AI in Co-Creation : The usability and impact of AI tools for co- creation in participatory design to generate innovative and user- centric design solutions

Abstract: The current study focuses on applying generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in participatory design processes, specifically scrutinising the interactive dynamics between AI and human actors during the creative endeavour. Practice-oriented workshops and including a real, complex application example constituted the methodological framework. The analysis sought to investigate Artificial Intelligence's impact on the produced design outcomes and the dynamics of group interactions within participatory design environments. Obstacles and potential benefits in dealing with AI were thoroughly analysed, with the investigation targeting the potential for significant time savings and efficiency increases due to AI deployment. Simultaneously, a comprehensive evaluation occurred, assessing the quality of co-creative human-AI design solutions.The study identified important capabilities that influence the quality of generative AI solutions. The author termed them the "Effectiveness Trilogy", consisting of Expertise, Experience and Usability. The findings suggest that current generative AI systems must still be sufficiently equipped for handling complex tasks. The resultant solutions frequently exhibited superficiality and needed more efficacy to generate substantial time savings, as observed in our analysis.