Slowly but surely, artificial intelligence is changing how we work and live. Not long ago, AI almost couldn’t write complete sentences, and now it can create photorealistic videos that are nearly indistinguishable from the real thing. This rapid progression is both fascinating and terrifying. Rather than hiding from AI or pretending it doesn’t exist, designers at Infiniti are embracing this new technology.
Kenji Yamauchi, a digital sculptor at the Japanese luxury automaker, uses artificial intelligence to push creative boundaries and explore new possibilities. Infiniti still employs traditional clay models when designing new vehicles – and digital tools as well – but AI has myriad uses in the studio.
“In clay, we can only produce one model at a time. With generative AI, we can simultaneously create multiple possibilities and compare them side by side to make more informed decisions,” said Yamauchi in a media release shared by Infiniti. “The biggest change with the integration of AI into our design process is the number of possibilities we can study,” he added.
Of course, AI is only as good as the prompts you give it, so to ensure positive results, designers still do hand-drawn sketches, which are also pinned to the studio walls as inspiration. AI is also used to digitally enhance these drawings. Yamauchi said the technology helps them further improve their vehicles, “It helps us expand and visualize concepts while exploring more directions.”
The Human Element Is Never Going Away
If it sounds like Infiniti is feeding prompts and a few sketches into a computer to design future vehicles, don’t worry. The automaker is only using this technology as an aid; the company says humans will always apply the finishing touches. This newfangled tool is not a silver bullet that will completely replace designers. As Yamauchi explained, “human oversight is still essential.”
Artificial intelligence can also bring members of the design team closer together by making the whole process smoother and more dynamic. Additionally, this technology enables the team to better meet the needs of drivers by allowing designers to predict what consumers may want – or need – in future vehicles.
Going forward, vehicle design at Infiniti will always involve human hands, but AI is a powerful new tool that can streamline the process and allow stylists to incorporate new ideas. Despite the help of powerful computerized technologies, Yamauchi noted, “it’s still our hands, our eyes, and our instincts that turn those possibilities into reality.”
Read the full article here
