IN-PERSON: Applying Education
Abstract
This research endeavors to investigate the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on design education, with a specific focus on interior design. As AI continues to make its presence felt across various industries, it is crucial to understand its impact on design education and the level of uncertainty that comes with it. The study investigates by exploring the potential of AI-generated concept sketches to pass as authentic student work. The study is structured in three phases. In the first phase, design students are asked to generate a spatial interior drawing based on a prompt. In the second phase, the same prompt is given to an AI image generation program, but with the added prompts to match the sketching style and skill level. In the third phase, experienced design professors are tasked to review and differentiate between the student and AI-generated drawings, and then engage in a discussion about their perceptions of AI and its potential impact on the future of design education after the images have been revealed. Qualitative and ethnographic methods are utilized to document the review process. This research provides valuable insights into the impact of AI and is highly relevant to the current discourse. The findings are not limited to a studio environment but have broader implications for project-based learning as a whole. The presentation is focused on sharing the preliminary results, with the hope that it will initiate a wider discussion about its applications for and implications on design education, and AI’s potential as a disruptive technology.
Jody Nyboer, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at the School of Design, Syracuse University. Pedagogy is front and center to her research, defined by investigations that explore overlaps of design, education, and creativity. Recent work includes establishing contemporary knowledge and discourse about design critique, discerning the supportive attributes of online applications for remote studio learning, exploring the relationship of environment to the creative production of design students, and examining the importance of creativity training in higher education.
Zeke Leonard is an Associate Professor and Associate Director at the School of Design, Syracuse University. He focuses on the role of social responsibility and environmental stewardship in design. He runs the Salt City Found-Object Instrument Works project which creates musical instruments through community-based sustainability efforts. Leonard has presented at conferences, written about his research, and his work is in museum collections. He holds an M.F.A. in furniture design from the Rhode Island School of Design and a B.F.A. in set design from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. He has taught at several institutions and is a regular visiting instructor.
1:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Thursday 27th April, 2023