AI’s Impact on Interaction Design – Highlights from Beijing University’s 2022 Forum

Beijing University’s "Intelligent Interaction Design Frontier Forum" 2022 (first session) was held online, focusing on "Intelligence and Design" and organized by the university’s School of Digital Media and Design Arts.

Opening Remarks

Prof. Hou Wenjun, associate dean of the School of Digital Media, introduced the development of intelligent interaction design in China, current trends, and the impact of the metaverse on future design.

Key Presentations

Xu Hao (Senior UI Designer, Baidu MEUX) and Meng Lei presented "Forward‑looking Exploration of Human‑Computer Interaction – Design Practice of the Digital Human Assistant ‘Du Xiaoxiao'" and "Search Intelligence", discussing the rise of AI assistants as interfaces between humans and the digital world and sharing design thinking and methods.

Meng Lei also explained the design approach for Baidu Visual Search, emphasizing accurate intent recognition, convenient operation, and intelligent perception across dimensions such as perception foundation, capability coverage, experience convenience, response speed, and satisfaction.

Shi Jia (Automotive Design Director, ICON INCAR) delivered "Intelligent Automotive HMI Design and Experience", covering the evolution of HMI, key experience elements, specific design methods, and how HMI transforms vehicle‑human interaction as cars evolve toward intelligence.

Li Runan (Head of Microsoft Multimodal Virtual Human Project) gave a talk titled "Multimodal Virtual Human Interaction", briefly introducing Microsoft’s multimodal virtual human framework and, through real‑world cases, detailing the design and development logic behind interactive experiences.

Conclusion

The forum attracted nearly 200 participants, including faculty, students of the Intelligent Interaction Design program, and industry experts. It showcased cutting‑edge theories and achievements in intelligent interaction design, fostering deeper academic‑industry exchange and providing direction for the development of the field in China.