How AI Design is Bridging the Gap in User Needs and Tech at its Best

Can you imagine a time before Google Maps? This brilliant piece of design has made real-time navigation and tracking so smooth, thanks to AI and machine learning solutions developed by Google. While this solution is only a couple of decades old, combined with the Blue Dot revolution (the moving blue dot on the screen)—which alludes to the arrival of GPS-integrated mobile devices in 2007—Google Maps made sure that we would never be lost again. This is AI design at its best and highlights the future of product design.

What Is AI Design?

In theory, AI design or AI product design is the process of designing products using Artificial Intelligence, aka AI. A relatable example apart from Google Maps would be the voice assistant Siri. Digital twins is also a trending new AI product quickly capturing the market. It is distinct from just product design as it requires multidisciplinary skills, unlike physical product design roles. To be an AI designer, you need knowledge of product design and a sound understanding of AI and technology.

AI Design: Step-by-Step

Design workflows using AI are slightly different from the regular product design process. AI design is based largely on data. Hence, the first step for AI-based product design is sorting data.

1. Data Preparation

Some would wonder why data preparation and not data collection is the first step in this process. Essentially, collecting a large quantum of data is now very easily possible using sophisticated tools. However, the main challenge is cleansing and choosing the right kind of data aligned with the goals without biases. Hence, data preparation is the first step in AI design.

2. AI Modeling

This is the stage at which the tech and algorithms kick in. The technological structure of the product using AI algorithms is made at this stage. In essence, it is a time for tech to meet design and create a tentative model for the final product.

3. Simulation and Testing

Whether it is AI design or physical product design, testing is an essential part of the process. In AI design, testing becomes more accessible because designers can test several quickly and even do live simulations to experience the product. 

4. AI Deployment

The final stage of this design process is to pick the best model from the testing and simulation stage and deploy it with all the requisite AI algorithms. At this stage, an AI product is ready to hit the market. 

How To Become An AI Designer?

There is never a linear path that leads to a role. And AI design is similar in this regard. We can look at AI design as the next step in the evolution of product design. In essence, product designers can upskill to move into this career role. On the other end of the spectrum, AI engineers or consultants who have an inclination toward design can learn the basics of design to move into this career path too. 

Here is an exhaustive list of skills one needs to become an AI designer:

1. AI and ML: An understanding of AI, deep learning, and machine learning is essential to design products designed on a core of these algorithms.

2. Data Literacy: No AI product can function without relevant data collection and coalition. Hence, AI designers must be able to read and analyze data. 

3. Design Thinking: All designers must have a deep knowledge of the basic tenets of good design. 

4. Problem-Solving: Articulating an AI problem and solving it by coming up with an intelligent product is at the core of AI design

Top Companies Hiring AI Designers

Although AI design is still quite nascent as a field, some of the top companies around the globe are hiring for these roles already. As per Indeed, they include:

• Oracle

• Tesla

• Uniphore

Does AI Design Integrate Human Intelligence With Machine Intelligence?

ChatGPT was launched in the closing months of 2022, and it led many programmers to feel threatened. Many believe that the AI behind ChatGPT will replace programmers. But for designers, this is not a new situation. Canva came in 2012 amidst widespread fear and panic among graphic designers that they would be replaced. According to Gartner, 90% of companies will use AI to automate tasks by 2025. However, are humans, then, in a race for survival against AI, their own creation? 

Not really. The consensus is that Canva did not replace designers; it just made them better and faster. It is critical to understand that human intellect differs from machine intelligence. Modern AI machines are intelligent, as they can learn and make educated decisions. However, human intelligence for designing a product is not optional yet. In fact, it should function as a voice conscience for AI in design. In the future, organizations will require an optimum integration of human intelligence with AI. 

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