This book explores a pivotal moment in our technological evolution, where artificial intelligence is transitioning from a functional tool into a social presence embedded in everyday life. As our interactions with technology become increasingly relational, we face a critical gap in the language, frameworks, and perspectives needed to design for these emerging dynamics. This book addresses that gap by guiding readers through a design-led journey into the future of human-AI coexistence.

Grounded in the method of Research through Design (RtD), this book moves beyond abstract speculation to present three provocative, real-world case studies. Each artifact—a social media-savvy robot named Beau, a diary-keeping air purifier called Areca, and a shaman-inspired AI oracle known as ShamAIn—serves as a probe into distinct facets of relational AI, ranging from social companionship to intimate cohabitation and formal authority.

Through these design speculations, this book offers not only insights but also a new way of asking questions. It provides a practical guide and a conceptual toolkit for designers, researchers, and creators to responsibly and imaginatively shape the social relationships we come to have with the intelligent things we create.

Dr. Hyungjun Cho is an assistant professor of AI and Design in the School of Art + Art History at the University of Florida. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Industrial Design from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). During his doctoral studies, he was also a visiting researcher at Michigan State University.

His doctoral research investigates the future of human-thing relationships in the age of artificial intelligence through a series of design-led inquiries. The core studies of his dissertation were published at the top-tier conference in ACM SIGCHI (e.g., CHI, DIS), where two of his papers received Best Paper Honorable Mention awards. His primary research interests lie at the intersection of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and design research, with a focus on exploring the social, ethical, and relational dimensions of human-AI interaction.