How information architecture is well situated to help us design great environments and interactions with AI.

1. ARCHITECTURE FOR ALIENS
2017 IA SUMMIT | VANCOUVER | ANDREW HINTON | @INKBLURT
USING IA FOR SMARTER THINGS

2. ARCHITECTURE FOR ALIENS
ACTIVE TECHNOLOGY: “DIGITAL AGENTS”

3. ARCHITECTURE FOR ALIENS

4. ARCHITECTURE FOR ALIENS
ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE: IT’S ABOUT ENVIRONMENTS
Wikimedia Commons

5. ARCHITECTURE FOR ALIENS
DESIGNING FOR THE ENVIRONMENT REQUIRES UNDERSTANDING ALL ITS “USERS”
"...for the computer to operate at all
for us first requires a wealth of
interactions to take place for itself.
As operators or engineers, we may be
able to describe how such objects
and assemblages work.
But what do they experience?"

6. UMWELT
“The world as experienced by a
particular organism.”
Organisms can have different
umwelten, even though they share
the same environment.
Images from Wikimedia Commons

7. Clear communication
framework of signals and
rewards.
Environment that works
for cohabitation for
human and dog.

8. ARCHITECTURE FOR ALIENS
WE LEARN DIFFERENTLY
from Understanding Context

9. ARCHITECTURE FOR ALIENS
THIS RELATIONSHIP GOES BOTH WAYS
from Understanding Context

10. ARCHITECTURE FOR ALIENS
THIS RELATIONSHIP GOES BOTH WAYS
from Understanding Context

11. ARCHITECTURE FOR ALIENS
STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF THE SHARED ENVIRONMENT: FOR BOTH HUMAN & AGENT
Physical Activity
(Explicit or Tacit)
Signifies
Signifies
Communication
Environmental
Structure

12. ARCHITECTURE FOR ALIENS
START WITH LEGIBILITY FOR HUMANS
is this agent like the other, similar agent?
does this agent behave like it behaved yesterday?
can i see and understand its behavior?
can i see the agent or its behavior at all?
are the agents talking with each other?
are the agents really avatars of a shared “intelligence”?
are there people behind the agent(s)?

13. ARCHITECTURE FOR ALIENS
MODEL THE ENVIRONMENT

14. ARCHITECTURE FOR ALIENS
MODEL THE ENVIRONMENT

15. ARCHITECTURE FOR ALIENS
MODEL THE ENVIRONMENT

16. ARCHITECTURE FOR ALIENS
MODEL THE ENVIRONMENT

17. ARCHITECTURE FOR ALIENS
MODEL THE ENVIRONMENT

18. ARCHITECTURE FOR ALIENS
MODEL THE ENVIRONMENT

19. ARCHITECTURE FOR ALIENS
MODEL THE ENVIRONMENT

20. ARCHITECTURE FOR ALIENS
MODEL THE ENVIRONMENT
Makes invisible dynamics
visible.
Starts to surface categories
for environmental
taxonomy.
Forces a conversation
about complexity and
coherence.

21. ARCHITECTURE FOR ALIENS
IDENTIFY WHAT “LEGIBILITY” MEANS FOR THE AGENTS TOO
what do I perceive? (color, temperature, shapes ?)
do the signifiers humans use make sense to me too?
do I need supplemental structures in the environment?
am I acting based on factors that humans can’t perceive?
what am I allowed to communicate vs not?
what do I do with the inputs I get?
what systems am I connected to and what do they need?
what can I affect by my actions?

22. ARCHITECTURE FOR ALIENS
WHAT’S THE SEMANTIC FRAMEWORK FOR THE HUMAN-AGENT RELATIONSHIP?
14
“BMR”
height:weight:age:gender
“Calories!”
Arm
Movements
“Steps!”
[algorithm]

23. ARCHITECTURE FOR ALIENS
WE NEED A TAXONOMY OF ARTIFICIAL/DIGITAL AGENTS

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TAXONOMY FOR CLASSIFYING AGENT CAPABILITIES & BEHAVIOR

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SIGNIFIERS: WHAT KIND OF CREATURE ARE YOU?

27. ARCHITECTURE FOR ALIENS
DEFINE THE CONTINUUMS THAT MATTER IN YOUR SERVICE’S DOMAIN
Visible Invisible
Acts Alone Acts Collectively
Disconnected Connected
No Human Human Supplement
Invariant Behavior Variant Behavior
Starts Over Each Time Learns & Remembers

28. ARCHITECTURE FOR ALIENS
IT'S AN ECOSYSTEM: WE'RE PART OF THEM & THEY'RE PART OF US
Physical Activity
(Explicit or Tacit)
Signifies
Signifies
Communication
Environmental
Structure

29. ARCHITECTURE FOR ALIENS
RECAP …
▸ Frame the work from an ecological, creature-point-of-view perspective.
▸ Treat digital agents like users, but of another species.
▸ Map the environment, its elements, and actors/agents. Get invisible things into
visible models.
▸ Use architectures that work for both human & digital agents, translating where
needed.
▸ Share your ideas with the community -- we're all figuring this out together.

30. THANKS!
Andrew Hinton | @inkblurt
ah@andrewhinton.com
contextbook.com