Conversational AI Experiences Don’t Have to Suck

In this candid conversation, celebrated tech leader and experience design pioneer Robb Wilson talks about the lifelong journey in technology that informed his new book from Wiley, Age of Invisible Machines: A Practical Guide to Growing a Hyperautomated Ecosystem of Intelligent Digital Workers. Equally at home reconfiguring code or designing conversational flows as he is building a house or carving his own surfboard, Wilson’s breadth of experience has proven invaluable in a sprawling and complex space.  As the founder of OneReach.ai, his work has come to define the conversational AI marketplace, but there’s much more to discuss. Before founding OneReach.ai, Wilson was already  the owner of UX Magazine, and here he explains how this publication fits into a much larger vision of technology not leaving people behind.

When I came on as managing editor of UXM back in 2012, Robb was busy running multiple startups and divided his time between Denver and Kyiv. I rarely saw Robb, but his work in both technology and design are legendary and he was always there, so to speak. A few years ago I jumped at the opportunity to spelunk the illusive Robb mind for a white paper that grew and grew until it became Age of Invisible Machines. Co-authoring a book with Robb came with the good fortune of many long and illuminating conversations that tended to change my perceptions of the world—the following exchange was no exception.