From Play-Doh Models to Real Systems: Designing Trustworthy Conversational AI | With Nandini Stocker

Designing Conversational AI That is Trustworthy and Empathetic | From Scripts to System BehaviourIn this episode of the CDI Expert Series: Unprompted, we sit down with Nandini Stocker, a global leader in conversational AI with over 25 years of experience designing voice and chat systems across 60+ languages and 120 countries. Drawing on her work at Google, Flipkart, and USAA, Nandini shares a powerful perspective on how conversation design is fundamentally changing in the era of large language models.Together, they explore the shift from rule-based and intent-driven systems to generative, adaptive models - captured in Nandini’s “Legos to Play-Doh” analogy. The conversation focuses on what this transformation means for designers today: moving beyond writing dialogue to shaping system behaviour through tone, guardrails, and governance. They also examine how empathy must now be designed at scale, accounting for emotional context, cultural nuance, and real-world complexity across global audiences.This episode explores:The shift from scripted dialogue to generative, LLM-driven systemsDesigning system behaviour instead of individual promptsBuilding empathy at scale through rules of engagementBalancing global standards with deeply local, context-specific designDesigning for multilingual and culturally diverse marketsGovernance, tone systems, and safety guardrails in high-trust domainsEmpowering designers through tooling, rituals, and shared ownershipThis highlights how design is evolving beyond scripts and prompts, and what it truly takes to build trustworthy, human-centered AI at scale. So after listening, the question becomes: how do you design conversational AI systems that balance flexibility with control, while remaining empathetic, culturally aware, and trustworthy at scale?Contact UsThanks for tuning in to Unprompted, for more practical lessons, and behind-the-scenes stories, exclusive events, and candid insights, visit our website or follow us on your favorite social platform.Follow us on social media:X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/CDInstitute_Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Conversation_Design_Institute/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConversationDesignInstitute/Find out more:Website: https://www.conversationdesigninstitute.comConnect with us:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/conversation-design-instituteNandini Stocker, Sr. https://www.linkedin.com/in/nandini-stockerDesign executive and conversation systems leader with over 25 years of experience shaping how AI speaks across 60+ languages, 120 countries, and 50+ industries.