Watson Primer
An immersive exploration of the Watson artificial intelligence platform. The space is an introduction to AI technology, providing real world examples of different applications. Through stories, animations, articles, and games, attendees learn about Watson and what separates it from other AIs.
I was the Interactive Design Lead on the Watson Primer. Everything an attendee could touch, tap, see, or step on was something I helped craft. Working with multiple agencies, fabricators, and a talented team of IBMers, we created something truly unique. As an architect by training and a UX designer by trade, the project was an exciting fusion of environmental manipulation, content, and interface design.
Observations
Trade show floors are an inherently difficult environment to have a substantive conversation. Shows are loud, distracting, and everyone is pressed for time. Booths are often staffed by inexperienced workers who only know a few scripted responses. Layered on this is the complexity of artificial intelligence, content with a steep learning curve and lots of specialized technical jargon. Matters aren’t helped by the confusing and obfuscating marketing hype that currently exists around buzzwords like machine learning and AI.
A more fundamental problem emerged early in the design. There wasn’t an existing information hierarchy that actually helped people. Getting started with Watson required an overhead of knowledge, familiarity with tools, terms, and platforms, that even professionals found daunting. The footprint for the experience was also limited. A physical design by an external agency for an array of pop up walls was normative and uninspired, but adequate for the physical constraints. The entire construction needed to fit in an area under 700 square feet and pack down into a single cargo container for international shipping.
Personas
The team constructed three personas. Jeremy, an expert in his industry, is skeptical about Watson's supposed knowledge and wants to know who trained it and how. He needs to leave the space with a clear idea of where the data is coming from and who is training Watson. Ideally, he will be excited at the prospect of training Watson himself.
Melissa, the business buyer, cares about how Watson can make her company more money. She needs to see proof that the technology is worth the investment. She should leave the space thinking about how her business could leverage Watson while clearly understanding the implementation and ROI.
Genevieve, a data scientist with a background in machine learning, wants to understand the underlying technology. She won't be satisfied with abstract claims and stories. She needs a clear idea of how Watson is able to accomplish the showcased solutions. She needs content that allows a deep dive into the underlying science and components.
Development
The purpose of the experience was to prime attendees to work with Watson. To support that, the team rallied around three important hills (or mission statements) to support that goal.
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Attendees like Jeremy and Genevieve need to reach content relevant to their interest or expertise in two swipes.
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In less than 90 seconds, attendees like Melissa and Genevieve need to interact with technology that authentically represents Watson's value and capabilities.
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From a distance of 10 meters, or around 30 feet, every attendee should be intrigued by the space and its contents.
Layout and content iterations pointed towards an experience that required three distinct armatures. The first armature needed to support stories, visible at a distance, offering example use cases. The second needed to be more of a table to provide essential knowledge and focused heads down interactions with meaningful content. The third was an immersive and dramatic exhibit to draw attendees into the space.
Experience
From their first step onto an undulating river of data, people should feel like they are at the center of the experience. Data will flow around attendees’ footsteps as life-sized representatives from different industries and professions slide into view. The space will invite participants to explore different stories covering a wide range of industries. Each story will be accompanied by illustrated business outcomes, figures, and specifics.
Progressively pulsing light will invite attendess towards ultra-wide touch panels with the content to help users get started using Watson. The panels will outline business focused benefits, while other sections will help guests understand the importance of data and training. At these stations, attendees will be able to practice training their own classifiers and see what it’s like to introduce an AI to a new field of knowledge.
An interactive Watson avatar will preside over the space capable of running an array of different applications and interactions.
Delivery
Housed in a custom-built ray of thought (inspired by the Watson avatar’s own radiating graphic), the Primer’s content is delivered through a myriad of touch surfaces, screens, interactive flooring, projections, and sensors.
At just over 10 feet high, the Primer doesn’t dominate conference venues. Attendees glimpse the wide curvatures of the Primer’s shape through a field of rectilinear walls. Like the relationship between humans and machines, a tension exists between the sleek black steel of the interior and the enclosing organic curves.
There is almost no exterior branding on the Primer. The sheer white walls, punctuated by angular stripes of diffuse light, create an aura of mystery. Attendees step into the space out of a sense of curiosity and wonder. Beneath the stretched fabric exterior, a modular framework supports the dense clusters of drivers, fans, and cabling required by GPUs pushing more than 400 square feet of pixels across floor, walls, and tables.
