Emotionally Intelligent Design for Users

From the Publisher

From the Preface

By author Pamela Pavliscak

This book goes beyond considering the promise and peril of Emotion AI. AI that detects some aspects of human emotion will be big business, no doubt. Emotion AI will practically force us to design for emotion in new ways. It will change how we conceptualize emotion. It will require us to think deeply about ethics. And it is coming on quickly.

Part of my motivation in writing this book is to get more people thinking about emotion AI while there's still time to get ahead of it. But emotionally intelligent design isn't just about new technology that will auto-magically reveal hidden truths. That's not what the technology can do. And, more important, that's not how emotion works.

It's not a book filled with step-by-steps or code snippets or design best practices. Although there is a method to this madness, I approached the book as a way to draw together new research about emotion, new technology that engages with emotion, and new design practices. Think of it as a new way to consider something age-old.

Each chapter follows a certain path. I begin with a mashup of emotion wisdom and design method, giving a bit of background about each. Then, I consider how to bring them together, based on experimentation in my own research and experience with corporate and startup clients. So, the first part of most chapters is background, the second half how-to.

Why this book?

Our so-called life with technology is complicated. It's becoming profoundly stranger at an exponential rate. And the most important parts of it are invisible.

At times, we're keenly aware of the highs and lows of digital life. We feel an overwhelming sense of camaraderie after a serendipitous conversation. Or we feel a rage hangover after a particularly difficult news cycle. Sometimes, the emotional undercurrent shifts just below the surface.

Technology is deeply embedded in every aspect of our daily lives. It collects our secrets, it bears witness to our everyday actions, and it circumscribes our relationships. Yet somehow, it's still radically insufficient for our messy, beautiful, emotional reality.

With all the focus on ease, efficiency, and convenience, we might miss what's truly essential. We worry about our attention, while technology toys with our affections. We idealize calm, when tech takes us on an emotional rollercoaster.

Now more than ever, we need technology that respects what it means to be human. That's what this book is about.

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