Automation of interaction—interaction design at the crossroads of user experience (UX) and artificial intelligence (AI)

Abstract Interaction design/HCI seems to be at a crossroads. On the one hand, it is still about designing for engaging user experiences (UX). Still, on the other hand, it seems to be increasingly about reducing interaction and automating human–machine interaction through the use of AI and other new technologies. In this paper, we explore this seemingly unavoidable gap. First, we discuss the fundamental design rationality underpinning interaction and automation of interaction from the viewpoints of classic theoretical standpoints. We then illustrate how these two come together in interaction design practice. Here we examine four examples from already published research on automation of interaction, including how different levels of automation of interaction affect or enable new practices, including coffee making, self-tracking, automated driving, and conversations with AI-based chatbots. Through an interaction analysis of these four examples, we show (1) how interaction and automation are combined in the design, (2) how interaction is dependent on a certain level of automation, and vice versa, and (3) how each example illustrates a different balance between, and integration of interaction and automation. Based on this analysis, we propose a two-dimensional design space as a conceptual construct that takes these aspects into account to understand and analyze ways of combining interaction and automation in interaction design. We illustrate the use of the proposed two-dimensional design space, discuss its theoretical implications, and suggest it as a useful tool—when designing for engaging user experiences (UX), with interaction and automation as two design materials.