Right since the advent of the very first digital tools and applications, the fact that digitalisation is changing the nature of the designer’s job has been part of the debate on what constitutes the fundamentals of the design profession. The debate, always linked to questions of morality and ethics, begins afresh with the introduction of each new digital «invention». Currently, the potential scope of (AI) is perceived as one of the greatest challenges. Will AI be on a par with human intelligence in the foreseeable future? How many jobs will robots take over? What will the future working environment look like? The Association of German Industrial Designers (Verband Deutscher Industriedesigner – VDID), together with the Design Center Baden-Württemberg, has issued an invitation to an industry conference on the theme “Intelligence of the future – How smart is artificial?” taking place in Stuttgart on 8 November 2019, to discuss the possibilities and responsibilities of designers from the perspective of the ethics of machine design and the future of the human-machine network. Sociologist Armin Nassehi and philosopher Catrin Misselhorn, who conducts research at the interface between computer science, philosophy and robotics, have been engaged as keynote speakers.
