The Real Impact of AI on Service Design / Pablo Fernández Vallejo / Ep. #221
1.4K views · 2025-02-13
Design Thinking
AI won't take over your job...
An 8-year-old girl with AI will!
Don't believe me? Check out this video which was making the rounds on LinkedIn a while ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5uvDZ8srHA
In the video a young girl coding a Harry Potter quiz game with the help of AI. In a matter of minutes.
It's a funny and striking example of where things are heading – or should I say, where they already are.
It'd be naive to think service design won't be affected.
But the current conversations about AI's impact often lack depth, nuance, and practical examples.
We don't seem to get much further than: "AI is good" or "AI is bad."
What are we even talking about when we say "AI"? We need to unpack it. Go beyond the surface.
Fortunately, our guest for this episode has done some of the heavy lifting for us.
As an educator at one of the leading design institutes, Pablo Fernández Vallejo has to live in the future.
He's always thinking about the skills future professionals will need in 4 years' time when they graduate. And of course, being able to make full use of AI is high on the list right now.
So in this episode, we sit down and talk about big questions like: Do we need to become AI experts ourselves, or should we focus on further developing our critical thinking skills? What are the risks and opportunities of bringing AI into the design process? What are the tasks that we can safely outsource to AI and which ones should we be more careful with.
So, whether you're an AI skeptic or optimist, I feel this conversation will challenge your thinking and help you make more informed decisions moving ahead.
A thought-provoking question in this episode is what will happen to our professional identities when AI starts to blur the boundaries between disciplines. It's not a question of if it will happen, but how quickly.
Curious to hear your thoughts, so make sure to leave a comment on below.
Enjoy and keep making a positive impact.
~ Marc
[ 1. GUIDE 📺 ]
00:00 Welcome to Episode 221
04:00 Grandparents' influence on AI perspective
06:00 Over-represented large language models
08:30 AI with a bias
11:00 Designing at the age of AI
14:00 Current state of designing with AI
17:30 Automation vs. Augmentation
19:30 AI’s Impact on Students
23:30 AI Possibilities vs. Limits
26:00 AI & Expertise Balance
27:00 Calculator analogy
29:30 AI & Service Commoditization
32:00 How AI impacts non-digital services
35:00 AI power dynamics
35:30 Service design for ai
38:30 AI as an active participant
40:30 Gaps in the society
43:15 Questions we should be asking
49:00 Sustainability & AI
51:00 Learning about past mistakes
53:00 Tech development and society conversation
55:30 The future we can build
56:40 Resources
58:00 Questions to ponder
[ 2. LINKS 🔗 ]
* LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pablofernandezvallejo
* Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI by Ethan Mollick (Book) - https://a.co/d/ibQ2lqP
* Website: https://www.fernandezvallejo.com/
[ 3. NEXT STEP 💪 ]
Looking for more? We've got you covered.
Click the link below to join the Service Design Show community.
https://servicedesignshow.com/subscribe/
You'll get access to inspiring stories and practical advice that helps to level up your service design career!
An 8-year-old girl with AI will!
Don't believe me? Check out this video which was making the rounds on LinkedIn a while ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5uvDZ8srHA
In the video a young girl coding a Harry Potter quiz game with the help of AI. In a matter of minutes.
It's a funny and striking example of where things are heading – or should I say, where they already are.
It'd be naive to think service design won't be affected.
But the current conversations about AI's impact often lack depth, nuance, and practical examples.
We don't seem to get much further than: "AI is good" or "AI is bad."
What are we even talking about when we say "AI"? We need to unpack it. Go beyond the surface.
Fortunately, our guest for this episode has done some of the heavy lifting for us.
As an educator at one of the leading design institutes, Pablo Fernández Vallejo has to live in the future.
He's always thinking about the skills future professionals will need in 4 years' time when they graduate. And of course, being able to make full use of AI is high on the list right now.
So in this episode, we sit down and talk about big questions like: Do we need to become AI experts ourselves, or should we focus on further developing our critical thinking skills? What are the risks and opportunities of bringing AI into the design process? What are the tasks that we can safely outsource to AI and which ones should we be more careful with.
So, whether you're an AI skeptic or optimist, I feel this conversation will challenge your thinking and help you make more informed decisions moving ahead.
A thought-provoking question in this episode is what will happen to our professional identities when AI starts to blur the boundaries between disciplines. It's not a question of if it will happen, but how quickly.
Curious to hear your thoughts, so make sure to leave a comment on below.
Enjoy and keep making a positive impact.
~ Marc
[ 1. GUIDE 📺 ]
00:00 Welcome to Episode 221
04:00 Grandparents' influence on AI perspective
06:00 Over-represented large language models
08:30 AI with a bias
11:00 Designing at the age of AI
14:00 Current state of designing with AI
17:30 Automation vs. Augmentation
19:30 AI’s Impact on Students
23:30 AI Possibilities vs. Limits
26:00 AI & Expertise Balance
27:00 Calculator analogy
29:30 AI & Service Commoditization
32:00 How AI impacts non-digital services
35:00 AI power dynamics
35:30 Service design for ai
38:30 AI as an active participant
40:30 Gaps in the society
43:15 Questions we should be asking
49:00 Sustainability & AI
51:00 Learning about past mistakes
53:00 Tech development and society conversation
55:30 The future we can build
56:40 Resources
58:00 Questions to ponder
[ 2. LINKS 🔗 ]
* LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pablofernandezvallejo
* Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI by Ethan Mollick (Book) - https://a.co/d/ibQ2lqP
* Website: https://www.fernandezvallejo.com/
[ 3. NEXT STEP 💪 ]
Looking for more? We've got you covered.
Click the link below to join the Service Design Show community.
https://servicedesignshow.com/subscribe/
You'll get access to inspiring stories and practical advice that helps to level up your service design career!