Climbing the Ladder of Abstraction: Amelia Wattenberger
Nov 3, 2023 · 16:47
Amelia Wattenberger, a designer at Adept, argues that AI can augment knowledge work by enabling users to 'zoom out' on information across different levels of abstraction, much like Google Maps hides detail at higher zoom levels. She reframes augmentation as composed of smaller automations, using the example of spreadsheets automating calculations so accountants can focus on analyzing numbers. Wattenberger demonstrates a prototype that uses LLMs to summarize paragraphs of Peter Pan into single sentences at higher zoom levels, and sketches how Adept's AI could extract key factors like Wi-Fi speed and walking distance from Airbnb and hotel listings, presenting them in customizable views and even a scatter plot for comparing 50 listings at once. The talk emphasizes that structured interfaces around AI models—not just chatbots—will transform how we work, and that Adept is building AI to automate tedious tasks while keeping users in control.
