#20 Artificial Intelligence in Design: Balancing Pros and Cons
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Hello friends and welcome back to the future of UX where we explore the latest trends and tools in user experience design. My name is Patricia Reiners and I'm an innovation and UX designer from Berlin.

In this episode, we will talk AI powered tools. One of the hot topic right now, because I feel at the moment everyone is talking about AI tools, about how they use it, why they use it, about why is it difficult, why people shouldn't really use it. So a lot of people are a bit unsure what it actually means for us as creatives. And this is always the topic that I find most interesting.

What does this mean for us? Right? And although I definitely cannot see into the future, I am seeing some implications. So I'm already seeing some positive and some negative implication about AI tools. And in this episode, we will talk about both and also what it means for us as designers. So what is really the smart way to deal with these tools?

So first we will talk about the positive implications. We will talk about the negative implications. We will talk about some examples, some tools that are using AI. And number four, we will talk about how to prepare. So as designers, how do we stay ahead in the age of AI tools? Okay, so let's get started. A few weeks ago, I

followed this whole discussion on LinkedIn about chat GPT and all these AI tools. And I think it's always very interesting to have a look at the comments and really see how people are reacting to a certain post when people are sharing, you know, their views about these tools and then really seeing like how the discussions, how the discussion is going on.

And one thing that I have seen there like several times and it was so shocking for me was that people said, so for example about ChatGPT, which is like the language modeling tool where you can chat with an AI, ask questions and get responses so they can do user flows for you, they can write copy for you, they can summarize text for you, basically like a personal assistant.

and what i have seen several times is that people really said things like so i have tried it once it didn't work i'm not going to use it again and for me hearing that is so shocking right because this just really shows that people are scared and don't really want to explore and to rethink their perception about things although

you know, when we're thinking about AI, some people who are not so into the field may think about, you know, all the things that you know from movie who are a little bit like dystopian. But this is not the case. You just really need to understand and know what is going on and to constantly rethink your perception and your thoughts about these kind of tools. Otherwise, you will get in a lot of trouble in the future, I would say.

So I would say let's get started with point number one, the positive implication. One thing for sure is definitely the increased efficiency. So AI tools such as ChatGPT or also Midjourney can automate repetitive tasks and really assist designers in generating ideas and concepts. So really freeing time up for more creative work.

So when I started out as a designer in my very first internship at an advertisement agency, I was looking for images like several hours per day on stock images, like a red car on the beach for example. Then I was looking through all the pictures, find the perfect one, send them to the creative director so they could approve it and buy it. Wow, this was like so much time.

And sometimes you don't have an intern, so you need to do that yourself. So there's a lot of repetition. Also summarizing text and all these kind of things that usually creatives, also including myself here, hate.

The second thing there is also the really improved accuracy. So where iPole's tools can perform complex calculations and data analysis to improve the accuracy of designs and make data driven decisions. And this is, I think, also very interesting for creatives, right? Like having the data part or the data driven decisions for our designs as well so that we don't need to analyze that, go through Excel sheets and

Yeah, focus on that, but really can keep our mind on the creative part. I really love that. And there's also the topic of the enhanced creativity. So AI tools can generate new and innovative design concepts that can inspire designers and lead to unique cutting edge decisions.

Maybe you had like a similar experience. So for me, when I am thinking about a new concept or a new design, I really love to some kind of like bounce different ideas back and forth with another designer or someone from the team so that we kind of like brainstorm together. They're coming up with an idea. I'm like, OK, cool. Have you also thought about that? And then you have this interesting discussion.

But the reality is that sometimes you are alone. You don't have another creative or another designer who you can really bounce back these ideas with. So AI can be a way to do that. I have tried that for some concepts, for example. So I asked chat GPT, for example, for some design concept ideas.

they were not ideal but interesting like the way how they presented these concepts were so different or so in an area that i haven't really thought of that i could just like use that as a groundwork and then iterate on that so this is definitely an interesting advancement i would say for all of us to just use that as an inspiration and not use it as the final decision but just as an inspiration where you

where you have a creative block, where you don't know what to do, where you just would usually meet up with another creative or designers and ask them like, how could I approach that problem? Okay, those are the positive implications. So it's increased efficiency, it's improved accuracy, it's enhanced creativity. Okay, let's talk about the negative implications because we also have those implications.

