What is the role of AI in design?
When initial work on CAD began, there was a debate as to whether computers could replace the human role in design and be used to generate potential ideas, evaluate their effectiveness, and determine the best design direction. But attempts to replace humans came up short as researchers were unable to identify a clear and constant technique that designers used when solving problems. The designer’s techniques were too varied to be able to distill an “essential concept of design.” Instead the CAD team determined that the best route was to aid designers in their job (hence the acronym Computer-Aided Design)by performing some of the more monotonous tasks such as creating the mathematically correct proportions and perspectives of 3D objects.
While some may question the validity of a field whose knowledge and procedures cannot be “reliably verbalized, symbolically encoded, computed with, and transmitted” I found it comforting knowing that most aspects of design are a uniquely human task than cannot be simplified to a formula or piece of code. There has been a lot of hysteria in popular media about AI and automations in general taking over jobs. And in fact many human job tasks have or could be replaced in the near future including, transcribing and translating, driving cars and operating machinery, and even diagnosing diseases in medical patients. These tasks have been automated because they follow procedures that are logical and predictable. While humans can be trained to act in this way we actually flourish when we can stray from the script to customize our actions based on each situation or o our own preferences.
The creative, non-formulaic process might be apparent in design but it exists in other roles as well. The ratings one gives an Uber driver is often based on the quality of the conversation or the unique amenities of the car while the perceived quality of a doctor is often based just as much on bedside manner as diagnostics. If we take into account these other important parts of a job then we can reframe AI from a threat to our jobs to something that can reduce monotonous work so we can “concentrate fully in the creative act.”
While the ability of AI to perform more complex tasks has increased, what it can do is still such a small part of human capability. I find comfort knowing that humans decisions and behaviors are more nuanced than that of a machine and that we cannot be distilled into an algorithm.
