AI tool as agent for change

Designers are increasingly using AI in their role as agents for change to society. That is, designers, together with AI have the capacity to influence or act in the world of design (largely defined). The human-AI collaboration, or interactive agency is now an everyday activity, from education to professional practice to an extent that text-to-image generators, for example, have become purposeful, goal-directed agents in themselves or, to borrow terminology for sociology, agents of intentional action. The rise of AI opens up the debate to what extent AI has autonomous agency. What seems certain though is that AI agency is impacting the role of the designer progressively shifting their roles from that of primarily producing a material good or service to that of ideator and facilitator addressing human needs and wants with emphasis of what is unique to human agency, notably equitable, sustainable and ethical concerns.