Phenotropic Interaction

Traditional interactive systems are generally built to cater to the needs of the average user, resulting in interfaces that may exclude individuals with different abilities or needs. Moreover, these systems often lack adaptability once deployed, forcing users to conform to strict protocols. In contrast, human interactions are characterized by iterative adaptation, leading to conversational alignment and successful information exchange. This chapter argues that adopting a similar natural interaction paradigm in human–machine interfaces can improve the adaptability and understanding of artificial agents. This chapter presents a set of design principles based on observations from human interactions, leading to the concept of phenotropics. Phenotropic interaction aims to enable artificial systems to understand and adapt to user needs, promoting collaboration in a more natural way. By increasing the naturalness of human–machine interaction, cognitive effort and communication ambiguity can be reduced, aligning with the media naturalness theory. The chapter introduces phenotropics and its origins in software engineering, followed by the design principles and a framework for the practical inclusion of the concepts of phenotropics in interactive systems. It concludes with a summary, critical outlook, and potential implications of phenotropic interaction in interactive system design.