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Dark Patterns in User Experience (UX)

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Dark patterns are features of interface design to trick users into doing things they might not want to do, but which benefit the business in question. Everything in the internet is fighting for your attention. A “dark pattern” refers to any design feature intended to deceive, manipulate, or trick the user into taking an action that they didn’t desire or intend. 

  • Social networking sites like Facebook purposefully make it hard for you to shrink your social graph or move your content into private territory and selling the data to 3rd party users for their own benefit.
  • Email sending systems that require you to log-in (using a long forgotten password) in order to unsubscribe. (This is actually forbidden by the revised CAN-SPAM 2008 rules, but it’s widely ignored)
  • Low cost airlines that put insurance in your basket without you asking.
  • Systems that ask for your email / twitter / facebook /  linkedin etc. credentials on the grounds of finding you friends, but then send messages to all as if they are directly from you, without your express consent.
  • Supermarkets (in the real world) that prevent you from comparing products on price, by putting items in different sized bundles.

Types of dark pattern

·         Bait and Switch ›

You set out to do one thing, but a different, undesirable thing happens instead.

·         Confirmshaming ›

Confirmshaming is the act of guilting the user into opting into something. The option to decline is worded in such a way as to shame the user into compliance.

·         Disguised Ads ›

Adverts that are disguised as other kinds of content or navigation, in order to get you to click on them.

·         Forced Continuity ›

When your free trial with a service comes to an end and your credit card silently starts getting charged without any warning. In some cases this is made even worse by making it difficult to cancel the membership.

·         Friend Spam ›

The product asks for your email or social media permissions under the pretence it will be used for a desirable outcome (e.g. finding friends), but then spams all your contacts in a message that claims to be from you.

·         Hidden Costs ›

You get to the last step of the checkout process, only to discover some unexpected charges have appeared, e.g. delivery charges, tax, etc.

·         Misdirection ›

The design purposefully focuses your attention on one thing in order to distract you attention from another.

·         Price Comparison Prevention ›

The retailer makes it hard for you to compare the price of an item with another item, so you cannot make an informed decision.

·         Privacy Zuckering ›

You are tricked into publicly sharing more information about yourself than you really intended to. Named after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

·         Roach Motel ›

The design makes it very easy for you to get into a certain situation, but then makes it hard for you to get out of it (e.g. a subscription).

·         Sneak into Basket ›

You attempt to purchase something, but somewhere in the purchasing journey the site sneaks an additional item into your basket, often through the use of an opt-out radio button or checkbox on a prior page.

·         Trick Questions ›

You respond to a question, which, when glanced upon quickly appears to ask one thing, but if read carefully, asks another thing entirely.

Dark patterns in E-commerce, illegal in Europe, still thrive in the US. “There’s thousands and thousands of companies that do this.” It’s because dark patterns and deceptive UX have been deliberately deployed as the core components of the businesses’ e-commerce strategies. And once shoppers realise they’re in the rabbit hole, specially trained customer service officers make sure they can’t get out.

Bloomberg ran a great story on the frustration felt by American consumers who find themselves trapped in e-commerce payment plans, such as membership clubs, they didn’t know they had joined. This isn’t because these shoppers are easily misled or stupid.

Defining your values, building an ethical core to your work, requires effort. We become more moral in our lives, Cennydd explains, by working at it, building awareness and reflection of the choices we make and the impact of those choices. Designers can address their concerns and infuse ethics into their work at three levels: individual, company, and community.

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Designer | Ideator | Thinker | Love Reading, Writing | Wildlife | Passionate about Learning New Stuff & Technologies. Feel free to comment below. Keep on visiting the blog for new articles. For suggestions and questions if you have any, then you can visit this link. (Disclaimer : My views are entirely my own and have nothing to do with any organisation)

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Design

Development of Explainable AI (XAI)

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Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a rapidly evolving field that has the potential to change the way we live and work. The latest research in AI is focused on developing more advanced and sophisticated AI systems that can perform a wide range of tasks with greater accuracy and efficiency. 

One area of AI research that has gained a lot of attention in recent years is deep learning. This is a type of machine learning that uses neural networks to model complex patterns in data. Deep learning has been used to achieve breakthroughs in areas such as image recognition, natural language processing, and speech recognition. AI is also expected to have a significant impact on the field of robotics. Advancements in AI are making it possible to develop robots that can perform a wide range of tasks with greater autonomy and intelligence. This has the potential to revolutionize industries such as manufacturing, transportation, and healthcare

Another area of AI research that is attracting a lot of attention is the development of generative models. These are AI systems that can generate new data, such as images or text, based on what they have learned. This has the potential to revolutionize fields such as art and design, music, and writing. Another area of research is the development of explainable AI (XAI), which aims to make AI systems more transparent and understandable. This is important for ensuring that AI systems can be trusted and used responsibly. XAI has been recognised by AI researchers as a crucial component of reliable AI, and explainability has recently attracted more attention. To address growing ethical and legal concerns Explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) is a useful tool for as well as important How? and Why? questions about AI systems. However, despite the demand for explainability across several disciplines and the growing interest in XAI research, XAI still has a number of drawbacks.

