Why AI will never design your dream kitchen

Recently I have seen some gloriously detailed images online of dream kitchens bathed in perfect light looking oh-do-desirable and achievable.

Upon closer inspection I have realised that the images are AI generated. There are usually two giveaways. One is the slightly fuzzy appearance which cannot be attributed to natural lighting but could be the result of filters or photo shop. The second is the unreality of the design – spaces that are too tight to accommodate a real human, for example.

After the first flush of enthusiasm about AI last year, I think reality is setting in. Much of what is AI generated, creatively speaking, has an inherent staleness or sameness about it. Designers and writers are frustrated by seeing their work undervalued by clients who think they are using AI as a shortcut.

So why can’t you use AI to design your dream kitchen, or house? Well, for starters you would have to write a lot of prompts, accurately describing in every detail with specificity. You would need to research and write prompt for details that you may not even know you needed.

By contrast a designer or architect would draw out your brief in detail. Then they will add their creativity and accumulated knowledge to shape it in to a design proposal customised for you. In contrast AI is going to skim off ideas from the internet and mash them together to form a vaguely convincing image.

AI is completely unaccountable and impersonal. It’s not going to take you much further than a Pinterest board will down the track of ideas generation. If the images I’ve seen online are are any guide, it will just waste your time with unrealistic or humdrum cliches.

Back to the drawing board!