In the last several years, few industries have been immune to the influence of AI, or artificial intelligence. For some, the time-savings of some AI tools are game-changing. It allows them to offload previously tedious tasks and spend more time on critical work. For others, AI sets a dangerous precedent around rights for digital content, not to mention issues around the environment and job market. So, can you use AI ethically for creative work, particularly in interior design?
Positive: AI Can Help Save Time
In an ideal world, AI tools allow us to save time on tedious, repetitive, and unfulfilling tasks. This extra time can be spent on more impactful or more enjoyable tasks. ChatGPT can easily generate a blog outline, an employment contract, or a list of ideas to get your brain thinking about a topic. It can even do more advanced tasks like creating functional programming code or putting together a list of relevant SEO keywords. While some people may find these tasks enjoyable, they take a long time and sometimes the results don’t justify the time spent. With AI, you can get roughly 80% of the way there in minutes. Then you can apply the final human touches to what was generated to ensure that facts are accurate and the product does what you intend.
Image generation is also a big deal for interior designers. Whether it’s a drawing or a 3D render, it can take a long time to put together a concept image to show a client. With AI image generation, you can generate some initial ideas in the very first meeting with a client. This can be particularly helpful to sell a client who prefers visuals and wants to see an example of their space.
Outsourcing these tedious tasks can also save you money in two distinct ways. If you are stuck with these tasks, you have to apply your hourly rate to them. You’ll feel very quickly that you shouldn’t be spending your time on such menial work. So you may then seek out an employee or contractor to do these tasks. But that is someone who must be trained (thus spending more of your time) and who must be paid.
Negative: AI Takes Away Creative Jobs
The downside of not having to hire someone for a job is that it eliminates a potential position someone could have had. It’s great for you and your business. But on a large scale, it could have a negative impact on the economy. When it comes to tedious work, this is nothing new. For as long as humans have been around, new tools have driven a wedge between job-seekers and employers. A factory these days is full of automated machinery, while a hundred years ago that role was performed by humans. However, these advancements can result in more efficient production and safer working environments, and you will find few people who can’t see the benefits of modern farming or computers.
The workers who are most affected by this shift are creatives; interior designers included. With AI image generation improving every year, many companies are choosing to use AI instead of artists. A recent example of this was the widely-panned Coca-Cola commercial that was made using AI. These companies see the often-soulless art that AI produces as an acceptable sacrifice for the time and money saved, and the backlash from critics is seldom enough to negatively impact sales for a large corporation.
However, there is a light in the darkness. While traditional animators did not work on this Coca-Cola commercial, multiple roles are still required for a project like this. Humans in three studios worked to create prompts, sift through hundreds of unusable clips to find ones that worked, and touch up that footage with brand logos. Across all industries that use AI, writers and artists are often replaced by prompt engineers, leading some to argue that AI is not taking jobs, but rather replacing old jobs with new jobs. AI has the potential to create more jobs than it takes. But this won’t be a comfortable transition as many are forced to adapt to a rapidly changing job landscape. However, those who embrace AI and learn to use it will find themselves with a useful skillset moving forward.
Even if you don’t plan on using AI for your business, learning the basics can make you a more informed individual.
Positive: AI Improves Accessibility
It can be argued that AI is ruining creativity, but in some ways, it is granting access to it. Not everyone is a writer or an artist. AI allows anyone to interact with creative projects regardless of their skill level. If you can’t draw, any ideas you have for a drawing are as good as useless, because you’ll never be able to translate your imagination onto paper without years of practice. If you have no interest in devoting years of your life to learning a craft like that, AI image generators are a godsend. People with no artistic talent or desire to gain it can generate an image that has only ever existed in their minds.
But it can be far less profound than that even. AI is great for brainstorming, especially when you’re stuck, so says our podcast guest Kaitlin Petersen, editor-in-chief of Business of Home. Sometimes asking ChatGPT for a list of ideas is all it takes to send you down a creative path.
Negative: Environmental Concerns
With every ChatGPT query or Midjourney prompt, the environment suffers. This is because AI runs on large data centers. These data centers use a large amount of electricity and water for cooling. Both are concerns. Especially since the constant increase in demand for AI services means that the resources to meet this demand will also increase. It’s easy to wave this concern away, considering just how much of an impact data centers already have, but there are other factors to consider. AI is still being developed, so accomplishing a task often takes multiple attempts. And each attempt comes with its own carbon footprint. The teams that worked on the much-maligned Coca-Cola ad threw away hundreds of unusable outputs, and they are not alone.
It is up to AI companies to make their algorithms more efficient and their data centers more green. Meanwhile, users must be taught how to interact with AI in a more efficient way and reduce the amount of redundant requests. In the meantime, using AI usage comes with an ethical burden that can’t be ignored forever. But hopefully, it will be mitigated in the future.
