Conference Agenda

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has grown exponentially in the last few years. This could be a great opportunity for some areas since AI can contribute to minimise the time for optimising some engineering processes or to maximise earnings of companies. On the other hand, some experts are concerned about the abuse of AI in decision making. With the rise of AI in different areas, some careers may lose their sense of existence since AI can replace their work.

In some universities the use of AI has been forbidden because it directly affects the understanding and learning process of students. Other universities, such as Tecnologico de Monterrey, promote the use of AI as a tool that can help the students and teachers in the process of teaching-learning.

The present research presents different cases of success and failure of artificial intelligence, as well as dangerous situations in which AI should not be taken into account for decision-making, such as all decisions in which there must be a human sense. Also provides ethical aspects regarding the use of AI in students and teachers.

The speed and proficiency of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems have proliferated in recent years, enabling more people, including design students, to use AI-generated images for their projects. However, it has been well documented that the Large Language Models supporting AI generators have incorporated troublesome gender and race biases during training (Wellner et al., 2020). Undergraduate students, whose visual culture and critical skills are still in development, often lack the capacity to identify such biases in the images they obtain when using AI generators. This can lead to visual outputs that perpetuate prejudiced representations of people (Hall et al., 2023). To better understand the nature of this problem and potential ways to mitigate it, we conducted a design probe study on a group of first-semester undergraduate design students in Lisbon, Portugal. The results of this study can be used by teachers to guide their students better and researchers to develop methodologies to help younger generations identify biases in AI generative systems. The impact of this research extends beyond the classroom and can benefit other educators and designers of future AI generative systems. Most importantly, it can contribute to curtailing the perpetuation of race and gender biases in today's society.

Designers are faced with more complex, environmental and societal challenges than ever before. Those challenges require the ability to see how things are interrelated in the bigger picture and to analyse multiple causes and effects, rather than working from a siloed point of view. Systems thinking is a strong tool to enable designers and engineers to understand how an entire system works and how elements in the system are interconnected.

This paper demonstrates an approach to systems thinking and an analytical tool that could be applied to teaching future designers and engineers. The approach has been used in the final year Advanced Design Management module. This paper introduces a real-world Mobility as a Service (MaaS) trial that is implemented in the UK as a case study. It involves highly complex socio-technical systems whose investigation requires systems thinking. Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA), a systems level approaches, has been applied as part of the User-Centred Ecological Interface Design (UCEID) process.

Guidance will be provided to facilitate students’ learning of an analytical tool for comprehensive system analysis and modelling. The benefits of applying systems thinking in the design and development processes of products and services based on a holistic understanding of the systems in which they are incorporated will also be explained.

The knowledge generated in this work is expected to inform design educators to recognise the importance of systems thinking. Ultimately, this will help them consider and apply systems thinking successfully in their teaching of relevant subjects with the enhanced knowledge of a systems level approach. This will facilitate future designers’ problem solving of complex issues.

In a contemporary context, the university has evolved into a dynamic living system, providing a habitat for a multitude of institutional entities and stakeholders. This includes students, faculty, researchers, as well as a varied array of academic and administrative departments. Universities have tried to adapt and respond to the evolving needs of a developing society whilst the academic community helps apply focus on what should be taught and researched. However, in their outward gaze, universities sometimes neglect to examine their internal dynamics, leading to a potentially static and hierarchical organizational structure in a rapidly evolving society. This paper gives perspectives on the use of systemic and product design methodology combined with AI as a tool to facilitate an inward examination of university organizational structures. The paper attempts to provide a deeper understanding of the existing challenges and the necessary adaptations to contribute to the development of a sustainable society within the university system.

This research is derived from SPARC, ‘Sustainable Partnerships and Research Collaborations’, a student-led research pilot owned by Arbeidsforskningsinstituttet (AFI - Work Research Institute) and Oslomet. SPARC was created and led by three product design students collaborating with research assistants and research professors at AFI. This partnership is currently studying how collaborative partnerships can enhance sustainable thinking at OsloMet in the form of systemic changes. The use of systemic design aims to outline symptoms of the existing communication structures, revealing the potential of new communication flows and dynamics. The research seeks to design innovative approaches that address the complex interplay of elements within the stakeholders at fragmented organizational structures in the university. In the pursuit of this objective, the student shape AI to analyze qualitative data gathered through explorative workshops involving various stakeholders at the university, which is at the core of the research. The article speculates and suggests the potential of design students to shape existing systems by utilizing this approach in their product design education.

The paper strongly advocates for the necessity of mindful and intentional use of AI to fully harness the potential of this tool, emphasizing the synergy between human intelligence and artificial intelligence, and recognizing the complementary roles they play in the research process. This initiative is allocated to the following Sustainability Development Goals of the United Nations; 17. Partnership for the Goal and 4. Quality Education is incorporated not only in the aim but also in the research methodology. Design approaches, along with advancing AI, provide a holistic examination of sustainable solutions by cultivating awareness and capabilities for action, developing partnerships, and improving educational quality within the university ecosystem.