New Special Interest Group (SIG)

Artificial Intelligence X Design

SIG Leaders: Filippo Chiarello and Jianxi Luo

The Artificial Intelligence X Design (AIXD) SIG of the Design Society aims to create a collaborative forum for studying how Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies can impact design practices and theory and how our community can help Design better AI solutions. The X in the name stands for the bidirectional relationship between the two disciplines that the SIG wants to explore. Throughout history, General-Purpose Technologies (GPTs), such as electricity, the internet, and computers, have radically transformed industries, economies, and societies. Could AI be the GPT of our century? AI is already reshaping how we think and perform tasks across various sectors, and it will undoubtedly affect how we design and develop new products and services. The critical question facing the engineering design community is no longer simply whether AI will influence design, but rather, "How is AI transforming the way we design products and services?". Also, the Design Society has produced vast knowledge over the years that can be useful to design systems that embed AI, contributing to adiajent scientific fields.

To proactively manage the rapidly evolving landscape of AI, the SIG specifically discusses the following Design Research topics:

1. Demystifying AI for Designers: This topic aims to objectively assess the benefits and challenges AI brings to engineering design. This entails exploring AI methods—such as machine learning, deep learning, Large Language Models (LLMs), and Generative AI (GenAI) —to understand their distinctions, capabilities and current state of development. The goal is to equip the design community with clear and informed expectations of AI technologies while improving the accessibility of AI frameworks, documentation, tools, and applications for design practitioners, regardless of their research expertise.
2. Human-AI Collaboration: This topic explores the dynamics of collaboration between humans and AI in the design process, focusing on best practices for "designing with AI." It also examines how AI can enhance designers' capabilities and creative intelligence.
3. AI and Design Ethics: This topic will examine how the design community can responsibly develop and scale AI tools for engineering design applications without compromising ethical standards and ownership rights.
4. AI for Design Education: This topic explores best practices for integrating AI into design education, focusing on how AI can personalise learning experiences, enhance student outcomes and shape innovative curricula. The primary objective is to equip the design community with strategies to prepare future designers for the AI-driven landscape while mitigating the risk of overdependence on technology.
5. AI Data for Design: Creating high-quality and domain-specific data is essential for the design society to fully leverage AI tools' potential. This topic focuses on the strategies for collecting design-specific data for training AI models used in design applications. It will address the critical process of validating training data to ensure its reliability for engineering design tasks.

The SIG specifically addresses the following industrial/societal needs:

• As AI evolves, future designers and engineers must acquire new competencies to tackle real-world design challenges effectively. The lack of AI expertise can negatively affect companies' competitiveness in the market. The SIG can help organisations 1) identify new competencies and AI best practices for engineering design tasks and 2) develop upskilling/reskilling programs for design professionals.
• In today’s market, developing sustainable products is crucial for companies to meet consumer needs and comply with environmental regulations. The SIG can provide insights into how AI can facilitate this process, allowing organisations to optimise their design methods and improve product outcomes.
• As AI continues to evolve, there is an increasing need to establish best practices, standards and regulations that guide its AI implementation in design. By participating in discussions and collaborative efforts within the SIG, industry professionals can contribute to developing best practices and standards for AI in design, influencing the direction of the field and ensuring that their needs are represented. 

If you are interested in joining the team, contributing to the SIG, or receiving updates, we would love to hear from you! Please email us at filippochiarello.90@gmail.com and jianxiluo@gmail.com.

Our new Artificial Intelligence X Design SIG website will be released soon.

The Design Society SIG community

Don't forget to explore all of the SIGs we have as part of the Design Society community and get involved as a DS member! You can see what SIGs we have available here: DS Special Interest Groups