What role will robots and artificial intelligence (AI) play in our working environment, and what effect will that have on our work? The Guidelines for the human factor project changes the debate about the future of work and gives you a different perspective on what this actually means. The project allows you to personally experience cooperation with AI. Its physical form is simple: four chairs arranged around a table. Two chairs are occupied by humans and the other two by AI. This artificial intelligence participates in the interaction by – in response to what the human participants say – asking questions, handing out instructions and displaying internet content on two screens in the chair backrests. Next, the AI projects a hologram onto the table which summarises the conversation in a 3D image that is subsequently printed by a robotic 3D printer to create a physical object. Me You And The Robot presents a design for a new production environment and feeds the debate on how humans may collaborate with AI and robots in the future.

It is still a leap of the imagination and above all difficult to empathise with what greater participation by robots in our society actually means. Our economy has not yet been structured to allow a greater role for Artificial Intelligence even though AI increasingly has an impact on our daily lives. Rather than looking on as a spectator, this project transports you into the world of AI and allows you to engage in the ‘conversation’. How can we humans work together with robots? How can we use each other’s talents? Being able to experience this at first hand makes it easier for us to consider the impact on our lives and work. A theme that design has now tackled to complement the ideas presented by technical experts. This is important, because design makes AI physically tangible in a way which bridges the gap between AI and the man in the street. Guidelines for the human factor focuses on an important theme by painting a picture of a possible future and the role which design can play in that future.