A Reflection on Human-Notebook Experiences in the Era of AI

Computational notebooks provide an interactive way to work with data. They have been widely used by data professionals to write code, explore data, and generate visualizations, all in one document [11][19][22]. Previous research (e.g.,[5][27]) has revealed unique pain points around the user experience (UX) in computational notebooks. However, as artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT or Copilot have emerged it is unclear whether these pain points have been reduced, changed, or new pain points have arisen. Due to the fast pace of AI technology, most of the development of new AI tools has been primarily driven by technology and not by user experience. In this paper, we summarize literature on how this new technology has impacted interaction and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) paradigms, new challenges and user behavior around using AI assistants, and recent research on AI assistants in Computational Notebook scenarios. We outline gaps in existing literature and suggest a future focus on improving macro human-notebook experiences throughout a user’s workflow, measuring and quantifying the value of AI systems, and establishing a set of standards and best practices for AI tools.