It’s one of the most debated topics of recent years: is Artificial Intelligence (AI) a danger for creativity, or is it instead an incredibly powerful set of tools that can exponentially increase its possibilities?
AI is already a reality today, destined to establish itself and take root in an ever deeper way. Just like the advent of the internet over twenty years ago, in a few months AI will radically transform any aspect of our lives, both personal and professional. Facing such a radical revolution, it seems more useful to focus on how to use the new resources to operate more effectively, rather than persist in a sterile ideological battle to contrast what now appears inevitable.
In the most innovative contexts, the use of AI in design has already revolutionized the way in which designers develop innovative products, introducing a series of tools and approaches that improve the efficiency of the creative process.
A first field of application of AI in design is the automation of repetitive and laborious tasks. AI algorithms can analyze massive amounts of historical design data and generate initial proposals based on identified patterns. This allows designers to save precious time in the first research phase, defining a wide range of proposals very quickly, and using the saved time in subsequent concept refining activities.
In the area of mechanical design, a key application of AI is generative design, which uses advanced algorithms to explore a wide range of possible solutions based on the parameters provided. Based on performance requirements and manufacturing constraints, AI can generate optimized design options, which already take into account factors such as structural strength, light weight and ease of manufacturing.
AI is also a powerful ally in the design presentation phases, supporting designers in the production of images, graphics, but also high-quality video and multimedia content: operations that traditionally require several iterations, a large use of time and resources, and which today can be enormously accelerated, while at the same time increasing the quality of the result.
Despite its many benefits, implementing AI in the creative process also raises several social and ethical questions. Will over-reliance on technology lead to the loss of human skills in the creative process and the disappearance of traditional jobs?
Will the increasingly pervasive use of these tools lead to an impoverishment of creative research, leading to uniformity of design and products that look all the same?
Therefore, it is crucial to find a balance between the responsible use of AI and maintaining the human aspect in design.
Model 5 has in its historical DNA attention to every innovation process in the sector, with the aim of offering our customers the most advanced technological solutions available at all times.
Based on that, over a year ago we started an internal research project, in which the new AI tools are used by our designers in the creative process, alongside the more traditional tools. The goal is to develop a new workflow that allows to exploit the enormous benefits, in terms of efficiency and cost, from the use of AI tools, while safeguarding the designer’s creative control and originality.
The outcome of this project will be revealed later in the year… so stay tuned for more updates.