Sage: using AI to bridge communication gaps between neurodivergent and neurotypical folks

Project Snapshot | 3 min read

Ever felt lost in translation... in your own language? Welcome to the world of neurodivergent text communication!

Enter Sage: a concept born from the need to bridge the communication gap between neurotypical and neurodivergent individuals online. This project explores how AI can be a tool that can empower users in understanding how their messages can be perceived, and to reply effectively.

Why Sage? Because in a world where a simple "k" can spark an existential crisis, we need a little extra help decoding the nuances of text-based convos. From mastering the art of tone indicators such as "/s" for sarcasm, to navigating the treacherous waters of over or undersharing, Sage is the trusty sidekick in the quest for crystal-clear communication.

Sage never sends a message for you, but rather, it informs you on the meaning of your dialogues, and gives you suggestions on how to proceed. The user gets the final say in sending the message. We don't need a 3-people group chat when there are only 2 humans talking.

How it all started

An opportunity to bring my passion project to life

Earlier this year I took a course with Elizabeth Lin in "designing interfaces for connection." I've always been someone who's deeply passionate about human behaviors and how people interact with each other. I've even taken a psychology course one summer at Harvard and binged most of Criminal Minds. That said, I'm also an ADHD-er, the problems I've researched for this project, I've encountered them a few times in my life.

Communication is already hard, but being neurodivergent sometimes makes it seem that other people are speaking in a different language that you're just not meant to get.

That's why I wanted to create Sage. Sage is the friend you would go to when you're unsure how to reply to a message, when you're confused what the other person meant, or if the other person was being passive aggressive. Instead of copy and pasting a message and describing the conversation context again in ChatGPT, Sage does it all in the chat for you.

One of the most interesting things we learned in class was how to design a personality for our AI characters and chat interface. With my goals in mind, I wanted the interface to exude feelings of calmness, empathy, and playfulness, kinda like a therapist's office but less sterile and more engaging and fun.