The Cognitive Architecture of Experience – Part 4: Designing the Better Human

The Bionic Mind

In the 1970s, the Six Million Dollar Man popularized the idea of “rebuilding” a human through technology to achieve superhuman physical feats. Today, we face a new frontier: rebuilding the human cognitive experience.

With the resurgence of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, we have the tools to create a human–machine combination that enhances mental prowess rather than just physical strength. This is not about machines replacing designers; it is about using the “Six Minds” framework to train AI to think like the humans it serves.

The Three Planes of Emotional Design

Emotion is the “unspoken reality” of product design. It influences how “Spock-like” or analytical a person can be during a decision. To truly awaken a customer’s passion, a product must address three distinct levels of emotional need.

The Mechanics of Appeal, Enhance, and Awaken

First, a product must “Appeal” to the customer immediately, using visual popout and familiar language to draw them in. Second, it must “Enhance” their life over the medium term by solving concrete problems, like how Uber solved the unreliability of taxis. Finally, it must “Awaken” their deepest life goals and fears—helping them feel like a success or allaying their fear of failure.

The Crucible of the AI Winter

Early AI focused on symbolic logic—the “slow thinking” of problem solving—but failed at basic tasks like image recognition. The current wave of ML uses “artificial neural networks” to excel at perceptual tasks like voice and vision but still struggles with context. An AI that knows the population of Paris but cannot follow the thread “How is the weather there?” is technically impressive but cognitively “impoverished”.

The Cascade of Cognitive Augmentation

The future of design lies in “cognitive support tools” that augment human limitations. AI can act as a heads-up display for our fovea, highlighting the light switch in a new hotel room or the specific tax code an accountant needs. By detecting facial expressions or speech patterns, AI can sense when a user is overwhelmed and simplify the interface in real-time to prevent “satisficing”.

Synthesis: The Symphony of the Six Minds

An experience is not singular; it is a symphony of hundreds of distinct brain processes. By breaking an experience into Vision, Wayfinding, Memory, Language, Decision Making, and Emotion, we can diagnose exactly where a product is failing.

The most successful products of the next decade will not just be faster or cheaper; they will be “bionic” in their empathy. They will direct our attention, mirror our language, and support our loftiest goals. In doing so, they will not just be better products; they will make us better humans.