{"id":760,"date":"2025-05-20T21:41:14","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T21:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/?p=760"},"modified":"2025-08-15T14:31:53","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T14:31:53","slug":"issue-59-2-dfi-the-human-touchpoint-recommendations-for-thoughtful-ai-feature-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-2-dfi-the-human-touchpoint-recommendations-for-thoughtful-ai-feature-design\/","title":{"rendered":"The Human Touch(point): Recommendations for Thoughtful AI Feature Design"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"sitecontainer\">\n<div class=\"pagecontainer\">\n<article class=\"vj-article\">\n<div class=\"articlesidebar\">\n<h5>Issue 59.2<\/h5>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-2-reflecting-on-the-august-2025-issue-considerations-nowadays-and-implications-for\">Reflecting on the August 2025 Issue \u2014 Considerations Nowadays and Implications For<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-2-research-led-pluralist-typographic-practices-case-studies-from-south-asia\">Research-Led Pluralist Typographic Practices: Case Studies from South Asia<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-2-the-role-of-text-alignment-on-response-speed-and-accuracy-when-reading-chinese-english-bilingual-traffic-signs\">The Role of Text Alignment on Response Speed and Accuracy When Reading Chinese-English Bilingual Traffic Signs<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-2-breaking-images-a-method-for-improving-design-students-visual-literacy\">Breaking Images: A Method for Improving Design Students\u2019 Visual Literacy<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-2-addressing-uncertainty-in-llm-outputs-for-trust-calibration-through-visualization-and-user-interface-design\">Addressing Uncertainty in LLM Outputs for Trust Calibration Through Visualization and User Interface Design<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-2-dfi-a-seat-at-the-table-designing-for-ai-with-strategy-vision-and-collaboration\">A Seat at the Table: Designing for AI with Strategy, Vision, and Collaboration<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-2-dfi-the-changing-definition-of-designers-in-the-age-of-generative-ai\">The Changing Definition of Designers in the Age of Generative AI<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-2-dfi-the-human-touchpoint-recommendations-for-thoughtful-ai-feature-design\">The Human Touch(point): Recommendations for Thoughtful AI Feature Design<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/Issue-59-2\/Visible-Language-59-2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Download Issue 59.2 \u27a4<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"articlecontent\">\n<h1>The Human Touch(point): Recommendations for Thoughtful AI Feature Design<\/h1>\n<h3>Sierra Shell<\/h3>\n<h4 style=\"line-height: 1.5;\">Product Design, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA (sierrashell1991[at]gmail.com)<\/h4>\n<div class=\"abstractbox\">\n<p><span class=\"smallblueheading\">Abstract:<\/span> This article examines the evolving responsibilities of designers in an era of explosive AI growth. AI is a horizontal technology affecting nearly all industries, and designers must position themselves as stewards of the \u201chuman in the loop\u201d to balance technological capabilities with human needs. Three core principles can guide ethical AI design: First, AI features should solve specific user problems rather than being implemented for novelty or marketing purposes. Second, strategic friction can serve as a beneficial design element when deployed at consequential decision points, encouraging users to engage thoughtfully with AI-generated content. Third, robust user feedback mechanisms should be prioritized to ensure continuous improvement based on real-world usage. Generative AI should facilitate \u2014 never replace \u2014 human expertise to avoid the centralization of ideas and displacement of creativity. Drawing from industry examples, the article demonstrates that successful human-AI collaboration depends not on technological sophistication alone, but on thoughtful design that empowers users as active participants rather than passive consumers of AI outputs. Eight recommendations are provided to ensure that the three core principles discussed are incorporated into a product\u2019s design.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"smallblueheading\">Implications for research:<\/span> The recommendation to compare a potential AI-driven design solution to a viable solution predating AI (Section 2) suggests the development of a conceptual framework for systematically assessing and justifying aspects of AI specification. Such a framework or method would need to be compact to integrate into R&#038;D. The principle of thoughtful friction in AI product design (Section 3) is introduced in relation to frictive AI elements with granular typographic detail such as point size and location. Empirical research could determine which typographic and interface characteristics provide friction, to what degree different options do so, and what thresholds exist for users\u2019 emotional and cognitive reactions. Further research could examine whether such frictive elements effectively reduce trust in intentionally erroneous AI-generated content. Finally, the recommendation to integrate feedback mechanisms into AI-driven products (Section 4) suggests research aimed at understanding the current state of AI feature feedback collection in popular products, both in terms of mechanism and frequency.