Designing Assistant Technology: AI That Makes People Smarter

“Chris Noessel delivers a punchy breakdown, packed with concrete examples, bringing much-needed structure to the frothy discussions of AI.”
—B Cavello, Director of Emerging Technologies, The Aspen Institute 

 “This is a crucial exploration of the evergreen, core principles of assistance and how to blend those with emerging technology for great societal outcomes. Chris shows us how to explore this fascinating frontier with care, intentionality, and an ethical lens.”

—Katja Forbes, Author Machine Customers: The Evolution Has Begun 

 “A compelling call for ambitious AI designers to lift people up from device-bound dependency to a cognitive ascendancy.”

—John V. Willshire, Founder, Smithery 

 “At a time when most AI guidance is short-sighted and reductionist, Chris Noessel offers a holistic, human-centered alternative.  A well-grounded, balanced guide on how to design assistants that make users better without devaluing their work.”

—Dr. Llewyn Paine, Researcher & AI consultant, Llewyn Paine Consulting, LL 

 “Modern airline cockpits are so automated that pilots need to constantly train so they don’t de-skill. With the rise of AI, we’re now all facing a similar risk. This book explains how to design AI systems that make us smarter rather than more reliant. The perfect companion for anybody tasked with designing the next generation of AI assistants.”

—Andy Budd, Investor, advisor, and coach 

 “This book will delight you, provoke you, challenge your assumptions, and spark the kind of deep thinking we desperately need right now. It’s full of groundbreaking insights delivered with wit, clarity, contagious imagination, and so much heart and admiration for UX.”
—Greg Nudelman, Principal AI Advisor & Founder, Snowball Sprint 

 “A refreshing move away from the concern that AI makes us stupider, Noessel’s book is an insightful and practical guide to designing AI that truly augments and amplifies human intelligence, empowering people by making us smarter, not just faster.”
—Elizabeth F. Churchill, PhD. Department Chair and Professor of Human Computer Interaction, Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) 

“This is a book with a spine. Noessel delivers an urgent wake-up call to design assistants that amplifies judgment instead of replacing it—an unapologetic blend of pragmatism, optimism, politics, and conscience. Noessel’s assistants make us smarter by using them;his book does the same.”
—Josh Clark, Co-author of Sentient Design 

“This book teaches you how to prepare for the AI chaos of today. Now I am confident I can thrive with Chris’s brilliant ideas.”
—Satoshi Kikuchi, Founder of UX DAYS TOKYO 

 “For designers worried about AI’s impact, Noessel’s book is a beacon of light: a practical primer with clear frameworks and enlightening examples to guide you in designing AI experiences that center people’s abilities, wisdom, and curiosity.”

—Sheryl Cababa, Founder, Optimistic Design, and author, Closing the Loop: Systems Thinking for Designers 

 “Chris’s book is really useful for all of us grappling with the current technology shift and wanting to do good—wanting to be a good navigator!”
—James Royal-Lawson, Senior digital advisor and co-host of UX Podcast

Christopher Noessel has shaped interaction design for over 30 years, designing products and services across diverse domains. Back in the dot-com days, he directed information design at marchFIRST, establishing their interaction design Center of Excellence. As a founding graduate of Italy’s legendary Interaction Design Institute Ivrea, his thesis project, Fresh—a service design for lifelong learners—was presented at London’s MLearn conference in 2003. He’s since visualized counterterrorism futures, prototyped forthcoming technologies for Microsoft, and designed telehealth devices. After leaving Microsoft, he joined a boutique San Francisco agency for a decade, where he led the “generator” practice and became their first Design Fellow. At IBM as a Design Principal, he ran the worldwide Design for AI guild, as well as a team on the guild. He also developed core AI training for designers and delivered global workshops. 

Christopher’s publications include Make It So: Interaction Design Lessons from Science Fiction (2012, with Nathan Shedroff); the 4th Edition of About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design (2014); Pair Design (2016, with Gretchen Anderson); and Designing Agentive Technology: AI That Works for People (2017). He maintains scifiinterfaces.com and occasionally posts to Medium and LinkedIn as the mood strikes. 

He was one half of the world’s first AI-married couple in 2018. His family have what they believe to be the first AI-designed winter holiday sweaters. They are awesome. 

His published science fiction includes “Oddments, Pasha’s Autodiary of 07 MAR 2032” (Escape Pod, 2021)—about a drag queen’s encounter with a reclusive artist—and “On the Eve of the Cumberland Incursion” (Dark Matter Magazine, 2021), depicting a tortured drone behind enemy lines. He has more short stories that no one wants to publish. 🙂 

Ask him about his forthcoming books on generative randomness and designing technology for animals and what each might mean in a world of AI.