And the first thing there is definitely the job displacement. AI tools can automate certain design tasks, potentially leading to job loss for some designers. This is also the reason why a lot of people also on LinkedIn are reacting so strongly

towards these new tools because they're just really scared that they lose their job at some point or that they are not necessary anymore, especially content writer, Zio, blog post writers or UX writers. Because this is especially what these tools can actually do. So this is definitely a negative implication that we need to keep in mind.

Then point number two here, from the negative implication is definitely the increased personal touch. So AI generated designs may lack the personal touch and human intuition that makes design a unique and valuable discipline. The same with copy, the same with like the blog post. When you ask these tools to do something, they

of course have like certain parameters or certain like personality styles so they can write it in different versions or they can design it in different versions for example so if you say please write me a copy for a landing page in like funny personal style then it might sound different than if you say like in a very conservative voice for example

they can do that. But this is still not the same as if you think about certain personality ways to write, especially in really big magazines like New York Times for example. They have

certain authors who have a certain style and write in a certain way which is very personal and we are not quite there yet that AI can really create these personal copy or also personal designs as well right like even if you ask Midjourney or Idali for like a certain design or illustration there's not this personality involved this is definitely a negative implication

And also a very important thing is the dependence on technology. So AI tools may lead to a decrease in manual design skills, making designers less versatile and adaptable in a rapidly changing industry.

So imagine you need to write, you need to design a landing page, for example, and you need really interesting copy for that landing page. And usually you would ask ChatGPT to write your copy for the landing page. But you don't have Wi-Fi, you don't have Internet because you're somewhere nowhere and you need to do it yourself. But you haven't done that for years, so you don't really know how to do that and you feel totally overwhelmed.

so also for our brain sometimes it's really helpful to still have these challenges and these tasks and to get a little bit more into like the problem solving mode and not um yeah give all the tasks to other people or ais so let's summarize the negative implications real quick of course the job displacement for sure um that there will be some job losses because of ai

The decreased personal touch for sure because an AI is not a person so they can only imitate persons or personalities. And then the dependence on technology. Of course, if you use it the whole day for basically everything, you don't use your own brain or your own capabilities to solve these problems. Okay, now let's talk about some examples. And

At the moment there are a lot of AI power tools. They are like booming. There's one website, Futurpedia. I can also link it in the description where you find a lot of AI tools if you just want to try it out. If you're looking for something specific, you can just try it out. There are also

tools like ChatGPT for example or Jasper AI for example. These are like very well-known tools that already a lot of you are probably using for copy especially or summarizing or brainstorming these kind of things. But what we shouldn't really forget is that although they are the cool AI tools, all the tools that we are already using for example like Adobe Photoshop or Canva for example

they are already using AI. So Photoshop, for example, uses AI to generate design and recommendations for users. And it uses an AI powered feature called Adobe Sensei to analyze user data and make recommendations for adjustments to their design.

Also, for example, maybe you have tried it that you can select an object with the object selection tool. And there's also an eye in the background to analyze what is actually the item that you're selecting and what is the background that you want to have removed.

And also Canva, like the main design tool for non-designers. Canva is a graphic design platform, although probably for like non-designers that use AI to recommend design examples to their users. For example, font choices, color combinations and more. So all these tools are already using AI. They, of course, promote it a little bit, but their focus is not AI. But we shouldn't really forget about that, right? Because

Most of the tools that we are using are already using AI without us knowing or without us realizing because we don't really care. It's just like convenient and nice that the Photoshop selection tool works so perfectly and we don't need to do that with, you know, like the pen tool or the vector tool, which takes so much longer.

