Many fear the possibility of a machine taking over the role of a designer. We’re already seeing Automation take jobs away from human workers in factories and fast food locations worldwide, but can AI replace humans in the design field?
While Artificial Intelligence (AI) is nothing new—the field of “AI research” formally began in 1956—it does provide a constant stream of news concerning the many AI advancements in recent years. For example, there is the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed, as is seen with machine learning.
Although this sounds good at face value, many choose the glass half-empty route and instead focus on the implication, or rather, what they think it implies: an imminent AI/robot takeover.
Yes, AI is pretty much everywhere, such as where you shop (Amazon) and watch (Netflix), but thisdoesn’t mean it’s a bad thing.
Or does it? Does it actually depend on profession?
After all, we’re already seeing automation take jobs away from human workers in factories and fast food locations worldwide. This begs the question, what’s next?
A lot of the talk surrounding AI recently has been around machine learning and whether algorithms can shape the future of design.
For example, as technology gets smarter by the day and gains the ability to generate templates according to what’s being inputted, such as the content and colors, many fear the possibility of a machine taking over the role of a designer.
Then there’s the introduction of AI-powered web builders, like The Grid, which promise you can let the machine do everything with algorithms that take shapes, colors and text into consideration.
Reality set in shortly after the first sites designed with The Grid came out. Needless to say, it wasn’t pretty.
After all, as the principles of Artificial Intelligence user interface design show us, the AI of today isn’t what we originally thought it would be—creating human-like intelligence. Rather, it’s about creating tools that enhance our own intelligence and capabilities.
AsSundar Pichai’s quote above about Google’s AI principles of design lends, AI is neither omniscient nor omnipotent; it has its limitations.
In terms of design, this means that AI—at least the AI of today—isn’t going to be taking any design jobs soon. Nonetheless, it’ll soon be found in the workplace.
For instance, think of what design really is. Is it just images thrown together that look pretty? No, it’s something more—something with the ability to evoke empathy and other emotions in people.
As such, can you decide how many grids you want to use to display your images based on how many you want to display? Sure, but will it be the best design? No, that takes a “human touch” that takes the whole thing into consideration.
Lack of human touch is the biggest problem with leaving everything to algorithms and machines, even those that can learn by themselves.
While they can take a variety of inputs like colors and shapes into account to produce a design, they can’t truly understand the intended audience on a personal level, and so they can’t design something with emotion that creates a connection between brand and audience.
