AI Provide Experiences for Everyone
Redefining Human-AI Interaction: A More Intimate and Natural Experience
AI interfaces have changed our relationship with technology. When you talk to Alexa or Siri, there is a distinct feeling of speaking with something non-human and impersonal. The voice is obviously synthesized, and the communication limitations are clear immediately. With interfaces like ChatGPT, there's a sense of intimate exploration that gives us a feeling of ownership over the experience. You are still providing a prompt or query, but there's a sense of being listened to that is less frustrating than in previous experiences.
This feeling we get inspires narratives. When we converse with these AIs and find something amazing, we want to tell our friends about it because the AI follows our thought process. TikTok, YouTube and LinkedIn are filled with examples of what's possible because these stories are so compelling. These interactions feel natural in a way nothing else in computing has. Furthermore, going back to existing applications has started to feel frustrating to the point that we're looking to find ways of replacing Siri with ChatGPT.
We can see how incredible this effect is for people on Midjourney's Discord interface. Because Midjourney uses a Discord Server and Bot to host their AI interface, we can see the creations of millions of users. The generated art is incredibly iterative, with different community members being inspired by the prompts they see from other users. Copying prompts is not only common but encouraged.
In an interview between Ben Thompson and David Holz, we got more insight into the customers using Midjourney. Two groups began to form as they got more users: young users still building an art vocabulary and older users with a robust art vocabulary.
David Holz: ...we found in our last survey that there’s as many people over 45 as under 18 on the Discord server, which is completely unlike the normal Discord demographics. Also, the way that young people use it is actually totally different than older people using it. So there may actually be more than one product at play, but it’s hard to tell sometimes with all the people using it. The older people actually have more words and more experiences to create stuff with. It’s like older people, writers tend to be older and then younger people almost don’t have the words. They literally tell me, “David, I don’t have the words. I know I have the image but I don’t have the words.”
David is right that multiple products could evolve from today's Midjourney. While many generic tools like word processors enable users to create various types of documents, few offer the depth of experience and personalization that Midjourney provides. Very different users can find an independent way to use the service, and it's adapting to those users' requests and trying to meet them where they are rather than prescribing a specific workflow.
How would our world change if we could better understand each other and communicate more clearly? Image Generation, like Midjourney, provides a means of expression for many people with little artistic talent. Something can portray something as complex as an emotion, and the process of coming up with the prompt can help to clarify that feeling better. With the recent announcement of GPT-4's multi-modal language model taking in images, we may have an AI that can better help us understand what we're seeing in other's artwork and gain new perspectives and appreciation for art.
Many Grammarly users appreciate the ability of that system to guide them to write less passively, more confidently, or present with a friendlier tone. These subtle adjustments can be challenging for anyone. How much better will we be able to share our ideas when they can better fit our environment at work, in person, or at home? A personalized editing experience might be the key to enabling us to connect better with each other.
Today, we still need to put in some effort for AIs to help us effectively. We're witnessing increasingly promising capabilities every week. Our ability to be understood by digital products will continue to expand and reshape application design. As this gets more prevalent in our daily lives, it's not a jump to believe that it may change how we communicate with others. With ChatGPT and other AI interfaces at the forefront, we could transform how we communicate, fostering stronger connections and deepening understanding among people.
 | A guest post by
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More and more, I am hearing synthesized-sounding voices online and in the media, even in obviously human speakers. I'm afraid this AI-speech is becoming the norm rather than the exception in many quarters.