So point number four, the most important and most interesting part, what does that mean for us as designers? What does it mean for us as creatives, UX designers? So from my experience, although I cannot look into the future for sure, there are some things that we definitely know that is important to stay ahead, especially in the time of AI tools. And here I have five tips for you.

The first is: really embrace technology. So stay up to date with the latest AI tools and software in the industry and really familiarize yourself with the different applications and how they can be used to enhance your work.

You can do that, for example, by following the right people on LinkedIn. They're sharing really interesting tools or on Instagram to really stay up to date and see how designers are using that. So I feel social media is a great way or great platform to connect with other designers, see how they use it and really start these conversations. It's not about using these tools in the end, but understanding how they work and what is already doable, right?

So really staying up to date and embrace it. Don't be scared, but be curious. Then number two is, yeah, still focus on the creativity. AI tools can automate repetitive tasks, but they cannot replace human creativity. And also they won't do that in the near future. So really focus on developing your creative skills and finding ways to incorporate your unique style into your work.

And this is also the reason why I personally think it's so important to analyze yourself as a creative, your skills, your passions and really your true self. This sounds so strange, I think, for many creatives. Also for myself before I have done that.

But this is the game changer because then you really realize what am I good at? What is something that brings me so much joy and what is actually exhausting for me and what is something that I just really don't want to do? And then you can start to position yourself in a certain way and focus on building your own unique business. So in case that's interesting for you, I am doing an online podcast.

class online mastery about that topic. I added the waiting list in the description box. Feel free to check it out and yeah, join us on that interesting journey. Then we have also point number three, which is really important. Here the focus is on the technical skills.

Because to effectively use AI tools, designers need to have a solid understanding of technology and software. So really consider taking courses or workshops to develop your technical skills. That can be an online workshop or just a YouTube video, whatever you find to understand how AI actually works. What can they do for me? What is something that they cannot do?

Right? This is really helpful, especially if you are still on the area of the scared designers who don't really know what's coming on. Because what I am also seeing right now in the design communities, a lot of people are a bit insecure. They don't know their focus is on like the creative part and they feel really insecure when it comes to technology, when it comes to these new tech, although they actually shouldn't be.

they with their unique skills and the creativity is something that AI won't replace. So if they understand what this is, what this, what AI is doing, what are the capabilities, they are in a really good place to also consult clients and to understand where the creative work is needed. Yeah. And then we also have point number five, which is

of course, continuously learn. So the design industry is constantly evolving and AI tools are just one aspect of this change. So stay on top of industry trends and development and continuously work on developing your skills and knowledge. So invest in yourself. Invest in yourself.

Buy a book, read it, buy an online course and do it. Really do the work and be committed to it. Everything that you invest in yourself, in like growing as a person, growing as a creative, understanding what's going on and becoming more a consultant will be the best decision for you. So really invest in yourself and in continuously learning. Easier said than done.

And then I would say, because I still have discussions with people who say to me, a book, actually, I don't want to buy another book. This is just like a waste of money, which I think is totally bullshit. Sorry for saying it like that, but

this is an investment in yourself and even i think i can personally say every course that i have taken so far has brought me like so much money back uh back in right because they just need to be one aha moment one person you meet one thing that happens um that really brings you new clients new understanding and also helps you to grow

Like I said, as a person and as a business owner or as a creative. I think it's so, so, so important, especially right now. So really invest in yourself and focus on what is important for yourself. Okay.

Yes, future lovers. Designers can really position themselves to be future ready and drive in the era of AI tools. I really hope that you can look into the future. I'm not scared, but curious. So my approach with new tools and new tech is always be curious, but critical. So still have, this is also very, for me, very important to think about the negative implication to really understand

Why should we be a little bit critical? What is important to understand here? But also what are the opportunities for us as creatives? Okay, I hope you really enjoyed that podcast episode. I hope you had some aha moments. If yes, feel free to share it with a colleague or of course, I would be so happy if you could give me a five-star review on your favorite podcast platform. That would be a huge help for me and also for the podcast.

So thank you so much for listening and hear you in the future.