Toward Needs-Conscious Design: Co-Designing a Human-Centered Framework for AI-Mediated Communication

TL;DR

This paper proposes a human-centered framework called Needs-Conscious Design for AI-mediated communication, emphasizing intentionality, presence, and receptiveness to human needs, to foster genuine connection and address issues like Empathy Fog.

Contribution

It introduces a novel Needs-Conscious Design framework based on NVC principles, including design concepts, illustrative examples, and guiding questions for consentful AI-mediated communication.

Findings

Identified Empathy Fog as a key challenge in AI-mediated communication.

Developed design concepts for three pillars: Intentionality, Presence, Receptiveness.

Provided guiding questions to ensure consent and ethical considerations in design.

Abstract

We introduce Needs-Conscious Design, a human-centered framework for AI-mediated communication that builds on the principles of Nonviolent Communication (NVC). We conducted an interview study with N=14 certified NVC trainers and a diary study and co-design with N=13 lay users of online communication technologies to understand how NVC might inform design that centers human relationships. We define three pillars of Needs-Conscious Design: Intentionality, Presence, and Receptiveness to Needs. Drawing on participant co-designs, we provide design concepts and illustrative examples for each of these pillars. We further describe a problematic emergent property of AI-mediated communication identified by participants, which we call Empathy Fog, and which is characterized by uncertainty over how much empathy, attention, and effort a user has actually invested via an AI-facilitated online interaction. Finally, because even well-intentioned designs may alter user behavior and process emotional data, we provide guiding questions for consentful Needs-Conscious Design, applying an affirmative consent framework used in social media contexts. Needs-Conscious Design offers a foundation for leveraging AI to facilitate human connection, rather than replacing or obscuring it.