Flying ideas

AIdeation happens where human creativity and generative AI work together. Such collaborative creation between human, here the designer and machine, here AI systems can be likened to how air pilots, typically the captain and first officer, are co-piloting the flight - an interaction in which, moreover, the pilots are assisted by an autopilot. An autopilot, however, doesn't replace human pilots but rather allow them to focus on broader aspects of the flight. And so, generative AI does not replace designers but help them generate, refine and modify ideas. In this way, designers, while "letting AI fly for a while" add their unique touch to AI generated outputs while maintaining oversight of the ideation process, similar to how pilots are responsible for critical decision-making, from take-off and landing to situations in between. The interaction, then, between co-piloting and an autopilot, suggests a similar approach to how designers and AI systems can work together which, moreover, may help improve transparency and accountability in AIdeation.