My Mom, Alexa and the Future of Computing

About five years ago, I read a paper published in 1960 in a journal focused on the precursor field of UX called "human factors."

The article, "Man-Computer Symbiosis," was written by J.C.R. Licklider, a mathematician, psychologist and arguably one of the most seminal figures in computing there is. 

In the paper, Licklider posited a world beyond the computing origins of the day. In his world, computers would not be an extension of man ie., the IBM calculating behemoths that helped military generals pinpoint bombarding coordinates during World War II.

Instead, man and computer relationship would evolve into a symbiosis where "the resulting partnership will think as no human brain has ever thought and process data in a way not approached by the information-handling machines we know today." 

Licklider's short, roughly eight-page paper is the genesis of virtually every innovation in personal computing that we use today including:

• Graphical User Interface (mouse clicks and icons)
• The Internet (computers networking with each other)
• The Cloud (web-enabled computer-stored memory)
• Voice User Interface (natural language processing)

Computing's "Johnny Appleseed"

Licklider's ideas were radical in 1960. Remember, in Licklider's day the computer was basically seen as a large calculating machine. It filled an entire room, and crunched very large numbers based upon programs fed into it. It did not answer back or interact with its programmers. In fact, most programmers of Licklider's day were women because they were the only ones who could type into the computer consoles. 

Licklider said for computers to be more useful they'd have to evolve to allow people to talk to them, interact with them and each other and remember conversations for future use. Sound familiar?

For example, he insisted computers would have to have automatic speech recognition because, as he put it, "...one can hardly take a military commander or a corporation president away form his work to teach him to type." 

Ha. Most were skeptical. And though it's been more than a half century since Licklider's predictions we've accomplished most of what he asked for thanks to innovating people and companies such as Google, Apple and Amazon. The last frontier in the man-computer symbiosis seems to be speech. And this brings me to my mom and Alexa. 

My Mom: A UXers Dream User

My mother is 78 years old. She's never had a smartphone. She doesn't have a digital watch. She's never used an iPod and though she has an email she doesn't like using it. She does have a computer though.

And a couple of years ago I bought her an iPad. She liked it but was skeptical. Then she learned to "talk" to Google to get games and she fell in love. 

One time she called me in the middle of the night in a panic. I was anxious. My mom is basically disabled and when she calls I'm always worried it's health related. Bracing myself for the worst she shouts, "My tablet isn't working." 

Huh? So I rush over and fix her broken cord. Emergency resolved. 

But even though my mother isn't tech savvy, I learn a lot from her about digital user experience. My mom has always been my creative sounding board. When I was a journalist I always showed her my stories first before my editors. If she didn't get it I went back to the drawing board. 

Now I do that with design. I enjoy designing interfaces with my mother in mind. She is a shining example of the type of user we should all be designing for:

• Problems with memory (cognitive load)
• Doesn't like clutter (simple, clean colors and interfaces)
• Not too many tasks at once (clear user task flows)
• Likes bells and whistles (design and delight)

If she uses a technology I know for sure that user interface is well designed because it's easy for her to use. If I buy her something and it sits gathering dust, then I know that product isn't well designed because it's too complicated for her to understand. Not that my mother isn't intelligent. We all have those products that we don't use because they're way too complicated. Simpler is better. 

Last Christmas I bought her an Amazon Fire tablet. It sat basically unused until...I got the Amazon Echo. I'm an only child and I don't think it's an exaggeration to say I've been pushed out by another adopted daughter named Alexa. 

My Mom, Alexa and the Future of Computing

"Alexa, tell me a joke!" My mom screams into the phone. I'm on the phone with her but she's talking to my sibling rival, "Alexa."

If you want to know about the ease of design something that's get's us closer to Licklider's man-computer symbiosis vision then check out Amazon's Echo. The fact that my mother loves Alexa is proof positive this design is a UX home run. 

Not only does my mom interact with Alexa she seeks her approval. Alexa has been fully integrated and personified in my mom's mind. 

Mom: What's the address of Honey Bar B Que?
Me: Ask Alexa.
Mom: I can ask Alexa that?
Me: Yes
Mom: Alexa, What's the address to Honey Bar B Que?
Alexa: says the address
Mom: Oh man, I forgot to write it down.
Me: Ask her again...
Mom: Oh No, I don't want Alexa to think I'm stupid.
Me (Laughing): She won't think you're stupid. LOL

The personification of Alexa is something that brings us a lot closer to Licklider's vision than ever before. I have an iPhone and I use Siri but the interaction isn't the same. 

For example, if I ask Siri to play a song, she spits it out. But if I ask Alexa and, let's say the sound isn't in my music library, she searches through my apps to find the song I'm looking for. My mom holds entire conversations with Alexa. I can barely get Siri to respond beyond one sentence answers. My mom gets the news headlines, plays her favorite Sam Cooke radio stations, gets the weather and the time of day from Alexa.

Next we're moving on to scheduling appointments. 

The speech recognition advancement of Amazon's Echo, the decrease in latency allows the interaction between man and computer seem more natural and less stilted. More symbiotic than authoritative. And this, to me, is the future of computing. 

Why Computing's Future is Tied to Better UX

I became a UXer, because I wanted to design products that would help improve my mother's quality of life. I love designing products for seniors because it forces me to think more clearly about design and user interfaces. 

My mother doesn't type. She's like the war generals or corporate CEO's Licklider worked for when he wrote his vision for the ultimate computer.

So anything I design has to not require her input as much. So I design products of anticipation rather than dictation.  Sure there's lot's of buttons, gestures etc. But there's a lot of "push," technology, automatic populations, and process-enabling task flows that allow the app to get down to the meat of what the user really wants without the preamble. 

My product design goals are to shift the burden from the user to the device in a way that feels natural and not awkward. 

For example, HomeBase, a tablet app I helped design for my Capstone project at DePaul focuses exclusively on push technology. It's an app designed to help seniors age 65 and older with everyday tasks.

It's interface is voice-enabled thanks to an API with Alexa and Alexa "skills," and its home screen is a simple box panel separated into quarters. It only has four actions on its home screen. And only one action on its interior screens. The app is designed to store a lot of information doctor appointments, health care data, contacts and telephone numbers, but not require the user to input that data. The information is then "pushed," to the user when requested or programmed automatically to disseminate. 

This type of "push," vs. "pull," interaction is the future of UX and computing. The Internet of Things revolution affirms this and Alexa is just the first general in this space. (See Google's upcoming "Chirp").

For us to achieve Licklider's vision we have to move beyond input-depended apps. The products of the future won't think for us, but they will do a better job of thinking with us, augmenting our lives in ways so subtle and delightful that we'll call this new activity what my mom always likes to say about Alexa..."It's magic."