Dear Amigos,
40-degree heat, wildfires, mass immigration, layoffs, water shortages, and data centers. It seems the world is reaching a tipping point. And here we are, designing the social media communication for the next John Doe that walks into the agency, creating that silly post no one asked for, and pretending life is business as usual. I wonder, daily, how I, as a designer, can make the world a better place. So yes, this is a designer’s confession: wondering how we ended up here, standing on the edge of life, and losing perspective on what design is, who it is for, and why we do it.
Cover image credit: Jusepe de Ribera, A Philosopher Holding a Mirror. c. 1620.
For starters, we are all part of the problem now. Designing without using Artificial Intelligence, or not having it as part of the process, seems silly. The world around us expects us to deliver faster and stronger because of the existence of this new service. Yes, I called it a service, pay attention, because it isn’t just a tool. We ask, and we are given. Like food delivery: you call for a pizza, you get your pizza. You ask for a five-second video of a woman walking in a park in a London-like scenery, and you get it. Not exactly as you imagined, probably, but you get it.
My point is, we are all becoming addicted to this AI logic. It is part of our creative flow, and there is apparently no going back. The impact of this service on our daily lives seems positive on the surface; it indeed makes my work easier, and in many ways better. AI is giving me the opportunity to operate almost like a full agency with a tiny team. But honestly, what are we doing?
The ecological and social consequences of the power we are giving to this machine are astonishing. It is not like an oracle, yet it is expected to be trusted, to be a know-it-all. But it is biased, a perfect recipe for fake news, inaccurate information, and political chaos.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that if I actually wanted to make the world a better place, I’d be better off switching careers to become a woodworker or something similar and turning off my computer for good. We are all wondering what the next big thing we can create is, but maybe creating and producing is just adding more contamination. Granted, these thoughts might sound a bit bleak, written during a suffocatingly hot afternoon with a broken air conditioner. Yet, it serves as a raw reflection on what we are turning into, and just how completely unsustainable this new reality truly is.
I have no solutions, only concerns and some beans to spill: I’m part of the problem. We all are, one way or another. This is not only a designer’s confession, but a total rejection of the status quo, and yet I remain complicit.
I don’t believe creatives will be replaced; we will just evolve, like the whales that were once on land and then conquered the seas. We will have the ability to deliver even more amazing work for smaller budgets and with fewer people. So yes, things will change, but that’s evolution, baby: adapt to survive, or become a victim of natural selection? Is it possible to stay relevant in the industry without being part of this AI bubble?
The one thing I am certain about is that if we continue down this road and the people in power don’t change the rules of the game, we might not have an ocean left to conquer after all. So if I eventually disappear, it’s because I’ve opened a woodworking shop or moved to the mountains like Zarathustra.
And yes, I’ll probably ask Gemini to correct the grammar mistakes in this article once I am done.
Yours truly,
A Type of Camila.
If you’re also questioning the role of design in this moment, you might find these articles and resources relevant:
How AI is Suddenly Redifining the Designer’s Role
How does ChatGPT Work? Grasping Its Full Impact on Creatives
