Discovery Phase to come up with more feasible product solutions.

Modern day UX research methods answer a wide range of questions. To help you know when to use which user research method, each of 20 methods is mapped across 3 dimensions and over time within a typical product-development process.

Physical buttons are increasingly rare in modern cars. Most manufacturers are switching to touchscreens – which perform far worse in a test carried out by Swedish car magazine Vi Bilägare.

A touchless UI has an edge over devices that require touch interactions because decreasing physical contact is helpful in diverse contexts—from food-processing plants to an airport’s self-service registration kiosks.

This book advances the practice and theory of design ethnography. It presents a methodologically adventurous and conceptually robust approach to interventional and ethical research design, practice and engagement.