Guardians of the AI, ep.4 - Small talk with Nebula: Why AI Misses Nuance

Nebula is deadly with a blade, terrifying in a fight, and brilliant at tactics. But drop her into a casual conversation? Disaster. She blurts out whatever is on her mind, ignores tone, and tends to leave everyone in the room shifting uncomfortably.

AI in design can feel a lot like Nebula in those moments. It produces outputs that are technically polished but socially clumsy. A “friendly” onboarding flow that accidentally sounds condescending. An accessibility feature that ticks the checkbox but doesn’t actually help. A user journey that makes sense if you are a Vulcan (lore crossover alert), but emotionally falls flat.

Here is how to bring nuance back into AI-assisted design:

🧩 Layer human context. Make sure copy, flows, and visuals reflect the culture and audience you are designing for.

🎭 Test for tone, not just function. A screen that works but feels robotic is a failure.

📚 Teach through examples. The more feedback AI sees on real-world nuance, the closer it gets to being useful in those gray areas.

AI struggles with empathy because it does not live human experiences. That part is on us. Designers have to play the role of translator, adding tone, warmth, and social awareness to outputs that otherwise feel like Nebula at a family dinner.

And maybe that is the point. Nebula never became the most charming Guardian, but she grew into someone who could stand beside others, awkwardness and all. AI does not need to replace human nuance. It just needs enough guidance to stand alongside us without making everything unbearably uncomfortable.