Invisible technology: lessons from my years at Apple's HIG team
Q1I spent time studying Apple's Human Interface Guidelines philosophy — the idea that the best technology is invisible. You don't think about the trackpad, you think about what you're creating. Now I'm applying that to AI interfaces. Most current AI products make AI the main character — chat boxes, AI labels everywhere, 'powered by AI' badges. What if AI should be invisible?
Q2But there's a tension: if AI is invisible, how do users build trust? If they don't know AI is making decisions for them, isn't that a transparency problem? Especially in social contexts where AI is mediating human relationships.