Integrating AI into design pedagogy for 21st century relevance

Written by Guest

August 27, 2023 11:00 IST

Designers and artists need to take a proactive stance by engaging and experimenting with these advanced tools.

By Jitin Chadha

Design is an ever-evolving, iterative process of discovery and development rooted in the time-space matrix; thus, designers must stay aligned with the current requirements. As the AI-driven world order ushers into reality with the advent of the fourth industrial revolution, a study indicates that AI is expected to potentially contribute a staggering $15.7 trillion by 2030. Ergo, the design industry is expected to be one of the key beneficiaries of this growth. The question then arises: How is AI expected to impact the design industry in terms of job creation and, more importantly, ethical innovation?

Examining the influence of AI on design practises offers insights into how specialists and organisations in the design industry are already leveraging AI-powered tools to streamline creativity efficiently. For instance, Adobe’s Sensei assimilates artificial intelligence into its Creative Cloud platform, enabling designers to automate mundane tasks and streamline other tasks, such as image enhancement. This convergence enhances productivity so that designers can focus on creativity and innovation. Similarly, German fashion brand Zalando pioneers AI-powered personal customisations as per style preferences, tailoring user experiences.

One might argue that while there is a growing popularity of AI programmes in the design discipline, academia lags behind in providing ample facilities to aid their students in harnessing the potential of AI. Further, following the promise of AI-driven design emerge the perils—the challenges that warrant careful consideration from the design fraternity—the ethical implications, along with the technical challenges faced by the designers. To address this, it becomes critical to examine the current state of AI in design education and the challenges faced by designers in this tech renaissance.

Design pedagogy faces similar challenges as design practice in terms of ethics and the future of professional careers. Challenges like bias, data security, privacy concerns and the dire need to maintain originality and authenticity perpetuate AI systems, thus looming as a larger threat to the design profession. Furthermore, these concerns have created a sense of apprehension about job displacement among the designers. While the ever-expanding debate about AI versus human intelligence continues, the dialogue opens the doors to an “orbit-shifting” idea of integrating AI in the field of design pedagogy.

Synthesising artificial intelligence in design mechanisms is no longer a conceptual endeavour; it has increasingly become a compelling need. As we step into the third decade of the 21st century, the requirements sought from pedagogical systems have evolved, necessitating a holistic re-evaluation of the same. In order to deal with this paradigmatic transformation, the design curriculum seeks interventions from academic stakeholders for reassessment to ensure students (both graduates and post-graduates) are equipped with the skills demanded by the evolving AI landscape.

Given the critical nature and unprecedented anxiety around the recent release of Open AI software in the public domain, it also becomes significant that systemic changes are made at the foundational level, particularly in the design sector, through policymaking and discourse. By incorporating the holistic use of AI within the domain of design pedagogy, the education system will be able to empower students to remain relevant in the job market, allowing them to thrive in an AI-dominated environment.

So how can AI be integrated into the design curriculum?

On a meta-level, stakeholders from the specialists and academia in the design spectrum must collaborate to develop frameworks and guidelines fostering the ethical use of AI. Further, hosting public forums is also necessary to facilitate a dialogue around it. In response to this call for curriculum re-evaluation, design institutions play a crucial role in promoting training programmes and certifications, accompanied by essential facilities such as labs for prototyping. Although the design industry actively employs AI, designers must evolve from acting as passive recipients to active participants, influencing and guiding the mechanisms of these AI applications as well. By doing so, designers can assert their role in the creative landscape, steering towards cutting-edge creativity and innovation.

Designers and artists need to take a proactive stance by engaging and experimenting with these advanced tools. This proactive approach will equip the students with the essential know-how, upgrade their skill set, and prepare them to make well-informed decisions by associating the ethical constraints of AI mechanisms with the challenges related to originality and authenticity.