When Discourse Stalls: Moving Past Five Semantic Stopsigns about Generative AI in Design Research
It addresses the problem of over-simplified discourse impeding meaningful research and practical progress in design for designers and researchers, offering a reflective and analytical approach rather than incremental technical improvements.
The essay identifies and deconstructs five 'semantic stopsigns'—reductive framings about Generative AI in design that hinder deeper inquiry—based on expert workshops and interviews, providing nuanced frameworks to help the design research community engage more productively with these technologies.
This essay examines how Generative AI (GenAI) is rapidly transforming design practices and how discourse often falls into over-simplified narratives that impede meaningful research and practical progress. We identify and deconstruct five prevalent "semantic stopsigns" -- reductive framings about GenAI in design that halt deeper inquiry and limit productive engagement. Reflecting upon two expert workshops at ACM conferences and semi-structured interviews with design practitioners, we analyze how these stopsigns manifest in research and practice. Our analysis develops mid-level knowledge that bridges theoretical discourse and practical implementation, helping designers and researchers interrogate common assumptions about GenAI in their own contexts. By recasting these stopsigns into more nuanced frameworks, we provide the design research community with practical approaches for thinking about and working with these emerging technologies.