INDUSTRIAL PRODUCT DESIGN IN THE AGE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: FRAMING THE NEED, SHAPING THE USE

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly embedded in physical products, from domestic appliances and vehicles to medical devices and wearables, yet the success of such products depends less on algorithmic performance than on whether people understand, trust and meaningfully integrate them into everyday life. This paper examines the contribution of industrial product design to the current need for, and use of, AI. Through a conceptual and integrative narrative review of literature in design research, human–computer interaction (HCI), computational design and AI ethics, it develops an analytical framework of five contributions: (1) framing human needs so that AI addresses problems worth solving; (2) making AI capabilities legible through form, interaction and feedback; (3) calibrating trust and control; (4) embedding AI in sustainable and ethical product lifecycles; and (5) integrating AI as a tool within the design process itself. The analysis indicates that industrial design acts as a mediating layer between technological capability and human practice, and that its contribution lies as much in deciding where AI should not be used as in enabling it. The paper closes with implications for practice, education and policy, and five propositions for empirical testing.