I design how AI behaves: the reasoning, trust, and orchestration decisions a system makes before it says a word, not just the words it says. It’s a discipline still being invented, and I’m one of the people inventing it.
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I design how AI systems think and speak. As the Staff Designer leading ServiceNow's conversation design discipline, I build the behavioral frameworks that shape how entire product lines speak: architectural decisions, not surface-level polish. I’ve spent years arguing that conversation quality belongs in architecture reviews, not UX passes after decisions are already made. Now it’s not just an argument. I’m the design lead on the design org’s OKR to improve AI content quality, which makes that seat at the table a formal responsibility, not something I have to keep winning.
The problems I’m most drawn to are the ones no one has solved yet: how agents should communicate uncertainty, when AI should ask versus act, how users form accurate mental models of what a system can actually do. These aren’t UX problems. They live in the system, not on the surface. The stakes are high enough that I don’t think they belong anywhere else.
“Alea consistently pushes the boundaries of what great design looks like. Her ability to combine deep technical understanding with creative problem-solving made her a key contributor to some of our most complex and high-profile initiatives.”
“Alea demonstrates leadership in every interaction, she is strategic, vocal when needed, and incredibly knowledgeable.”
“She shares her knowledge openly, offers strong strategic guidance, and consistently helps the team move forward with confidence.”
“If you’re looking for someone who blends craft excellence, AI expertise, and a forward-thinking approach to innovation, Alea is that person. Working with her was a privilege and I’d jump at the chance to do it again.”
“She genuinely sets a new standard.”
“I’m truly grateful for her support and the way she elevates everyone around her.”
Spoken language is at least 100,000 years old. Writing is around 5,000. Touchscreens have been here for maybe 20. Conversation is how people have always navigated complexity, made decisions, and built trust. AI didn't invent that. It inherited it. Designing for it well means respecting what was already there.
Linguists call it pragmatics: the meaning that lives between what's said and what's understood. In AI, that meaning is shaped by decisions most people never see. The pipeline, the prompt, the logic that governs what to say when uncertain or how to handle ambiguity. Those aren't surface-level polish. They're the system. If a designer isn't making those decisions, they're still getting made. Just not well.
An AI that uses jargon locks people out. An AI that obscures uncertainty removes informed choice. An AI that presents a guess as a fact isn't making a tone mistake. It's making an ethical one. Language has always been a tool of access and exclusion, and AI reproduces the assumptions of whoever built it at scale. Conversation designers sit at that intersection whether we name it or not. I'd rather name it.
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