Risk of over-dependence on AI?

Skills that once were core to designing, such as hand drawing and rendering, have become less prevalent and less practised in the digital age. And as computers perform many tasks that once depended on designers independently, artificial intelligence is impacting the design process from first thoughts to final outcomes. But as the use of AI among designers has become widespread, reliance on algorithmic systems designers might become too dependent on AI-generated content that, moreover, might be too similar to each other. That is, given the same prompt by various users, GenAI generates the same output. This risks a feedback loop where AI, trained on AI-generated data results in diminishing returns of new ideas blurring the line between innovator and imitator.*. The counter argument is that AI simply enhances the creative process through collaboration between machines and humans? That is, combining AI with human intuition and emotional depth might yield outcomes that neither AI nor humans could achieve alone. Anticipating AI evolution, then, is difficult as algorithm development is fluid and dynamic (fluid non-linear dynamics are utilised in machine learning) and with each new development, new potential risks and opportunities arise. The challenge for designers, then, when ideation itself reflects transition and transformation, is to leverage GenAI to facilitate and enrich the design process.  * 58% of British architects say AI increases the risk of their work being imitated, in RIBA AI Report 2024.