the apple of my eye, (and) jony ive
lots of AI & UX cheat sheets, the gaps in AI creation, Jony Ive's new project with OpenAI, and something from the singer Seal
Welcome back, brat. I’m officially calling this segment of the stack Monday Musings. This week’s Monday Musing has me really tooting my own horn on how accurate a lot of my predictions are. Surprised? Why do you think I started this newsletter. As always, share your thoughts and recommendations in the comments or directly to hello@jelenacolak.com
Current Learning Phase: Research and Information Absorption
Educational Resources
AI Terminology Cheat Sheet
I love this list of all the AI Terminologies we stumble upon when researching about this evolving technology and reading related news. I’m using it as a reference list for my learning journey and letting it guide me.
UX Patters for AI
An insanely great resource created by
, Shape of AI is today what the Laws of UX website was for us designers 10 years ago. It serves as sort of a resource center on important UX patters for designing AI supported products and interactions. As someone who had formal University education in User Experience, I really hope professors are sharing this resource with their students and that these are slowly being integrated in UX curriculums so the next generation of designers can be ready for what’s coming.UX of AI Guide
Another awesome resource I found which dives deeper in the process of designing an AI. I will be using this to guide my further research for weeks to come and will be going through my research weekly along with the process outlined here. Hoping we could maybe make this a collaborative learning process. I will share more details in the chat but ultimately would love to come back to the chat every week and see what everyone has found on their journey and share it with the group.
Interesting Opinion Pieces
The Button Problem of AI
”Every incremental innovation in technology starts off as a differentiated skill but ends up as a button.
Evan Armstrong writes about the current state of AI being basically just a lot of buttons prompting a system to do the work that you would have done yourself anyway. He gives examples of his workflow in the email app Superhuman and concludes that, while it helps his productivity, nothing in AI today really has a WOW factor. He concludes with this thought provoking statement:
We're so focused on making AI fit into our existing workflows that we've forgotten to ask whether those workflows even make sense anymore.”
You know how I keep reiterating that UX Design will become AIX Design? We are entering what might be the era we entered when Google was invented or when Apple introduced the iPhone. Some apps and software digitized existing analog workflows like OpenTable or QuickBooks, some reimagined an existing sector like Uber or Airbnb, and some introduced a completely new idea like YouTube or Snapchat. Our close future is reimagining existing flows or introducing new ones, with AI in mind.
“People are seriously underestimating App Intents”
Some developers are having more tech focused discussions around Apple Intelligence that I’m really excited to see. It points in the same direction I keep pointing in and actually touched on in one of my recent LinkedIn posts:
“Prediction: Apple Intelligence will spearhead a wave of new AI powered apps, leveraging what the new iPhones and iOS offer and incorporate it in the experience.”
In some way, the new and improved Siri and Apple Intelligence will start a development wave of new types of apps. They might not even be called apps by the time these roll out. I’m in the process of really digging deep into the App Intents and Apple Intelligence in order to better understand what’s all happening under the hood over there and how it can potentially be leveraged. This is definitely a topic you will see me write about a lot.
Make your life easier
Usually I like to feature a cool new AI powered feature, plug in, or platform that can potentially make your life easier. This week in the spirit of the rest of the content in this stack, I urge you to explore what Apple Intelligence and Siri can do to make your life easier. Read a little bit about it here.
News You Shouldn’t Miss
In case you live under a rock LinkedIn is training AI Models on your data, to opt out head over here.
The design world’s lord and savior Jony Ive is working on an AI Device startup with OpenAI.
The newest version of the device our lives depend on came out this weekend, but they aren’t fully equipped with Apple Intelligence just yet.
Next time you call the Polo Bar to try and snag a reso, you might not talk to a human.
In another universe…
You’ve probably seen the viral post circling around all social media platforms. Nike’s new CEO Elliott Hill work history:
From intern to CEO, Elliott Hill’s resume resembles that of a textbook example American Dream resume. Sure his loyalty was rewarded but it wouldn’t have been if he wasn’t the right person for the job(s) and a capable individual. What intrigues me is, especially as someone who works in the ever-changing Tech sector, would our generation be able to pull such a feat? Is loyalty indeed rewarded in this day and age? Is it possible to even be loyal?
Looking at the actual years Hill was at Nike, his career grew through iconic periods of Nike’s business, as well as the two decades of significant technological advancements and changes in consumer behavior. He was there while Jordan was still flying like an eagle and Air Jordans were leaving their mark in fashion and culture. He was there for the dot-com boom and the social media boom. He was an integral part of what drives revenue for this company during times of big shifts, making every year and every role interesting, dynamic, and I’m sure what almost felt like working for a different company.
My generation is not so quick to stick with the same company for years. There are immense growth and compensation benefits to changing companies every few years. Many also like a “change of pace” whether its different company cultures or different types of projects and sectors. Some people don’t aspire to climb the ladder to leadership and are happy being individual contributors for the rest of their career. I wonder if in 20 years a similar post will float around for a Millennial or Gen-Z CEO. We have yet to find out, but until then read a little about Nike’s changes.
Got beef?
Feel free to send hate mail directly to hello@jelenacolak.com.