HumanGPT
AI and GPTs are changing the tech world. However, one thing takes time to evolve- the learning pace of people using digital products.
After the false dawn of so-called technology disruptions like Web3, crypto, Meta-verse and the likes in recent years, the tech world is now buzzing about ChatGPT. We now have a truly revolutionary AI tech, one that has certainly lived up to the hype and has started altering the way we look at tools and processes.
Every day, I come across articles and tweets that bear witness to the growing popularity of AI, either as a powerful tool to enhance workflows or to generate a multitude of different outputs with the likes of Midjourney and other tools. But one thing that hasn’t fundamentally changed, despite technological advances, is the ability of humans to adapt to newer tools with every passing year.
Having spent years in the design field, I acknowledge that the ability to leverage the latest design tools puts us in a greater advantage over our peers. Mastering the likes of No-Code tools like Framer, and powerful products like Blender and Protopie etc, empowers designers to churn out truly inspiring stuff; I confess I get an inferiority complex whenever I see such stellar stuff being published online. My seniority cannot be an excuse not to learn these, given that senior folks like Karthi are already adopting AI and GPTs to enhance the quality of their learnings and outputs.
But here’s the thing. The crux of this post is to give you a sobering reminder of the other side of the proverbial technology coin — the impact on humans who rely on the digital products we make to sustain their lifestyles. While the internet is awash with plenty of videos, tutorials and articles that can help us learn and get better at tools, it is a matter of grave concern that not a single mention has been made of the impact of technological progress on the mental and physical well being of humans, as our reliance on technology grows by the day.
The rapid pace of tech progress has a knock-off effect of leaving the older generation behind in the dust, due to the human brain’s slower pace of adapting to digital products. I foresee the trend getting worser with each year — the future generation will be the natural pioneer of tech evolution, while the older ones will continue to play catch up and struggle. It is a pattern that repeats itself over time, and I won’t be lying when I fear the day that tech will become too advanced for me to even grasp (Snapchat was one product I completely couldn’t figure out — turns out it’s by design, with an eye on the younger demographic only)
Note: I’ve not used ChatGPT in any form for this article. I prefer to be authentic in putting down my thoughts, and in getting reviews from people who can give the right feedback knowing how I think and process things ;-)
In case you think I am just being a bitter old man about the advancements in technology and that everything’s hunky dory around us, I shall lay out some first hand observations of the impact of tech on different generations.
Whatsapp is the new Facebook
Currently, our parents are hooked to Whatsapp; they mostly send forward messages to their relatives or friends, and participating in meaningless group chats. This was something our generation used to do 15 years ago when email forwards and Orkut were the rage. The millennials use Whatsapp and other messaging services to augment their social and professional activities, while the GenZ and GenAlpha folks are moving towards TikTok, Instagram and Twitter for the same.
The adoption of the trending social media networks by the older generation is very sparse, due to the complexity and cognition overload of interface and content. While tech savvy folks use social media to stay relevant and increase their network or following, Facebook is becoming the de facto platform for the less tech-savvy folks. As we grow older, only those platforms that have simple usable workflows will be adopted by us, as the cognitive effort to understand the emergent platforms drastically increases.
Exclusion continues to be a barrier
As a Product Designer, it is still a regret of mine that my parents are still unable to figure out how to order food from the Swiggy app. I do not blame them for this, given that this requires more cognitive effort to perform seemingly simple tasks. In this context, I have high regard for Apple and its products; the learning curve for using an iPhone or iPad is very easy even for kids and senior citizens, and it is exemplary evidence of how to marry thoughtfulness with technology.
It is imperative as designers that we also take the lens of inclusion and accessibility while encouraging the use of newer tech, in a manner where we can augment our processes with tech to go to market faster than before while serving the core JTBDs of the product we design. I am also seeing great tends of AI being leveraged to identify accessible solutions and generate new rules that can enforce inclusion and accessibility standards in our products. As Mando would say, “This is the way!”
New tools, same basics
As a designer, it’s a great time to be alive - we have great design tools like Figma, Protopie, GPTs, Framer etc which are absolutely impactful in making our work more efficient and impactful. I am however seeing many young designers fixate on making beautiful stuff, and the whole point of solving problems for people that use your product tends to get lost in the melee. With reduced attention span and a constant need to be up to date on anything and everything, it’s hard to develop patience and focus on the bigger picture.
As the “older” generation who grew up before the advent of computers, we have learnt to develop patience and look at the big picture. The onus will be on us to make sure the younger and more tech-savvy designers are able to balance their approach to design without losing the enthusiasm to try the new tools. Putting a constant focus on customer research, honing design thinking and understanding of products, and putting the grind work to create products that people love to use is something we need to inculcate in the modern designers, to ensure they can shape the society in a more impactful way.
Tech is not human
It is a paradox that while the whole intent of technology has been to improve our ways of doing things, it has significantly affected social norms across countries and practically made human connection much harder than before. Dating apps and social media apps seek to make human connection more effortless, but all it has done is to diminish our ability to be patient and accept people as they are, creating more distrust and making it harder to discern between fiction and reality. The pressure of catching up with new tech has created an environment where people spend lesser time with each other, preferring to live a lie to keep up appearances online.
As I wrote in my previous article, it is important to be in tune with how we are feeling, to recognise our difficulties in certain aspects of our life, and to be comfortable in prioritising before we lose ourselves to the unsurmountable pressure of our work and current social conventions. The only way around these tricky minefields of burnout and anxiety is a human touch - to have a strong support system at work and at home, to be kind to yourself, and to be able to prioritise your needs over your wants. Tech can only go so far in simplifying certain activities, but we have to do the bulk of the work to stay in touch with our humanity.
While AI and GPT will continue to train itself on larger datasets and improve accuracy in record time, they are no match against the thousands of years of evolutionary learning ingrained in us. Only “HumanGPT” can demonstrate the right steps or solutions to complex human problems, since our brain operates at an altogether different dimension, training us to be humane to each other.
It is a great time to revel in the marvels of AI and technology, but we also have to remind ourselves that at the end of the day, it is being human that sustains our passion and our dreams. The best way to move forward is to strike a balance between cementing our focus on making life easy for the users of our products, and learning how to leverage technology to augment the way we work and think.
I have to admit the future can be scary at times and I can end up being like my parents when it comes to using more evolved technology. But I can find solace in the fact that my life experiences and learnings will guide me in finding a way through the labyrinth of future challenges, with more focus on the journey than the destination.
After reading my previous article, my dear friend Lauren Celenza gave me the idea of how my writing emphasised the role of humans in helping us meander through the current uncertain times in the tech industry. A big thank you to her for giving me more content to write about!