Artificial intelligence has quickly become part of the everyday practice of designers, artists and students. Generating images, text and other forms of creative content is changing the way ideas are developed, while also raising questions about authorship, originality, responsibility and the future of creative professions.

The panel “Do Designers Dream of AI Images?” explores the critical encounter between tradition and technology through perspectives from design, art, digital development and education. The discussion will examine how artificial intelligence is transforming the creative process, what happens to the role of the author when algorithms can produce an almost unlimited amount of content, and where the line should be drawn between a tool, a collaborator and an author.

Particular attention will be given to the education of designers and artists. How should design be taught at a time when a student can generate a visual solution with just a few lines of text? Do teaching and assessment methods need to change? And how can young designers be encouraged to use AI as a tool for research and developing ideas, rather than as a substitute for their own thinking and creativity?

These questions will be explored by Vesna Uglješić, PhD, designer and Senior Lecturer at TVZ; Andrej Rehak, academic sculptor and author of 3D animated films; Dino Reić, Senior Developer and “Vibe Coder in Chief”. The discussion will be moderated by Ana Marinović, MDes, University Specialist in Economics, TVZ.

The aim of the discussion is not to take sides between those who see artificial intelligence as a breakthrough for the creative industries and those who regard it as a threat to human creativity. Instead, the panel seeks to create space for a reasonable, interdisciplinary and critical approach to a technology that is already changing the way we design, learn and work.

At the heart of the discussion are people — particularly a new generation of designers and artists who are beginning their education and professional careers at a time of profound technological change.