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Experience Postures

These postures were mentioned in the Rosenverse session Sentient Design: New Postures for AI-Mediated Experiences.

Dedicated tool

Standalone, single-purpose utility that reliably performs a specific task. Interaction is usually a simple transaction: give input, get output.

Workflow tool

A utility that performs a specific task within a larger process. It does its work by sharing and receiving data/results with neighboring steps in the pipeline.

Inline tool

Context-aware utility embedded in a larger interface. Inline tools often act on current selection/ view via contextual menu, popover, or “ask the document.”

Sculptor

Experience that enables iterative refinement through back and forth between user and system. Think “inpainting” to edit inside an image, document, song etc.

Character

Ungrounded but performative personality for open-ended interactions.

Assistant

General-purpose helper that adapts manner and capability to meet immediate needs, combining broad knowledge with basic system access and simple memory.

  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini

Non-Player Character (NPC)

Automated account in a multi-user environment that interacts with human users. Think Slack bots, document commenters, Miro sidekicks, etc.

Intelligent Canvas

A blank slate that can manifest any interface or application based on user needs and requests.

Bespoke UI

UI and data are dynamically chosen and assembled in the moment to match needs and context. Think dashboards that choose their own widgets.

Copilot

Intelligent partner that provides continuous, context-aware assistance while deferring to user judgment.

Conductor

Agent that orchestrates other agents, services, or tools to handle varied and complex tasks. Think Siri: a general interface to handle a wide range of jobs.

  • Adept.ai
  • OpenAI: Operator
  • Anthropic: Computer Use
  • Alibaba: Qwen
  • Google: Project Mariner

Data Whisperer

Translator that can interpret, structure, and transform data across languages, formats, or media. Think PDF to podcast, prose to UI, data scraping, etc.

Tasker

Autonomous specialist tasked to perform a specific task or make narrow decisions, usually as part of a larger system. It’s often simple, focused automation.

Virtual employee

Agent that works as a colleague, handling specialized tasks and decisions, usually with deep domain knowledge across multiple systems.