UX Sustainability: an overview on the sustainability dimension of AI-infused Objects forming product-service ecosystems

This research aims to suggest a new design perspective to analyse the sustainability of an AI-infused object in its entirety. Before we present what AI-infused Objects are and how they form product-service ecosystems, secondly, we analyse the state of the arts of its sustainable dimension. The analysis of AI-infused objects should include: (1) the entire life cycle of the object, its social and economic impact; (2) the impact of the "digital soul" of the object; (3) the ecosystem analysis should also include all indirect impacts of the service, considering how users' behaviour changes when they come in contact with the artificial intelligence ecosystem. The research contributes to the design literature in two ways: (1) by raising awareness in designers on the effective impact of AI-infused Objects forming the product-service ecosystems, (2) by inviting designers to make this awareness concrete through User Experience Sustainability analysis and behavioural change strategies applied to persuasive technology

User experience design and sustainability of AI-infused objects.

AI-infused objects have become an integral part of the daily lives of an increasing number of users. While these objects offer undeniable benefits, they also raise concerns due to their environmental impact. This paper explores the characteristics of these objects and the ecosystem they create, presenting an interpretive model that examines three primary components: physical, digital, and usage. When it comes to ‘sustainability’, Design generally focuses on environmental impacts related to the physical component, while Engineering evaluates the impacts of the digital component. However, these assessments are often disconnected and fail to encompass the impacts associated with usage. The proposed approach seeks to integrate diverse methodologies to elicit the impacts related to the user experience and generate greater awareness already in the design phase

The role of design in the era of conversational interfaces.

With the spread of voice assistants such as Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri we are witnessing the multiplication of products we can interact by talking using natural language. This chapter refers to these products as “Conversational Smart products”, or ConvSP for brevity. The term conversational is used to describe them since they embed and embody Conversational User Interfaces (CUIs). The suffix “Smart” is earned because they possess particular technical features, as they are cyber-physical (merging digital-software and physical-hardware components), networked, and have computational intelligence capabilities. The first half of the chapter explores the specific traits of Conversational Smart Products, while the second revolves around how conversational interfaces influence products and product design practice. It offers a descriptive analysis framework and strategic design guidelines for novice and expert product designers interested in approaching the design of ConvSP