How can AI lead to human flourishing?
/Context
Lack of participatory methods for developing responsible futures
During my Master’s thesis, I explored how human-centred design can be used to co-design responsible technology. My research revealed a critical gap in existing frameworks addressing AI ethics — particularly around biases against minorities related to gender, culture, and demographics.
Rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all approach, as often proposed by big tech (e.g., Microsoft’s AI framework), I argue that organizations should develop context-specific ethical frameworks that reflect the unique needs, values, and aspirations of the communities they serve.
Over the course of this six-month academic project, I took a two-week hiatus to design and prototype a simple online tool that embodies this idea — demonstrating how customized, participatory frameworks could be developed at scale.
/Solution
Turning group conversations into actionable frameworks with ChatGPT 4o
Commune AI enables communities with shared interests to explore future scenarios, express their opinions and translate them into actionable frameworks that designers and decision-makers can act on.
commune
verb
to converse or talk together, usually with profound intensity, intimacy, etc.
It starts by launching a group session, which participants join via an invite code.
Each participant is asked to respond to a scenario defined by the host. Responses are shared anonymously to ensure that everyone feels comfortable expressing their true feelings, opinions & aspirations.
Once responses are submitted, a request is sent to ChatGPT 4o to extract insights and sentiments. The results are presented in the form of value chart, a kaleidoscope of people's needs, aspirations and fears.
/Outcome
Canopy enables fully remote collaboration between designers and user groups, making it possible to capture insights from large user groups that would otherwise be hard to reach (i.e. lack of budget or complex logistics).
I ran a mock session with a group of 5 participants between the ages of 21-23 around the theme of “Adopting domestic robots for daily chores”. As showcased on the value chart above, “security” and “parental control” were identified as the biggest concerns, whilst "tranquillity" and "peace of mind" came up in regards to what the group hoped this scenario would lead to.
/Learnings
1️⃣ First time working with the OpenAI API, learned how to structure prompts to produce specific & consistent output