The creation of AI systems that can clearly and transparently explain their decision-making processes is known as explainable AI (XAI). This is crucial in circumstances when an AI system’s decisions could have broad repercussions, such as in the legal, financial, and healthcare systems. Here are a few instances of XAI in action:

  • Healthcare: An AI system that diagnoses medical issues must be able to justify its findings by referencing the patient’s medical history, test results, and other pertinent information.
  • Finance: An AI system that evaluates loan applications must be able to clearly explain the reasons a loan was authorised or denied, taking into account elements like income and credit history.
  • Legal: An AI system that helps judges make sentencing decisions must be able to provide a clear explanation of how it arrived at its recommendations, taking into account factors such as the defendant’s prior criminal history, the circumstances of the crime, and relevant laws.

In each of these examples, the ability to explain the decision-making process of an AI system is critical for building trust and ensuring accountability.

It is important to be aware of the potential of this technology and actively seek ways to harness its power for the benefit of society as a whole. The latest research in AI is focused on developing more advanced and sophisticated AI systems that can perform a wide range of tasks with greater accuracy and efficiency. From deep learning, generative models, explainable AI and robotics, the potential applications of AI are vast and it is expected to play an even greater role in the coming years, leading to new and exciting opportunities for innovation and progress.

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Design

Extended Reality (XR), an evolving technology

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Extended Reality, or XR, is a catch-all phrase that refers to a variety of technologies, including Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR). These innovations enable the development of immersive and interactive experiences that converge the real and virtual worlds. In the world of entertainment and gaming, XR has several applications. Virtual worlds and games that can transport users to other locations and eras can be created using VR and MR. The fields of training and education are further applications for XR. Users can learn and hone new abilities in a secure environment by using VR and AR to create realistic simulations and scenarios.

The performance and responsiveness of XR applications have recently improved because to the utilisation of edge computing and 5G. Edge computing allows data processing to occur closer to the user, which reduces latency and increases responsiveness. The use of AI and machine learning to enhance the realism and interactivity of XR experiences is another breakthrough. For instance, MIT researchers have created a virtual reality (VR) system that uses AI to create realistic scenes and characters that react to the user’s input in real time.

A rapidly developing technology, XR has numerous potential uses across numerous industries. There will probably be more advancements and use cases in the near future since it enables the construction of immersive and interactive experiences that blur the boundaries between the real and virtual worlds.

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Multi-material printing and innovation in hybrid manufacturing

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A type of 3D printing called multi-material additive manufacturing allows for the simultaneous printing of numerous materials, each with a variety of unique features. This technology has a wide range of applications and the power to completely alter how goods are created. The production of intricate and personalised products is one use for multi-material printing. It can be used, for instance, to print items with various textures, colours, and even degrees of hardness or flexibility. This makes it possible to produce items that would be challenging or impossible to make using conventional manufacturing techniques.

Engineering and prototyping both use multi-material printing. It can be used, for instance, to make workable prototypes of things like gears and bearings, that have different properties in a single print. This can greatly speed up the prototyping process and reduce the costs associated with creating multiple prototypes. Multi-material printing also has applications in the field of medicine. For example, it can be used to create customized prosthetics and other medical devices that have different properties in a single print. This allows for the creation of prosthetics that are more comfortable and functional for the patient.

New printing methods and materials have been used recently in multi-material printing. As an illustration, MIT researchers have created a technique for printing with several materials using a single nozzle, enabling the production of things with various qualities in a single print. the practise of “multi-material jetting,” which enables the use of a single print head to print numerous materials simultaneously. For instance, the J750 3D printer, and J850, which aims to “push the boundaries of 3D printed realism” from Stratasys can print with up to six different materials simultaneously, such as transparent materials, rigid and flexible plastics, and even color-changing materials.

Innovation in “hybrid manufacturing,” which mixes various production techniques including 3D printing, CNC machining, and casting to produce items with distinctive features. For example, researchers at the Technical University of Munich have developed a hybrid manufacturing process that allows for the printing of high-strength aluminium parts with embedded electronics. 

Multi-material printing is a rapidly evolving technology with many potential applications in a wide range of industries. It has the ability to produce complex and customized objects that would be difficult or impossible to create using traditional manufacturing methods, and it’s likely that we will see more developments in the near future. 

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