MAURO Usability Science

STAGGERING: Last week, TikTok accidentally revealed that their UX design is highly addictive based on extensive internal research. The research shows new users must view just 260 clips in order to find TikTok habit forming. This data supports what we already know from modern neuroscience: that TikTok is a dopamine generator of the first order. There is more...! Surprisingly, the research details came to light after TikTok filed a highly redacted response to a discovery request from the Kentucky AG. Following the reception of the documents, a staff member in the AG's office copied the text into a new document, which removed all the redacting...OPPS! So much for secure legal document procedures. Now we know that TikTok knew that their research validated assumptions that TikTok is a highly addictive social media platform. However, now we understand the staggering rate at which the platform has become genuinely habit-forming for teens and others. Dr. Jeffrey FunkAnthony Andre, Ph.D., CPE (Tony)Rebecca Grier, Ph.D.Jennifer Pierce, David Hodge https://lnkd.in/ekCTmSfc

Thanks to our colleagues from around the globe for attending our session this morning on "How Neuroscience Can Be Applied to Ergonomic Research." It was gratifying to have such a strong turnout for science-based user research. Thanks also to our colleagues at iMotions, who supported the case study project and produced a great Webinar. The video will be posted in a few days.

A Memory Day Like No Other: On this day 23 years ago, I was dropping my daughter off at Stuyvesant High School in lower Manhattan. Her school was 200 yards from the North Tower. As I left the drop-off, the first plane struck the North Tower, an event one can never forget, even all these years later. I later examined this event in significant detail only to understand that at the core of 9/11 was human factors science, its use, and abuse. My upcoming book covers this entire process as an eyewitness and an HF expert. We are what we make in terms of technology. Those who misuse technology's most advanced power do so not only by choice but by design. https://lnkd.in/gaGPZsVC

A classic conflict between visual design and safety is about to unfold with the start of the NFL season. The issue is a new helmet cover that disperses impact forces thus reducing potential brain (CTE) injury by up to 20%. The problem...? the visual design runs directly into pro football's branding obsession with uniform style. Players mostly hate the device and fans are TBD. Any thoughts on the outcome? Less injuries but wonky look on the field? https://lnkd.in/eKhfue2T

NOW THAT IS TRULY INTERESTING: In a current article by Kevin Roose NYT Tech Reporter he goes into significant detail on how one can manipulate LLM output by inserting simple text into a webpage to improve how the chatbot rates your expertise as seen by others. Taken on his reporting it appears that chatbot output is FAR easier to manipulate than traditional web search. In other words using very simple methods one can grossly manipulate what chatbots (LLMs) say about yourself, others, a company, a topic or almost any other content theme. This is not good news for the reputation of the trillion dollar industry that is now chatbot mania. It is good news for those in SEO who have seen their profits tanking based on recent moves by Google. Looks like a new industry is in the training data!! Here is his article well worth a read. Dr. Jeffrey Funk

GEEKY HUMAN FACTORS RESEARCH: There is an entire field of research on human behavior that deals with "collective action" or how and why large groups of biological things like humans, birds, fish move in unison. It turns out that there is a high correlation between how biological systems collectively move and atoms in materials. Why is this important? Because in human factors science one of the most vexing problems is how, as a species, we tend to suddenly in large numbers move in unison. This is currently of interest in large scale gatherings but one can imagine there is a more interesting neuroscience question of how we as a species under take psychological "collective action". What new research is revealing is that such questions have structured underlying mathmatical models that apply equally to humans and atoms in a material. Here is a new paper on the physics of collective action. Ever wonder why Starlings turn in wonderful coordinated patterns...I wonder why humans adopt behavioral collective action in all manner of life tasks including politics, tech utilization, even driving behaviors. Dr. Jeffrey Funk https://lnkd.in/e7628PpW

There has been much discussion on LI around transferring visual information into AI-based audio, as seen in the new AI Pin by Humane, which now looks to have formed a crater the size of Manhattan. This is a reminder that Humane set out to remove the visual display from the smartphone interface in the design of their AI Pin. That was a fatal strategic decision which we have probed in depth on other threads. For some additional insight, here is a repost of one of our most popular newsletters on why designing visual displays is so complex. https://lnkd.in/eguEzRVB