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"keywordsbox\">\n<p><span class=\"smallblueheading\">Keywords:<\/span> AI design; design industry; ethical AI; friction; product design; responsible AI<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a class=\"viewarticlebtn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/Issue-59-2\/dfi-the-human-touchpoint-recommendations-for-thoughtful-ai-feature-design.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Download PDF<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"articlepdfviewer\">\n<object \ndata=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/Issue-59-2\/dfi-the-human-touchpoint-recommendations-for-thoughtful-ai-feature-design.pdf\" type=\"application\/pdf\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\"><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/Issue-59-2\/dfi-the-human-touchpoint-recommendations-for-thoughtful-ai-feature-design.pdf\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" style=\"border: none;\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/object>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"authorbox\">\n<p><span class=\"smallblueheading\">Author<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sierra Shell<\/strong> is a technologist and UX designer with experience in trustworthy AI design and governance, ethical design strategy, and data visualization design. She has nearly a decade of experience creating complex enterprise products, and currently works with a small team focused on expanding SAS\u2019s already robust trustworthy AI capabilities. She received her Master\u2019s of Digital Technology Policy from University College London, where she partnered with the British Standards Institution conducting and publishing research on the future of responsible AI standards. Her work required that she develop a deep understanding of common hurdles and disincentives organizations face in implementing AI governance strategies. This has led to a special empathy for organizations and users adopting AI tools and models. As a result, she has a drive to design streamlined solutions that facilitate effective governance and address business concerns intuitively and responsibly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"greendfibox\">\n<div>\n<p><span class=\"greendfitext\">DISPATCHES FROM INDUSTRY <\/span> is a <em>Visible Language<\/em> initiative to strengthen the design discipline by bridging industry and academia in the field of interface, experience, and communication design. The column gathers insights from industry practitioners that might inform and guide design practice, while suggesting high-leverage areas for research and scholarship in design. Authors are invited by the editorial board.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a class=\"viewarticlebtn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/Issue-59-2\/dfi-the-human-touchpoint-recommendations-for-thoughtful-ai-feature-design.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Download PDF<\/a><br \/>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"articlecitebox\">\n<div>\n<p class=\"blueurllink\">DOI being generated<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cite this article:<\/strong><br \/>Shell, S. (2025). The human touch(point): Recommendations for thoughtful AI feature design. Visible Language, 59(2), 241\u2013251. https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-2-dfi-the-human-touchpoint-recommendations-for-thoughtful-ai-feature-design<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>First published online May 22, 2025. \u00a9 2025 Visible Language \u2014 this article is open access, published under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.<\/p>\n<p><pre>https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal<\/pre>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"vlconsortiumheading\"><strong>Visible Language Consortium:<\/strong><\/span><br \/>University of Leeds (UK)<br \/>University of Cincinnati (USA)<br \/>North Carolina State University (USA)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Issue 59.2 Reflecting on the August 2025 Issue \u2014 Considerations Nowadays and Implications For Research-Led Pluralist Typographic Practices: Case Studies from South Asia The Role of Text Alignment on Response Speed and Accuracy When Reading Chinese-English Bilingual Traffic Signs Breaking Images: A Method for Improving Design Students\u2019 Visual Literacy Addressing Uncertainty in LLM Outputs for &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-2-dfi-the-human-touchpoint-recommendations-for-thoughtful-ai-feature-design\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;The Human Touch(point): Recommendations for Thoughtful AI Feature Design&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,5,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dispatches-from-industry","category-invited-article","category-issue-59-2","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=760"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1180,"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760\/revisions\/1180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}