State of AI in Design: The Material and the Competency
Welcome to State of AI in Design!
1730-1800 Drop in, food and drinks
1800-1900 Talk starts
1900-1930 Group discussions and wrap up
1930-2000 Drinks & mingling
We are happy to host Pontus Wärnestål, an award-winning designer and researcher with 25 years of experience at the intersection of HCD and AI. Pontus will enlighten and challenge our thinking around AI and the future of the Design craft and competency.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are quickly becoming part of how design gets done. But beyond new tools and faster workflows, they raise bigger questions about design as a craft, the values, and the role as designers and leaders.
In this talk, we’ll look at AI through a designer’s lens - as a new design material that changes how we work, what we produce, and what we risk losing. We’ll explore the growing reliance on AI in design workflows and what that means for sustainability, resilience, and long-term capability.
We’ll dig into the tension between short-term efficiency and long-term consequences for judgment, craft, and agency. And we’ll ask some necessary questions:
What is the responsibility as designer?
Which values matter most to protect?
How do we adapt for change and how do AI services and tools affect the craft?
This event is for Design Leaders and Designers influencing the future of design as a craft, who believe AI literacy is a critical competency for maintaining our judgment and keeping the 'human' in the driver's seat.
Pontus Wärnestål is an award-winning designer, researcher, and educator with 25 years of experience at the intersection of human‑centered design, emerging technologies, and artificial intelligence. He currently works as a Designer at Ambition Group and serves as Deputy Professor at Halmstad University. Pontus is driven by a passion for shaping futures where people and machines collaborate in meaningful, effective, and ethical ways.
This event is co-hosted together with Service Design Network