Design fable: the ducks in AI
About imposters, supercycles, debugging, and frameworks.
A duck may glide graciously across the water, but underwater is the frantic kicking of its feet. The Stanford Duck Syndrome is an expression that originated at Stanford University about students presenting a calm and relaxed posture while actually being anxious to survive the pressures of a tough school environment.
The same can be applied to social media when users portray a curated image of themselves but, in reality, are having trouble making ends meet.
Sitting Duck
Or, as designers, we have to deal with ourselves as imposters as we pile unrealistically high standards on ourselves. The problem intensifies if topics like artificial intelligence (AI) and job replacements coerce people to act towards what their companies and teams are expecting from them.
The truth is that even company executives are having an extremely hard time decoding the rapid changes to technology and their environment.
In a podcast with Brene Brown and futurist Amy Webb, Webb acknowledged we are living in one of the most complex operational environments in the last two decades. This is because, unlike typical super cycles of a dominant technology, Webb predicts that there are three technologies at the same time: AI, wearables, and biotechnology.
The term generation transition, or Gen T, describes a period when we are going through an unprecedented amount of change faster than we are probably capable of managing. In other words, all of us are sitting ducks, trying to stay calm during a period of transition.
How, then, can we navigate the stormy seas of change?
Interestingly, there is another duck that could help.
And the story goes like this:
While an undergraduate at Imperial College in London, Dave did a lot of work with a research assistant named Greg Pugh, one of the best developers Dave has known. For several months, Greg carried around a small yellow rubber duck, which he’d place on his terminal while coding. It was a while before Dave had the courage to ask...
Why the rubber duck?
While the story originated from The Pragmatic Programmer by David Thomas and Andrew Hunt, the concept of speaking your technical problems to a rubber duck became a popular practice among developers, known as rubber duck debugging.
The premise is simple. There are times when problems resolve themselves after speaking to a listening co-worker, but when your co-worker isn’t available, a rubber duck may just be enough as a prop to prompt you to speak your mind.
You might think a GPT agent could work as a good substitute, but the trouble with a chatbot is the earnest response in anticipation of adding value. And that’s because of its banal command-line chat interface, like ChatGPT. Without any output, the human mind is left wondering whether the receiver is listening. With too much output, the human mind is also left wondering whether the receiver is listening.
Any inanimate object will do, but what I’ve found to work better are objects with anatomical or facial features. Coincidentally, a rubber duck was chosen, probably with this in mind, which helped make it into a digital meme that could easily spread across the developer community.
Frameworks as a lifebuoy
So, let's extend the idea of the rubber duck. Stop paddling and focus on staying afloat. With the right techniques, becoming a human lifebuoy sustains your energy to focus. Only then, by applying broad strokes, can you glide more effortlessly across the water.
In fact, frameworks are just like life buoys. Not software frameworks, but a systematic visual diagram encapsulating the ideas or beliefs of a plan. They attempt to provide simplicity for complex problems. According to design researcher Jan Chipchase, a great framework simplifies complex data or ideas and becomes a touchpoint for stakeholders to engage with the larger body of research. As such, frameworks condense findings to create meaningful applications.
Let’s see a framework in action by using Dave Snowden’s well-known Cynefin framework. Cynefin, which also means habitats in Welsh, offers five decision-making environments: clear, complicated, complex, chaotic, and confusion.
In the earlier scenario of super cycles, we are likely experiencing a complex/chaotic context with the current technologies. Though not prescriptive, the Cynefin framework offers positioning and a course of action to work on. We do not need to struggle helplessly. We have a set of instructions to act, sense, and respond with novel practices.
At times, we may need to create bespoke framework to cope with challenging situations. In this case, let’s combine AI and human-centred insights. By doing so, the framework becomes contextualised and enriched with relevant information. Sometimes, having more than one framework may also be needed. A framework portfolio sets in when you need to link a contextually heavy primary framework with a universal idea.
Steer into the skid
But what happens when there is too many changes happening in this supercycle? Truly, the latest updates in the industry can bog us down. Whether it is Google’s latest array of AI features in their I/O 2024 or the latest release of GPT-4o by OpenAI, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and caught up in the waves of technology turbulence.
Amy Webb related to a scene about a car steering into the ice, or icy road. What this means is that rather than going with your gut reaction of slamming the brakes, which will lead to a dangerous skid, a driver got to embrace the uncertainty and steer in accordance to the skid. With more road covered, the car gradually stops.
As designers, we need to steer into the skid in our lives. We need to navigate the currents, regardless how turbulent the waters are. We need to recognise that everyone is going through the same chaotic environment. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Instead, focus on the now. Let’s use rubber ducks to debug the uncertainties in our lives. As companies continue to compete with AI, we too have the ability to adapt, by using existing frameworks, or creating new ones to make sense of the world.
And over time, we as designer will take any challenge, including super cycles, like a duck to water. We will discover that we are naturally good at challenges.
Even the most ubiquitous objects are turned into stories. Our subject today is about AI, but using a duck as the object to link with design, technology, and other related disciplines.
Because there can be a special way of writing stories that can be seen across cultures. Normally, plain English is enough, but there can be a more expressive way of writing when the writer wishes to solicit emotions or share a moral.
Idioms and metaphors are such examples. They are non-literal expressions whose meaning cannot be deduced from the true meaning of its individual words. When taken literally, they have no meaning. However, that meaning would have been familiar enough to resonate and repeat. Over time, once they connect with enough people, the saying carries momentum and spreads.
And stories stick. They are easier to remember than facts and figures, but when put together, they become very effective. Psychologist Jerome Bruner’s research suggests that facts are 20 times more likely to be remembered if they’re part of a story.
How did you feel about this approach? I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas for subsequent writing.
References
Bruner, J. S. (2003). Making stories : law, literature, life. Harvard University Press.
Hunt, A., & Thomas, D. (1999). The Pragmatic Programmer. Addison-Wesley Professional.
Studio D. (2023, June 19). Visualising research using Framework Darwinism. Studio D. https://studiodradiodurans.com/blogs/radar/framework-darwinism
Sun, T. (2018, January 31). Duck syndrome and a culture of misery. The Stanford Daily. https://stanforddaily.com/2018/01/31/duck-syndrome-and-a-culture-of-misery/
SXSW. (2024, March 10). Amy Webb Launches 2024 Emerging Tech Trend Report | SXSW 2024. Www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uLSDbh6M_U
The Cynefin Company. (n.d.). About — Cynefin Framework. The Cynefin Co. https://thecynefin.co/about-us/about-cynefin-framework/
Webb, A. (2024, April 24). What’s Coming (and What’s Here) (B. Brown, Interviewer) [Interview]. In Brené Brown. https://brenebrown.com/podcast/whats-coming-and-whats-here/
