If you don’t know, you can pause.
If you need to think, you can pause.
If you need to calm down, you can pause.
Never underestimate the pause.
Daily one-pagers about AI, leadership, technology, and being human.
johnmaconline
I'm writing to think, learn, and remember in public. I'll be here everyday.
Designing Your User Interface (UI)
Who’s it for?
It’s not for everybody, so don’t worry about everybody. Worry about your person. Are they an expert or a beginner? You’ll have to make assumptions about terminology, visuals, and workflow. Build them around who it’s for.
Why are they here?
They’re using your UI to do something. What is that, and why? Simplify around the why. Make the why front and center and dead-easy to understand and recognize. The default workflow should naturally support the why.
What do they care about?
Attend to what they care about, not what you care about. They care about feeling smart, heard, and accomplished. Your UI should make them feel all of those.
What do they struggle with?
Tolerate mistakes. Simplify terminology and workflow. Guide via defaults. Use visuals consistently with terminology. Less clicks. Less talking. Less time.
Use the above questions to design your UI. Whether its an app, service, or you.
The Scam Artist
When I worked at Accenture, I routinely failed the email phishing test.
Reprimanded by the email police, I had to take remedial scam email training. My coworkers (rightfully) chided me about it often.
Snake oil, timeshares, mail-order brides, amazing jobs, and Nigerian princes who just need some upfront funds to unlock the riches that they wish to share with you. They all poke right in the heart. Everybody — everybody — is susceptible to something, if even for just a moment in time.
Some are obvious, but many are not. Many look completely legit.
For me, it was a simple matter of not investing the time required to flesh it out as a scam. I just didn’t care. Those testers were good (enough) at making it look legit.
He/She is called scam “artist” because that’s what they are — an artist. They play on your emotions and use a bit of psychology to “get you.”
What does the future of scam artistry look like with AI?
Well, I assume the volume will ramp up exponentially. Given AI’s ability to try new and voluminous iterations quickly, I also suspect they’ll start honing in on each individual’s susceptibility. You’ll have to pay more attention.
Maybe AI filters will help combat.
But at the end of the day, AI is no artist. It’s a tool for the artist. Behind each scam is a human artist.
Find the artist, find the scam.
Porch Pace Versus Screen Pace
Back porch:
Silence. A breeze rustles the leaves in the trees. The smell of coffee. A blue jay whisks by and screeches. More silence. A dragonfly buzzes. Another rustle. More silence. Stationary.
Front porch:
Distant murmurs. The sun peaks under the eaves. A car rolls past. Kids run by. Neighbors stop on the sidewalk for an exchange of pleasantries. A dog barks. Another car. Leisurely.
The Screen:
A cacophony. Three-second blurbs. Scroll and swipe. On to the next. Flashing colors. Free! You’ve won! Special offer! Attention seekers. Energetic.
Porch pace is boring. Not much happens, and certainly not quickly. Go inside to fill your mug and you won’t miss much, if anything.
Screen pace? Exciting. Do it now. Don’t blink, or you’ll miss it.
You’ll need to engage at screen pace, at least sometimes. The world moves at screen pace. But porch pace teaches you to appreciate where you are right now.
Unity Without Conformity
We don’t all believe the same things, but we all believe in each other.
We don’t all have the same ideas, but we all respect each other.
We don’t all have the same perspective, but we all value each other.
We can have unity without conformity. It just takes commitment to each other.
There’s No I in AI
It sounds and reads like there’s an I, which can be confusing.
We often anthropomorphize machines, which adds another layer of misdirection because this machine really seems to think for itself.
But it doesn’t. There is no I in AI.
Your Own Voice
Ever hear a recording of your own voice and think, “ugh.”
You’re not alone. 60-70% of people feel uncomfortable when they hear the sound of their own voice. People report that a recording of their voice sounds tinny, weak, and whiny compared to how they hear it live.
Live, you hear it from inside your head. The vibrations in your skull make it sound fuller and more resonant. But on playback, you’re hearing it like everyone else does — just through the air — so it comes across sharper and less familiar.
What about your message, though?
What do you feel about your message when you hear a recording of your own voice?
You can’t control what your voice sounds like, but you sure can control your message.
Revisit, Rethink, Refine
Revisit your ideas, data, and beliefs.
Rethink your perspective, hypotheses, and reality.
Refine your message, conclusions, and truths.
The AI Voice in the Wilderness
John the Baptist was the original voice in the wilderness.
Then came others AI such as Galileo Galilei, MLK Jr, Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai, Banksy, Ai Weiwei, and Pussy Riot.
AI can do many things. It can help you work, generate new ideas, and tighten up your message.
But it could never be the voice in the wilderness.
You might not agree with the voice in the wilderness, but you can’t deny that the voice is 100% human.
A Master Illusionist
When I was a kid, we had a neighbor who amazed me with some basement magic. Card tricks, disappearing hankies. You get the point.
He taught me a bit along the way as well:
- Magic is an illusion.
- The key to the illusion is to get your audience to focus on what you want so they don’t see what’s really happening.
If you’re diligent or know where to look, maybe you’ll pick it up. But, a master illusionist can control your focus so thoroughly that you might not see it happening even if you know how the trick works. You start to wonder.
But you’re smarter than that.
Our world is filled with master illusionists. Remember that as you read the news, scroll through social media, listen to advertisements, and watch the presentations.
Truth doesn’t match the illusion.