The effort paradox in AI design explores how making tasks too easy through automation can lead to negative outcomes, drawing parallels to historical product design mistakes.
Lessons from Betty Crocker and IKEA demonstrate that adding a bit of effort, like requiring an egg in a cake mix, can increase user satisfaction and engagement.
Studies show that consumers value products they assemble themselves more than preconstructed versions, highlighting the importance of human involvement in product interaction.
While minimizing effort in design can work, removing too much effort in AI product interactions can diminish psychological ownership and satisfaction.
Balancing automation with human involvement is crucial to creating AI products that enhance user experience and foster a sense of accomplishment and control.
Guidelines for AI product designers include finding optimal human touchpoints, preserving human agency, showing transparent AI processes, enabling learning, and allowing customization.
Effort isn't the enemy in design, and designers should avoid over-automation to respect human agency and amplify human potential.
As AI capabilities evolve, designers must navigate the temptation to over-automate and focus on nuanced design that respects human effort and agency.
The article encourages designers to consider the balance between manual and automated processes and emphasizes the importance of human engagement in AI design.
It concludes by urging designers to steer past the tendency to over-automate and instead focus on designing AI products that empower users while respecting their effort and potential.