AI in design idea development: A workshop on creativity and human-AI collaboration

In a fast-paced society, AI systems can prove to be reliable teammates alongside human agents during the early stages of the design process, capable of helping to manage the increasing complexity of projects. Therefore, the introduction of AI systems into the design process is analysed according to the implications on the designer’s creativity and the kind of human-AI collaboration that is established, highlighting trust balance and the new role played by the designer. The main aspects covered by the study were tested in a workshop, in which continuous and discontinuous human-AI collaboration were compared. In the case of continuous collaboration, the results show that AI assumed the role of a bossy groupmate, leading to an AI-driven creative process. In the second case, AI took the role of an expert capable of generating variance outside the team, leading to a human-driven creative process.