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Collage is the New Writing: Exploring the Fragmentation of Text and User Interfaces in AI Tools (2405.17217v1)

Published 27 May 2024 in cs.HC and cs.CL

Abstract: This essay proposes and explores the concept of Collage for the design of AI writing tools, transferred from avant-garde literature with four facets: 1) fragmenting text in writing interfaces, 2) juxtaposing voices (content vs command), 3) integrating material from multiple sources (e.g. text suggestions), and 4) shifting from manual writing to editorial and compositional decision-making, such as selecting and arranging snippets. The essay then employs Collage as an analytical lens to analyse the user interface design of recent AI writing tools, and as a constructive lens to inspire new design directions. Finally, a critical perspective relates the concerns that writers historically expressed through literary collage to AI writing tools. In a broad view, this essay explores how literary concepts can help advance design theory around AI writing tools. It encourages creators of future writing tools to engage not only with new technological possibilities, but also with past writing innovations.

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Authors (1)
  1. Daniel Buschek (41 papers)
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Summary

Collage in AI Writing Tools: A Conceptual Exploration

Introduction

This essay explores the concept of Collage as transferred from avant-garde literature to the design of AI writing tools. Collage here comprises four facets: fragmenting text in writing interfaces, juxtaposing voices in interaction, integrating material from multiple sources, and shifting the user's role towards editorial and compositional decision-making. The essay applies this concept to analyze existing AI writing tools and inspires new design directions. It further contextualizes these ideas critically by reflecting on similar concerns articulated in historical literary collage.

Analytical Lens: Collage in AI Writing Tools

Forty recent AI writing tools were assessed through the lens of Collage. The analysis evaluated tools based on facets such as the fragmentation of text in interfaces, juxtaposition of different voices, integration of external material, and shifting user roles.

Fragmentation

Fragmentation in these tools manifests both in UI design and user interactions. Traditional single-page UIs are increasingly replaced with interfaces comprising multiple text entry areas. These fragmentations serve various purposes such as enhancing cognitive processes (e.g., idea generation) and accommodating different writing stages (e.g., planning and drafting). For instance, tools like VISAR use graphical representations where users arrange fragmented text pieces dynamically, facilitating structured, non-linear organization of thoughts.

Juxtaposing Voices

Prominent AI tools integrate diegetic (draft content) and non-diegetic (prompts or instructions) text entry seamlessly. Tools such as Wordcraft enable smooth transitions between drafting content and giving instructions to AI, reflecting Collage’s juxtaposition of different writing voices. Empirical studies report that such designs can complicate cognitive processes, as switching between writing and prompting involves overlapping mental activities.

Integrating Material from Multiple Sources

A core aspect of Collage is the integration of externally generated material into the user's work. Tools such as HaLLMark communicate the convergence of user-written and AI-generated text by visually distinguishing them. This transparency can help users manage potential issues like inadvertent plagiarism, fostering more ethical AI-assisted writing practices.

Shifting User Roles

AI writing tools reconfigured the user’s role from a traditional author to an editorial and compositional decision-maker. Tools that involve prompt-based text generation compel users to select, arrange, and refine AI-generated snippets, thereby engaging in higher-order decision-making. This editorial role can dilute perceived authorship, a concern supported by empirical findings indicating that users often attribute less ownership to AI-generated text.

Constructive Lens: Leveraging Collage in UI Design

Inspired by Collage, novel UI designs can be envisioned through both detailed morphological analysis and top-down conceptual exploration.

Evolving the Page UI via Collage Patterns

Classical page UIs can be morphed into innovative designs using conceptual patterns such as parallelism, subdivision, overlap, and spatial arrangement. For instance, one might evolve from a single writing area into a 2D canvas allowing spatial text arrangement, with each evolution step serving a specific functional role like brainstorming or structured drafting.

Design Exploration 1: Embracing Fragmentation

Reification of user decisions turns text fragments into interactive objects. One concept involves interactive seams between text fragments written by the user and those suggested by AI, allowing users to revisit and retroactively alter past decisions. This supports transparency and flexibility, aiding collaboration and iterative refinement.

Design Exploration 2: Minimizing Fragmentation

Conversely, rejecting Collage could inspire UI designs that prioritize minimal fragmentation. For example, a focus mode UI where previously written lines disappear could help users draft without distraction, akin to the concept of freewriting. AI operates in the background to revise and clean up the draft, balancing user focus with automated enhancement.

Critical Lens: Concerns and Collage Then and Now

Expressionist literature employed collage to critique societal changes, reflecting on mechanization and the impact of new media. This lens reveals three critical themes relevant to AI writing tools:

  1. Standardized Language: Collage’s treatment of language as prefabricated material parallels how AI tools generate stereotypical language, raising concerns about the loss of linguistic diversity and creativity.
  2. Language Scarcity: Both Expressionist parataxis and AI prompting condense language, potentially facilitating efficient communication at the cost of deep cognitive engagement.
  3. Linguistic Worlds with an Agenda: Collage highlighted a disconnection between language and reality, mirroring concerns about AI-generated content's disconnect and potential biases. Designing AI writing tools should consider these linguistic worlds' boundaries and implications.

Conclusion

Exploring Collage within AI writing tools provides a rich intermediate concept for UI design and interdisciplinary discourse. It elucidates fragmentation in UIs, juxtaposition of writing voices, integration of varied materials, and evolving user roles. Furthermore, critical reflections rooted in historical avant-garde literature highlight essential considerations for ethical and effective design.

The application of Collage in this manner not only clarifies existing trends but also inspires innovative directions and deeper theoretical engagement, striving to balance technological potential with thoughtful design.

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