Imagining what could be prototyped for such highly conceptual and unexplored subject was initially challenging, as it required translating something abstract into tangible. Nevertheless, I was able to find two possible directions for further developments of the research, each exploring a different aspect of the topic. As a precautionary measure to ensure a deliverable outcome, I then also considered a separate (maybe more practical) direction as a reliable backup plan and idea 3.
Here follows a description of each idea in detail.
1. Building a tool to conduct research on user behaviour and AI usage
The concept sketched above stems from the need of conducting a survey for the thesis research, which should investigate the behaviour and habits in AI usage in the creative process of people in the field. Instead of relying on common survey tools, the idea here is to build/prototype a tool based on my needs, which could then show in a dashboard the data collected in the survey part. Why a dashboard? Because I would like the results to be always available and accessible to other researchers and designers, even without completing the assessment). This to ensure more open data in real time, that can illustrate our current usage trend ans possibly the environmental impact based on the numbers.
2. Developing a new framework/workflow for the involvement of AI in the data-driven storytelling creative process
This second, more ambitious, idea is to study and develop myself a new (or just different) workflow framework for the community into data-driven storytelling. This would work as a step by step guide to follow for a conscious employment of AI in the creative process, highlighting the steps in which it can actually be helpful and how to properly write our prompts to have answers and outcomes that respect our needs in less requests. The scheme right now shows how our currently AI usage, yet the goal is to offer clearer steps with less involvement of generative models to ensure more human-centered design.
3. Implementing the interface of the website CRAFTY (the plan B)
This concept focuses on a project developed with other students one year ago and currently undergoing a startup competition at Politecnico di Milano. Its name is CRAFTY and it is an AI enhanced website dedicated to creatives, which should help with project development relying on (and suggesting) recycled resources and waste materials collected in storage spaces in universities and Fablabs. The idea drafted in this sketch aim to rethink the whole interface and interaction for the website, to make the usage smoother and more intuitive. In addition, it was considered to develop the missing interfaces for an autonomous warehouse management.
