Is AI shaping design research or is design research shaping AI? Recently I had the pleasure of discussing this with peers at the Design Management Institute conference in London, where I presented and was invited to a panel.
Our conversations landed on the ‘easy’ answer: AI and design (research) influence each other. It is obvious that our practices are influenced by AI by now, even though nobody knows where this will bring us – we are in the thick of it. But we are starting to shape AI too. We are capable of this, because design and design research have shaped earlier big tech shifts.
From creating websites when the internet appeared on our desks, to building apps when the internet got into our pockets, design (research) has played a big role in making these technologies human and meaningful. We have the experience, approaches and tools to do so, from human-centred design (HCD) to contextual research. This should give us confidence that this time we can help shape AI too.
So it’s business as usual? Not really. We can be confident but not too confident.
What’s new this time is that we need to give more attention to ethics, for instance, and the bias that we may introduce when we design with AI. There are also gaps between what is possible technically and desirable from a human perspective. Not that either of these are solid and known, they are both moving targets. And those targets are moving fast. There are so many AI tools coming onto the market, and AI itself is changing so fast that we better share what we learn as a community. Alone, we won’t get very far.
One thought in particular struck me as we discussed AI and design at the DMI conference. We hear a lot about bias and ethics in AI, and too little about cultural differences in how we might use or design with AI. We need to look at the limitations and opportunities of AI from different cultural and geographical perspectives. Why would we aim for an AI that has no bias if we value cultural diversity? Should AI really be the same for everyone? We might want different AI’s that are in tune with different cultures and geographies.
This is an exciting time for pioneers, and Stby has always enjoyed the pioneering that comes with early developments. We certainly will share what we learn, to allow us all to learn together. See a few slides from my presentation as a first contribution, with more to follow soon.
Thank you to all who participated in the discussions at the DMI24 conference in London.
Bas Raijmakers