Last week, intive and AIR hosted the second edition of the AI x Design Meetup at Bayernwerk – a gathering of curious minds, insightful talks, and deep dives into the intersection of technology and creativity. One of the key themes? Hybrid Human-Artificial Intelligence (HHAI), and the evolving collaboration between people and machines.
Although Alberto Longo, AI Expert at the European Commission, wasn’t able to join us for his talk at the event, we caught up with him to talk about the future of hybrid systems. Here’s what he had to say about building ethical, effective, and human-centered AI collaborations.
Q: Alberto, you've been involved with AI for over 18 years. What initially sparked your interest in this field?
Alberto: My journey began with a fascination about how technology shapes human interactions and decision-making. This curiosity naturally led me to explore AI's potential in designing intuitive, inclusive, and ethical digital experiences. I've been particularly interested in the applications within Industry 4.0 and now Industry 5.0 frameworks, where we're seeing the true integration of human and machine capabilities.
Q: Your work at the European Commission sounds fascinating. Could you give us a glimpse into what your role entails?
Alberto: My day-to-day work revolves around research, innovation, and policy advisory related to AI and digital transformation. A significant part of my role involves ensuring that emerging technologies align with core European values: sustainability, inclusivity, and ethical responsibility. This means collaborating with diverse stakeholders, from technical experts to policymakers, to shape AI governance frameworks that serve the public good.
Q: In your experience, which human skills and AI strengths complement each other most effectively?
Alberto: That's a great question. AI excels at pattern recognition, large-scale data processing, and computational tasks. It can identify trends and automate routine work with remarkable efficiency. Humans, on the other hand, bring intuition, ethical reasoning, creativity, and contextual understanding to the table.
The most successful hybrid systems leverage AI for efficiency while ensuring human oversight in decision-making.
Q: You mentioned several technical challenges in implementing HHAI systems. Could you elaborate on those?
Alberto: Certainly. Scalability remains a significant hurdle – many sophisticated AI models require substantial computing resources, raising concerns about cost and energy consumption. Real-time interaction is another challenge, especially in domains like robotics or emergency healthcare where immediate, adaptive responses are crucial.
Perhaps most importantly, we're still grappling with bias. AI systems inherit biases from their training data, which can lead to discriminatory outcomes. Addressing this requires not just technical solutions like diverse datasets and explainable AI techniques, but also regulatory frameworks and ethical oversight.
Q: What approaches have proven most successful in making these complex AI systems more transparent and explainable?
Alberto: We're seeing promising results with Interpretable Machine Learning (XML) Techniques like Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) and Local Interpretable
Model-agnostic Explanations (LIME), which make AI predictions more understandable. But technology alone isn't enough – we need user-centered design approaches that embed transparency into interfaces. Think interactive dashboards that visualize AI decision pathways in ways non-experts can understand.
The regulatory landscape is also evolving rapidly. The EU AI Act, for example, integrates explainability requirements directly into development cycles. This combination of technical tools, thoughtful design, and regulatory guidance is creating AI systems that humans can genuinely trust and understand.
Q: Which application areas in Europe seem most promising for hybrid AI systems?
Alberto: Europe is uniquely positioned to lead in several sectors. In healthcare, we're seeing AI-assisted diagnostics, robotic surgery, and personalized medicine approaches that maintain essential human care elements. The justice system is another area with potential – AI can handle legal analysis while human judges provide ethical oversight.
Public administration is transforming through automation of bureaucratic processes while ensuring citizen-focused decision-making. And a particularly European strength is in cultural heritage, AI-powered restoration and knowledge transfer for museums and historical sites.
Q: Could you describe what a designer's day-to-day work with HHAI could look like in 2030?
Alberto: I imagine designers of 2030 working in truly collaborative environments with AI. They might use AI-assisted prototyping tools that generate design variations based on real-time user feedback while working in mixed-reality environments where AI avatars help predict user behavior.
AI will likely handle much of the data analysis in user research, identifying patterns and behaviors, while designers focus on interpreting those insights to create meaningful experiences. The key is that AI won't replace the designer – it will handle the computational heavy lifting, freeing humans to focus on creativity and empathy.
Q: How are ethical considerations shaping the development of hybrid AI systems in Europe?
Alberto: Ethical issues are central to hybrid AI development. Responsibility and liability frameworks are evolving to ensure that AI-driven decisions remain accountable. The EU AI Act categorizes systems based on risk levels, requiring greater scrutiny for high-risk applications (e.g., in healthcare or law enforcement). This ensures that AI-driven decisions remain accountable.
What's encouraging is seeing developers embedding ethical considerations from the very beginning of the design process. This "ethics by design" approach means considering fairness, non-discrimination, and human oversight as core requirements, not optional features.
Q: Are there specific EU initiatives supporting HHAI development?
Alberto: Absolutely. Beyond the EU AI Act, we have Horizon Europe providing substantial funding for human-centric AI research. Platforms like the European AI Alliance and AI4EU are fostering collaboration for ethical AI development. The European Digital Decade Strategy is also driving investment in AI, digital skills, and ethical technology deployment.
These initiatives reflect Europe's commitment to developing AI that serves human needs while respecting fundamental rights and values.
Q: Where do you see the greatest opportunities and risks for hybrid AI in the coming decade?
Alberto: AI will increasingly augment human capabilities rather than replace them, fostering new forms of creativity and decision-making. We'll see more personalized and inclusive services in education, healthcare, and public administration. And AI optimization will drive sustainability efforts in energy management, climate modeling, and smart cities.
But we must remain vigilant about the risks. Over-reliance on AI without proper human oversight could lead to ethical failures. Bias and discrimination remain serious concerns if governance frameworks aren't robust. And the rise of sophisticated AI-generated content raises troubling questions about misinformation and cybersecurity.
Q: What advice would you give to designers preparing for this AI-augmented future?
Alberto: First, develop hybrid skills. Learn AI fundamentals alongside human-centered design principles. Focus on ethics and responsibility by staying informed about AI regulations and ethical design approaches.
Embrace experimentation – work with AI as a co-creator using generative design tools. And perhaps most importantly, stay collaborative. The most successful designers will be those who can engage effectively with multidisciplinary teams of AI specialists, ethicists, and policymakers to create meaningful and responsible AI experiences.
Looking Forward
The future of AI isn't about replacing human capability – it's about enhancing it through thoughtful collaboration. This philosophy resonates with us at intive, where design is integrated into our people-centric product development process. The insights shared by Alberto highlight the importance of balancing AI capabilities with human oversight to create ethical and effective outcomes.
As the field continues to evolve, events like the AI x Design Meetup provide valuable opportunities to explore these concepts and share knowledge across the community. We're excited to continue these conversations and help organizations navigate the human-AI collaboration landscape.
Have questions about implementing these concepts in your organization? Explore our AI use case sprint and learn how we turn potential into progress.
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