# AI-Assisted Causal Pathway Diagram for Human-Centered Design

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.08111 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.08111/

## Key facts

- Cited by 4 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 21 of its 108 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 12 Mar 2024.

## Builds on (most cited first, 21 of 21)

- [Chain-of-Thought Prompting Elicits Reasoning in Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.11903/) (2022)
- [On the Opportunities and Risks of Foundation Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.07258/) (2021)
- [Sparks of Artificial General Intelligence: Early experiments with GPT-4](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.12712/) (2023)
- [A Prompt Pattern Catalog to Enhance Prompt Engineering with ChatGPT](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.11382/) (2023)
- [A Survey on Large Language Models for Recommendation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.19860/) (2023)
- [Can Generalist Foundation Models Outcompete Special-Purpose Tuning? Case Study in Medicine](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.16452/) (2023)
- [Large Language Models are Zero-Shot Rankers for Recommender Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.08845/) (2023)
- [Questioning the AI: Informing Design Practices for Explainable AI User Experiences](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2001.02478/) (2020)
- [CoAuthor: Designing a Human-AI Collaborative Writing Dataset for Exploring Language Model Capabilities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.06796/) (2022)
- [Co-Writing Screenplays and Theatre Scripts with Language Models: An Evaluation by Industry Professionals](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.14958/) (2022)
- [Large-scale Text-to-Image Generation Models for Visual Artists' Creative Works](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.08477/) (2022)
- [VINS: Visual Search for Mobile User Interface Design](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.05216/) (2021)
- [Spellburst: A Node-based Interface for Exploratory Creative Coding with Natural Language Prompts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.03921/) (2023)
- [Prompting for Discovery: Flexible Sense-Making for AI Art-Making with Dreamsheets](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.09985/) (2023)
- [Mechanical Novel: Crowdsourcing Complex Work through Reflection and Revision](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1611.02682/) (2016)
- [When happy accidents spark creativity: Bringing collaborative speculation to life with generative AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.00533/) (2022)
- [Brainstorming Generative Adversarial Networks (BGANs): Towards Multi-Agent Generative Models with Distributed Private Datasets](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2002.00306/) (2020)
- [AI Assistance for UX: A Literature Review Through Human-Centered AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.06089/) (2024)
- [Gallery D.C.: Auto-created GUI Component Gallery for Design Search and Knowledge Discovery](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.06700/) (2022)
- [Scratch Copilot Evaluation: Assessing AI-Assisted Creative Coding for Families](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.10417/) (2023)
- [Supermind Ideator: Exploring generative AI to support creative problem-solving](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.01937/) (2023)

## Built on by (most cited first, 4 of 4)

- [PosterMate: Audience-driven Collaborative Persona Agents for Poster Design](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.18572/) (2025)
- [TechImage-Bench: Rubric-Based Evaluation for Technical Image Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.12220/) (2025)
- [Causal Discovery Should Embrace the Wisdom of the Crowd](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.02678/) (2026)
- [ReFinE: Streamlining UI Mockup Iteration with Research Findings](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.04353/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

This paper explores the integration of causal pathway diagrams (CPD) into human-centered design (HCD), investigating how these diagrams can enhance the early stages of the design process. A dedicated CPD plugin for the online collaborative whiteboard platform Miro was developed to streamline diagram creation and offer real-time AI-driven guidance. Through a user study with designers (N=20), we found that CPD's branching and its emphasis on causal connections supported both divergent and convergent processes during design. CPD can also facilitate communication among stakeholders. Additionally, we found our plugin significantly reduces designers' cognitive workload and increases their creativity during brainstorming, highlighting the implications of AI-assisted tools in supporting creative work and evidence-based designs.