The future of lighting design beyond lighting design

Q 1. Do you think AI would still work in mixed contexts? Like schools? In Italy we have mixed human being some with Hyperactive behavior or with unpredictable behavior

Answer. 

TON: AI at this time can help with generic lighting solutions during the design and the operation. The mixed context, as described, requires a much deeper understanding of individual human beings their emotions and behavior. On top of that, human behavior is different based on context changes. I am not a psychologist, but I believe this will require a high level of ability to understand people which can only be done by highly trained professionals at this time.

MARCO: What Ton describes is defined in research as Trained Judgement, or the accumulation of experience whereby intuitive expertise exists. It is a concept explored by Ben van Berkel in the 1990’s, as a mission-critical factor in the creative industry. However, AI might posit a risk to such accumulation of experience. This because Generative-AI is both an asset and a challenge to research institutes and academies. On the one hand, students naturally leverage Gen-AI for their projects, while on the other hand, both valid assessment and intellectual rigor of research and education output must be guaranteed. When it comes to Design Education and to Futures and Foresight, Dennis Draeger and I are starting a book for a major international publisher, to address challenges and envision future benefits of Gen-AI. This is also why Dennis and I made a habit of always publishing, either peer reviewed or in trade magazines like arc lighting, and presenting the outcome of our research projects to public audiences, from IALD to World University of Design. We believe that only a fruitful dialog will enable the critical thinking and experimental mindset.

Q 2. An AI designer cannot 'feel' what light can do. So I think real designers will always be crucial to the future of lighting design.

Answer:

TON: Absolutely. A human designer can study and understand the context and define the specifications for use case for the light which is often a complexity of interest that need to be considered to a balanced outcome. The most difficult part is the qualitative part of that. What is right, inspiring, beautiful all dealing with human emotional qualities driven by intangibles such as culture, social contexts and the personal preference, signature of the designer.

MARCO: I agree with Ton, and with the member of our audience who raised this key question. Dennis Draeger and I firmly believe in a hybrid approach, where Gen-AI is leveraged by means of Trained Judgement of human experts, as explained in the answer above. Dennis and I see however the possibility of expanding creative reach by machines in hallucinations, which might appear nonsense at first, unless intuitively embraced like potential wild cards. In this sense, researchers and designers should be enabled and encouraged to explore how they “feel” also when the directions are apparently counterintuitive. Ultimately, at this stage, human talent will always make the difference.

Q 3. As AI becomes better in analyzing spatial and emotional contexts for light design, how can designers ensure that the human intuition, storytelling, and cultural nuance remain central in creating meaningful experiences?

Answer:

TON: AI will be a great help in ensuring all the right knowledge is applied in the light design. Making the designer work faster and more relevant. It also will ensure high levels of automation so the interfaces can be simplified. This will allow more people to access the benefits. However, humans will still be the master art director in the design of the AI and in directing the outcome to ensure relevance for the user and their context, innovation so it provides something new and beautiful emotional experience.

MARCO: As presented in the findings of our Gen-AI automated foresight project with Dennis Draeger, storytelling will remain a key cultural trend in the future of lighting design, and of design in general. Just like critical thinking, savoir faire and the capability to understand and interpretate cultural differences might be identified as a mission critical competence to creative industry in general, and to design. This because whatever global strategy will have to be articulated in the local context. Lastly, for the purpose of enabling and measuring meaningful experiences, neurosciences will increasingly offer suites of user-friendly tools and methods, whereby computing power will meet data-based generativity and creativity. In line with Ton’s views, as long as technology will be shaped for designers to leverage it, either by storytelling or by cultural interpretation, and not the other way around, the future will be bright.

Q 4. Good afternoon, Ton do you see the need for real time lighting design merging with gaming lighting design as technologies?

Answer:

TON: Yes - this is already happening. There are ongoing developments within established light design tool providers and some start-ups. Game [lighting design] tools are often used for that like unreal engine of Epic games. Visualizations are already common place. The holy grail is doing lighting design, calculations while having a real-time high-res visualization. However there are some challenges for instance you have to be a highly specialised operator of the tools to get the right output efficiently.  

MARCO: Again, “gaming” emerged as reference in the Gen-AI enabled scanning of lighting design futures signals.  I tend to see gaming in the same line of approach as experience design, because it both problematizes and enriches “space” or “object” as the focus of design projects with the notion of “time”, creating actionable interdependencies and triggering both meaning on the spot, and memories over time