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Programming by demonstration systems have long attempted to make it possible for people to program computers without writing code. However, while these systems have resulted in many publications in AI venues, none of the technologies have yet achieved widespread.adoption. Usability remains a critical barrier to their success. On the basis of lessons learned from three different programming by demonstration systems, we present a set of guidelines to consider when designing usable AI-based systems.

The RADAR project developed a large multi-agent system with a mixed-initiative user interface designed to help office workers cope with email overload. Most RADAR agents observe experts performing tasks and then assist other users who are performing similar tasks. The interaction design for RADAR focused on developing user interfaces that allowed the intelligent functionality to improve the user’s workflow without frustrating the user when the system’s suggestions were either unhelpful or simply incorrect. For example with regards to autonomy, the RADAR agents were allowed much flexibility in selecting ways to assist the user, but were restricted from taking actions that would be visible to other people. This policy ensured that the user remained in control and mitigated the negative effects of mistakes. A large evaluation of RADAR demonstrated that novice users confronted with an email overload test performed significantly better, achieving a 37% better overall score when assisted by RADAR. The evaluation showed that AI technologies can help users accomplish their goals.

The field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) offers designers and developers of interactive systems a large repertoire of methods for ensuring that their systems will be both usable and useful. This article offers a brief introduction to these methods, focusing on the ways in which they sometimes need to be adapted and extended to take into account the characteristic properties of systems that include some sort of AI. The discussion is organized around three types of activity: understanding users needs, interaction design, and evaluation.