Former Google DeepMind lead explains why storytelling drives AI investment

Jung Su-jin, a former AI UX lead at Google DeepMind, explained that big tech companies use storytelling to justify large-scale investments in early-stage technologies. She noted that while engineers may be limited by technical constraints, UX experts help predict how innovations like the iPhone can revolutionize usage patterns.

In the process of technological innovation by global big tech companies, focusing on "the user's life" rather than the technology itself serves as a core basis for decision-making. Jung Su-jin, an author and former AI UX lead at Google DeepMind who has worked at Intel, Samsung Electronics, and Meta, analyzed that when technology is in its early, intangible stages, it is difficult to make multi-trillion won investment decisions based solely on technical prowess.

Storytelling becomes the basis for investment in early stages without tangible technology

In an interview shared by Understanding: All the Knowledge in the World, Jung Su-jin explained the role performed by UX organizations in big tech companies. New technologies like AI often lack clear technical substance in their early stages. In such cases, rather than judging by technical strength alone, companies must confirm what potential the technology could hold when it enters people's daily lives. Jung stated that "storytelling," which approaches how technology affects people's lives from an emotional perspective, plays a significant role in large-scale investment decisions.

In particular, engineers who know technology well may struggle to look toward the future as they are confined by technical limitations. Jung mentioned that those who do not know technology may instead be able to imagine a wider range of possibilities without technical constraints. Therefore, she explained that the decision-making method of big tech involves technical experts, business experts, and UX experts—who identify user needs—gathering to make decisions based on various scenarios.

Intel's refusal to supply iPhone chips and the "revolution in usage"

Jung pointed out the errors that occur when evaluating new technology through existing frameworks by citing a past case involving Intel. While working at Intel, user research was conducted to confirm the potential of the mobile market, but users at the time were satisfied with existing types of mobile devices such as BlackBerry. Intel tended to underestimate the potential of mobile at the time, which led to a failure to predict the "revolution in usage" later demonstrated by Apple through the iPhone.

While BlackBerry at the time was a form that moved the functions of existing computers into small devices, the iPhone presented a completely new way of using technology through a touch interface and an app ecosystem. Jung analyzed that the smartphone revolution was not merely a revolution of chip or device performance, but a "revolution in the way of using" them. She also mentioned the case where Intel refused Steve Jobs' request to supply mobile chips due to a perceived lack of marketability, suggesting how dangerous it is to judge technology only through existing frameworks.

The problem of "what to remove" in the era of generative AI

As AI technology advances, the role of UX is also changing. Jung pointed out that current AI chat window interfaces remain an extension of past search methods. This is due to the limitations of the "mental model," where users judge new technology based on their experiences with previous technology. This is because, in an era where technology is commercialized, the technology itself is becoming a "commodity."

Accordingly, she diagnosed that the core competency in the era of generative AI lies not in adding new functions, but in the insight to remove unnecessary ones. Citing her experience at Meta, she stated that for a video call device Portal, a camera cover was designed considering distrust regarding personal information, and when designing smart glasses, the focus was on reducing functions rather than adding them. She explained that the core task of AI UX is how technology can satisfy human desires and which functions should be removed to provide a better experience to users.

Source: original video (YouTube)