Intelligence as a Design Material - The Use of AI in Products and Services

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly weaving its way into our daily lives. Designers, researchers, and entrepreneurs alike flock towards its applicability as a design material and building block for intelligent products and services. While AI tools are becoming indispensable for users to organise their physical and digital lives, questions of dependence and agency need to be addressed, especially in areas where technologies shape our decision-making. By discussing available frameworks and the role of human bias, this article dives into how to escape the risk of manipulation by offering human control. AI needs to be seen as a design material that can help us create more sensitive products and be used to enhance users’ innate capabilities rather than patronize them; a design material with the potential to enhance, rather than diminish, human skills and experiences.