The role of us designers is to intentionally shape the world around us with the resources we have available. And the world we live in is increasingly shaped by data sets, algorithms, and pre-trained models. As AI & Machine Learning are entering every industry and area of life, we can no longer afford to limit the development of these systems to the domain of engineering. As designer and AI expert Nadia Piet wrote, there are several new practices emerging at the intersection of AI and design. For instance, we can design with AI, seeing AI as a design tool to create human-machine collaborations with creative output. We can design for AI, seeing AI as a problem solver to integrate human-centered design practices into the AI development process. And finally, we can look at the design of AI, where we see AI as a design material to explore how to shape the UX/UI and user interaction with AI systems.

The ability to think beyond and shape our environments is what makes us human. We have pushed the boundaries of our environment for centuries, not realizing the cost of our impact. In the past decade we have nailed human-centric design. Many design methodologies are specifically geared towards humans – think of personas, user journeys, and stakeholder maps. We got so good at optimizing everything for convenience, efficiency, distraction, and even addiction, focusing on human stakeholders, but never on planetary stakeholders. We’re also seeing the faults of Capitalism, a system whose success is defined by infinite growth. Which is not feasible, as we depend on resources that are finite.

It is given that designers hold a fundamental role in helping people navigate and interact with the world. But there are a plethora of other areas where the work of designers can truly make a difference. If a space is designed well – imagine an airport that is easy to navigate – we feel comfortable, relaxed, if not even happy. If an app is designed well, we save up time, avoid useless frustration, and maybe even have fun. Even if small, seamless and hindrance-free experiences affect our everyday life and ultimately our well-being.