Collector of Curiosities

There was a meme that became quite popular on social media. A tin of Danish butter cookies filled not with the biscuits it is known for but with a medley of items, ranging from haberdashery to Post-It notes, from needles to crayons and from the functional to the sentimental. This, it was said, was a natural human condition and comes naturally to us emotional beings – the habit of hoarding. Creating a memory box of seemingly disjointed elements, the meaning of which is known only to the owner of the box. A stub from a play, an old candy wrapper and a faded Polaroid may not make sense to an outsider, but for the curator of these objects, it is all very clear in a thrillingly non-obvious way.

“Look At Things With Unusual Eyes” (Vico Magistretti)

Each one of us has our own anthology of memories, visual references, emotional connections and cultural history that shape how we view the world. Ultimately, this is what leads to our intrinsically original approach to design. Our story becomes a key part of the story we tell others. This is when years of thinking differently, being chastised in school for not following the rules, hours of reading books of divergent disciplines and genres, and devouring art, history, culture and music – come together to create a version of ourselves that makes us better designers. Unlike AI, which relies on data sets, algorithms and a linear, more rational approach, it is our unpredictability in thought and emotion that leads us to solve problems in simple and innovative ways.

We Dance to Our Own Tune; We Are Our Own Pied Piper

Zaha Hadid, a revolutionary architect, traces some of her inspiration back to her childhood trips with her dad to Sumer in Iraq. The beauty of the landscape, where all the elements flowed together, was something she strove to achieve in her practice. Her work was vastly informed by her cultural heritage but also by her love for mathematics. Her design for the Vitra Fire Station broke convention and pushed boundaries in a way only Hadid could have done. It was the culmination of her set of subjective experiences and fuelled not just by the need for functionality but by a personal narrative that could never have been borne out of AI. Only we can bring together unrelated ideas (drawn from culture, memory and knowledge) into an artistically compelling piece of work that resonates deeply with others.

The Trap of Stability

We have become creatures of boring habits. We absorb content that the algorithm feeds us which, despite giving us a sense of diversity, is quite the opposite. A superficial sense of wisdom, a barely scratched surface of knowledge and always an echo chamber. We were not always this way. Where once we roamed the streets without a plan, ready for whatever the day brought us, we now make our way from point A to B mostly in a straight line. Where once our curiosity took us into unexpected areas, we now stay close to the decided path. Our blinders are on. We do not have time to waste, and therefore there is no chance of chaotic brilliance. However, humans are non-linear beings. We thrive on detours and on spontaneous changes in plans. We should be curious and, like Alice, compelled to follow the rabbit down the hole. This disregard for stability in favour of throwing caution to the wind and embracing complexities is what makes us human and what results in our greatest moments of creativity and clarity.

The Singular Dimension of AI

AI, in contrast, is and will always be a big fat bore. Yes, it can process large data sets, make recommendations, predict outcomes fairly accurately and be an all-around goody two shoes, but where is the fun? Where is the element of surprise? Where is the voice of unpredictability that whispers, let’s party all night and dance until the cows come home? The little rebellious voice that says, let’s change our minds, stay home in our pyjamas, eat cheesecake and run in the bitter cold air. Where is the nonsensical, the random, the multidimensional? AI is efficient and smart, but its strongest characteristic is also its weakest. It is painfully always right and factually accurate, but somehow it misses the emotional nuances that make us human.

Design Needs Humans

Would it be extremely dramatic to say that design needs humans? Would I be wrong to state that style is inherently human and cannot be replicated in its exact form by any type of AI, no matter how agile, intelligent or innovative? People who lack a sense of style or an elevated design aesthetic will remain so, despite their best efforts to use technology to hide their inadequacies. AI is a tool, like those that came before and how well it performs can only be determined by the gifted mind that uses it. Take the advent of Photoshop and Freehand, which turned ordinary beings into design experts overnight. The wave of mediocrity continued for a while before those with a more discerning eye saw it for what it was – a farce of brilliance and a waste of technology. Using a tool requires intelligence. Using AI demands conceptual clarity. It cannot be used to solve a problem, but only to aid in the execution of the solution. AI cannot teach design and it definitely cannot instil style; these are honed after years of training the eye and the mind. Years of visual stimuli, personal design experiences, travel and imagination lead to the evolution of a designer. Let’s not pretend that anyone with a computer and software can be a designer.

It Is All Humanly Possible

AI will definitely play a significant role in the future of design, but the true star of the show will always be the human being. AI will make our processes more efficient, streamline tasks and be an assistant when we need it to. It will function as a design encyclopaedia and an incredible source of research. AI will be part of our minds, but never our hearts. It will guide but not inspire; it will help but not lead. AI will continue its journey on a preordained path towards technology and discovery and we will continue to flourish in the glorious unknown. The beautiful chaos that we thrive on will propel us to arrive at new design conclusions – sometimes meandering aimlessly and sometimes walking briskly but never walking in a straight line.

“Our real discoveries come from chaos, from going to the place that looks wrong and stupid and foolish.” – Chuck Palahniuk.

Mariam Hussain is Creative Strategist and Design Director, 240 Inc., London