Bridging the Tech Frustration Gap: How AI Is Finally Making Technology That "Gets Us" 🚀🧠

I just finished Don Norman's brilliant analysis of the "Gulfs of Execution and Evaluation" in design, and I had to share how perfectly this framework applies to modern AI development! This concept explains why some technologies feel intuitive while others leave us frustrated. 🤔💡

Norman identifies two critical gaps in human-computer interaction:

1️⃣ The Gulf of Execution: Where users struggle to figure out HOW to use something 

2️⃣ The Gulf of Evaluation: Where users can't determine WHAT happened after they took action

Sound familiar? It's exactly what makes or breaks our experience with AI tools!

What fascinated me most was Norman's insight that when people struggle with technology, they often blame themselves ("I'm being stupid") rather than recognizing poor design. With increasingly complex AI systems entering our workflows, bridging these gulfs becomes even more critical.

The good news? AI itself can help solve this problem! Modern AI interfaces are getting better at:

• Providing intelligent signifiers that guide users through complex processes

• Offering contextual feedback that makes evaluation intuitive

• Creating conceptual models that match how humans actually think

• Adapting to our individual mental models instead of forcing us to adapt to the machine

I'm seeing this in action with tools like GitHub Copilot, which bridges the execution gulf by suggesting code as developers type, and Claude's ability to explain its reasoning - bridging the evaluation gulf.

As AI becomes more integrated into our daily lives and business operations, the companies that thrive will be those that understand these psychological principles and design AI systems that feel like natural extensions of human capability.