IDIoT - Interaction Design for the Internet of Things

Technology is not smart... users are.

Don't be fooled. Technology is not smart. Smart cities, smart cars, smart homes... even the latest smartwatches, all are really rather dumb. However, technology is clever enough it can be programmed to do lots of dumb things very fast.

Users are smart. This will confuse many corporate project stakeholders who are convinced users, particularly those participating in user tests - merrily breaking seemingly flawless business logic, are idiots.

We can put this hypothesis to the test: 

The 'Goldilocks 3000' test

The three idiots

In this test we replace the three bears with three users - or idiots, and Goldilocks with technology, a smart thermostat.

• There's papa idiot who likes his home to be cold;
• There's mama idiot who likes her home to be hot; and
• There's baby idiot who likes his home to be 'just right' (warm).

When papa idiot returns home, he immediately opens up all the doors and windows, and turns off the central heating.

When mama idiot returns home, she instantly closes everything and turns on the thermostat, cranking it up to to 24°C. Likely intermingling a lot of tutting.

When baby idiot returns home, to find his parents fighting over the thermostat, they all agree to compromise, settling for 18°C... just right. 

Along comes Goldilocks

Papa idiot is sold on a new gadget, the 'Goldilocks 3000 Smart Thermostat'. He convinces mama idiot that it's a good investment. It'll save money on heating bills and put an end to fights over the temperature.

It doesn't.

The attractive looking 'smart' thermostat is still dependent on the three idiots telling it what to do. And so continues the fighting and wasted energy - albeit they can now do so from afar, and have a new gadget to coo over. We should refer to these types of gadgets as 'connected', not 'smart'.

The good news is that we're beginning to see increasingly more intelligent 'connected gadgets'. More intelligent but still need to be told what to do. Papa idiot must first tell Goldilocks to listen out for his commands. These commands are less noticeable although still there. For example, when papa idiot takes his smartphone to work, it communicates its location to Goldilocks. Goldilocks listening out for this command does what she was set up to do when papa idiot's smartphone is not home: Switch off.

Idiots can deal with multiple commands...
currently connected gadgets cannot. 

The less than good news is that these connected gadgets are in their infancy. Surprisingly, whilst idiots can deal with multiple commands all at once and make a decision on what to do, currently connected gadgets cannot. Goldilocks can only do one thing according to one command. It does not matter that mama idiot is still at home when papa idiot has gone to work. Off goes the heating. Tut.

Solving the N:N problem 

For a gadget to earn its right to be called 'smart' it needs to learn how to solve the N:N problem. Multiple inputs and multiple outputs. Many gadgets all chattering away, coming together to make decisions that benefits their idiot owners. Smart gadgets will need to identify different behaviours, and process what to do next and do it.

Smart gadgets will need to identify different behaviours...

This might sound impossible, or far fetched, and yet this is the challenge that the Internet of Things (IoT) community is beginning to work through. Technology that is smart enough to recognise patterns in multiple behaviours, recorded by multiple devices, to deliver powerful benefits that support multiple users idiots. This is not Artificial Intelligence (AI) as such, even though smart technology may be mistaken as AI. Smart technology remains unwitting enough that it can only process multiple If This Then That (ITTT) rules, ending up on one that delivers the optimum result. AI would be the next step in the journey towards technology that can deduce new solutions to unforeseen problems with only the knowledge it has to hand.

smart technology may be mistaken as AI

Smart technology will be sufficient enough for thermostats that know what to do when papa bear goes to work, and mama bear is still at home. Lights that know which idiot is entering a room, at what time of day, in what mood, in order to determine the correct brightness, colour and effect. Television sets that can tell who's watching to present the right entertainment choices. Cars that know where we're going and take us there, parking in spaces that appear to be vacant just for us.

idiots are spending less time telling technology what to do, and more time letting technology [do it].

This all seems really smart - yet it'll need interaction designers to work through all the probabilities to create the illusion of intelligence. As an interaction designer this is an exciting new era, a smorgasbord of new challenges. It may appear that idiots are interacting less with their technology and yet enjoying greater benefits. In fact, idiots are spending less time telling technology what to do, and more time letting technology combine multiple, seemingly unrelated passive and natural interactions to deliver a result that feels smart.

interaction designers ... create the illusion of intelligence.

If you would like to discuss Interaction Design for the Internet of Things or enquire about how you can begin solving the N:N problem - get in touch...

? Copyright 2015 - Matt Jones - uservox