Positive: Answers are Just a Click Away
For many internet users, AI has replaced search engines. Instead of asking Google a question, they ask ChatGPT. Google is even combating this trend by including an AI summary at the top of their searches! However, as our podcast guest John Jantsch pointed out, designers must adapt to this new way of customers receiving information. But this is not a negative; rather it’s an opportunity for designers to learn.
Here are a few things to keep in mind considering this new reality. Luckily, many of these points overlap with existing content and SEO practices!
- Content should be adapted to conversational queries that AI can use to answer questions.
- Accurate metadata on your website is critical, as AI may pull from this data.
- Optimize content to be pulled out for featured snippets on search engines.
- Authoritative content is still critical, as AI systems will prioritize trusted sources.
- Double-check the accuracy of your business details in all places around the internet. An AI could pull from any of these sources, even an incorrect one.
- AI may pull insights from reviews and social media posts. Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews with specific details about how your business was helpful.
Negative: Potential Bias
A major ethical concern is the potential for bias in artificial intelligence. The experts who train AI models and algorithms try their best to mitigate bias in what an AI tool generates. However, humans are inherently biased, and an insufficiently diverse or aware team can still create an AI model that favors certain races or genders. Models trained on already-biased human content are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the original data. Conversely, AI can potentially remove all biases if trained properly. A human may make discriminatory hiring decisions based on applicants’ names, while an AI can be taught not to apply preconceived notions to this information.
Bias can rear its head in less harmful ways, but you still want to avoid it. Using AI for creative ideas can result in a homogenous look. An AI model may prefer certain trends over others, or overvalue a certain style. Be aware of the limitations and try to use AI as a brainstorming tool rather than a tool for generating specific ideas. Don’t get pigeonholed by the limitations of your tools.
Find the Balance of AI and Human Input
Interior designers have plenty of opportunities to use AI in ways that don’t compromise the creative aspects of their work. They also must use these tools responsibly. Here are a few ways designers can balance increased productivity with ethical usage.
Disclose your use of AI
Some designers are embarrassed to admit that they use AI tools. Some worry about the backlash that will come from using AI. However, transparency and honestly are critical. Be clear to clients about what aspects of the design process involve AI. Remind them that the creative elements of the design will all be original, and the AI is merely there to assist in speeding up non-creative processes or creating quick mockups. On the other hand, be sure not to overpromise what the technology can deliver. Keep expectations realistic, and don’t guarantee something you couldn’t accomplish yourself.
Don’t use AI-generated content as a final product
Whether an image or a piece of writing, AI-generated content needs a human to make the final touches. When using AI to write a blog or article, consider it to have done about 80% of the work. Then put in the last 20% to verify claims, find appropriate sources and citations, rewrite sentences in your brand voice, and remove content that is irrelevant to your point. Never use an AI-generated photo as a portfolio piece or final render. It is no replacement for the real thing, as AI images still include inaccuracies, impossible shapes, and misleading designs. And of course, be upfront about where your images came from when showing a potential client.
Know where AI is most effective
Despite its many promises, AI is not the answer to everything. Knowing the strengths of AI tools will allow you to spend your money efficiently and free up more time to be creative. Here are a few key areas where AI will be most effective for interior design firms.
- Chatbots: Website chatbots are a supplement to both a traditional Frequently Asked Questions page and a helpdesk email. They allow website visitors to ask questions about your services and receive an instant answer. Plus, the AI can use your brand voice.
- Visualization: AI image generators can create instant and photorealistic renderings of design concepts that are useful during the early stages of consultations. They can easily impress a client all while investing minimal business resources.
- Brainstorming: Some AI design tools can quickly generate mood boards, drawing from ideas that would normally take minutes or hours to source. However, any brainstorming can be streamlined by simply asking an AI chatbot for ideas or inspiration. Let it take the first step, then iterate from there. Pearl Collective uses ChatGPT to create article outlines to ensure we don’t miss an important point about a topic.
- Analytics and Data: AI is fantastic at processing large amounts of data. Leverage AI tools to track website traffic and analyze audience behavior, or run ads based on AI-powered customer segmentation and insights that predict what will get a lead to click on your ad. Google Analytics and Meta Business Suite are both common tools for these tactics.
- Note-taking: AI transcription tools allow you to stay in the moment during a meeting or client consultation. They will transcribe and summarize a call for you, and allow you to refer back to it later. At Pearl Collective, we use Otter.ai so we don’t miss any details when speaking to clients or having a crucial team meeting.
- Project Management: Large projects can become complicated. AI project management software allows you to create automated workflows, identify possible roadblocks, and use natural language to ask about a project milestone rather than sifting through a list of tasks. At Pearl Collective, we use Asana, which has a number of AI features.