mlsanityData to 7 Oct 2026

(Un)making AI Magic: a Design Taxonomy

arXiv 2403.15216 ↗First posted 22 Mar 2024cs.HC cs.AIcited by 5

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Abstract (arXiv)

This paper examines the role that enchantment plays in the design of AI things by constructing a taxonomy of design approaches that increase or decrease the perception of magic and enchantment. We start from the design discourse surrounding recent developments in AI technologies, highlighting specific interaction qualities such as algorithmic uncertainties and errors and articulating relations to the rhetoric of magic and supernatural thinking. Through analyzing and reflecting upon 52 students' design projects from two editions of a Master course in design and AI, we identify seven design principles and unpack the effects of each in terms of enchantment and disenchantment. We conclude by articulating ways in which this taxonomy can be approached and appropriated by design/HCI practitioners, especially to support exploration and reflexivity.

Key facts. Cited by 5 papers in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). Builds on 10 of its 128 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 22 Mar 2024.

Builds on

10 of 128 references.

References · 10

  1. 2019Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI): Concepts, Taxonomies, Opportunities and Challenges toward Responsible AIcited by 1,543
  2. 2021Human-Centered Explainable AI (XAI): From Algorithms to User Experiencescited by 123
  3. 2022Designing for Responsible Trust in AI Systems: A Communication Perspectivecited by 48
  4. 2021The Sanction of Authority: Promoting Public Trust in AIcited by 19
  5. 2021Machine Learning Uncertainty as a Design Material: A Post-Phenomenological Inquirycited by 14
  6. 2023Algorithms as Social-Ecological-Technological Systems: an Environmental Justice Lens on Algorithmic Auditscited by 12
  7. 2020Creativity in the era of artificial intelligencecited by 5
  8. 2023The Entoptic Field Camera as Metaphor-Driven Research-through-Design with AI Technologiescited by 5
  9. 2021The brain is a computer is a brain: neuroscience's internal debate and the social significance of the Computational Metaphorcited by 3
  10. 2023Grasping AI: experiential exercises for designerscited by 3

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Cited by year

Citing papers per year: 2025: 5.

5 papers.

  1. 2025AI Mismatches: Identifying Potential Algorithmic Harms Before AI Developmentcited by 10
  2. 2025Where Do I 'Add the Egg'?: Exploring Agency and Ownership in AI Creative Co-Writing Systemscited by 7
  3. 2025Toward Metaphor-Fluid Conversation Design for Voice User Interfacescited by 5
  4. 2025The Unbearable Lightness of Prompting: A Critical Reflection on the Environmental Impact of genAI use in Design Educationcited by 1
  5. 2025Towards Meaningful Transparency in Civic AI Systemscited by 1