SYMPOSIUM 2026

A place for exchange, an update on the concepts of usability and user experience

SYMPOSIUM – Rethinking the concepts of usability and user experience in the age of AI

On April 29 – 30, 2026, students from the CAWEB and TCLoc Master’s programs at the University of Strasbourg had the opportunity to attend the Symposium on Usability and Design, the 5th edition, organized by the University of Strasbourg in collaboration with Louisiana Tech University.

This event aims to bring together professionals from a wide range of fields, including program coordinators, customer success managers, researchers, technical writers, UX and content designers, and professors from various countries, to discuss all together the evolution of technical communication, content design and strategy, as well as localization.

Due to the rapid evolution of technology in recent years, these fields are continuously evolving. As a result, communication and knowledge exchange among experts remain essential for adapting to these changes. Today, this agility has become even more critical with the emergence of AI. In this context, the Symposium plays a key role by enabling speakers to share their insights and inspire the audience, particularly students seeking to enter these industries.

AI: A threat or an opportunity? From a non-specialist’s perspective

Even as an intern like myself, without in-depth knowledge of fields such as localization, UX/UI design, and communication, the discussions led by experts were highly inspiring and thought-provoking.

The discussions around AI were particularly interesting to me. Is it truly a threat, or an opportunity? How can we adapt to this new tool, which can easily lead to dependency? How can we avoid becoming dependent on it?

Faster and smarter… but reliable?

Today, in the professional world, AI is primarily used as a cost-cutting tool. It is often seen as an opportunity, enabling faster content creation and delivery. Like in many other sectors, it is also used to automate routine tasks. Both of these aspects help save time that employees can then dedicate to other responsibilities.

However, this also raises concerns regarding content quality and data protection. The question of the reliability of AI-generated content is important to talk about. This technology has not yet reached a level where it can provide 100% accurate information, and therefore hallucinations remain a significant issue in what it produces. Ray Gallon, co-founder of The Transformation Society at the University of Strasbourg, highlighted the danger of translation capabilities that AI tools contain. These can instantly translate an article written, for example, in Spanish into French and deliver it to the user. Today, many people use it without being aware that the information provided by AI may originate from articles or websites in different countries and languages. In cases of misunderstanding, users may easily be misled. It is important to remember that, in a professional context, clients usually judge the final result rather than the process behind it. As a result, if overreliance on AI reduces the quality or reliability of the output, it can damage the creator’s reputation in the eyes of the client.

Ethical considerations in the use of AI

Granted, this smart technology offers a wide range of opportunities. However, it is also important not to overlook the risks associated with its use, such as its environmental impact, invisible labour, and the ethical limits of its application.

Where should ethical boundaries be drawn? Who is responsible for ensuring its: designers, developers, or users? These questions may come to mind, but in everyday use, they are often set aside. Concerns surrounding responsibility and privacy can sometimes hinder the use of AI, as some people prefer to use it freely without overthinking. Thus, the human tendency to “avoid thinking” tends to overshadow ethical considerations. An example: when someone includes the name and age of a person in order to provide context and obtain a more precise answer from ChatGPT, have they considered the privacy of that individual? These are important questions related to privacy in the context of AI systems, that people forgot or avoided.

Many people use these tools without being fully aware of their impact on both the environment and human beings.

Through communication and adaptability, AI will become your best co-pilot

Nevertheless, in the age of AI, it is impossible to avoid such systems entirely. So it becomes important to know how to coexist with them. Then, events such as Symposium become very important for us.

During the Symposium, experts discussed this topic in order to remind others of both its advantages and risks, and to share how they use it in their respective fields. This inspires attendees to adapt AI to their own work. There is no single solution, and it is important to use such opportunities to communicate and exchange different approaches to integration. Communication remains one of humanity’s greatest strengths, something these systems have not yet mastered.

I strongly agree with the advice that some speakers shared with the audience. In fact, during my internship as a communication assistant, I often use Large Language Models (LLM) such as ChatGPT or Claude to revise my drafts for social media posts. It is true that if I simply copy and paste their suggestions without checking the sources or rereading them, the final result of my work could be completely distorted, with different tones and vocabulary choices within the same paragraph, for example.

What matters is not whether you use it or not, but the process of developing a deep understanding of what AI is, as well as its impact on our work and on the environment, before integrating it into our workflows. Once we become familiar with these systems, we can then explore how to incorporate them effectively into our work. AI should therefore be seen as a partner rather than a replacement.

Article written by Sayo SASAGAWA ECK (intern as a Master CAWEB & TCLocCommunication and Event Assistant)