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We've been exploring AI’s place in our product development process.&nbsp;
What might that collaboration look like? 
When AI entered the mainstream as a consumer tool late in 2022, it felt like a big bang event to many casual observers.&nbsp;

Download: 19 Uses for AI in Product Development

The truth, of course, is that AI has been in development for decades.

Delve's experts in insights, strategy, design, and engineering can guide you through an end-to-end innovation process that delivers results.

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AI tools such as <a href="https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt" target="_blank">ChatGPT</a> and <a href="https://stablediffusionweb.com/" target="_blank">StableDiffusion</a> seemed to appear fully formed out of nothingness, were quickly embraced by consumers, and made headlines as pundits speculated about their potential impact on this industry or that.
At Delve, we have been keeping a close watch on AI technology for years, but even we were caught off guard by the astonishing progress we saw in 2022:
<ul><li>AI technology is now <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/brief-history-of-ai" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">advancing at an incredibly fast pace,</a> with breakthroughs in machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision being made regularly.</li><li>As AI gets better, more industries are <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/tip/9-top-applications-of-artificial-intelligence-in-business" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">exploring how to apply it</a> to enhance their operations and services.</li><li>Chatbots, virtual assistants, and other AI-powered apps are everywhere. The idea of AI may still feel like a novelty to some consumers, but whether we have been aware of it or not, most of us have been using <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2019/12/16/the-10-best-examples-of-how-ai-is-already-used-in-our-everyday-life/?sh=3ea46e371171" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AI-powered devices in our daily life</a> for some time.</li></ul>
If you live and work in 2023, you've probably already realized that AI will transform your work and your industry. The only question is how.

Robot with City in the Background – AI Product Development

<h2>What Can AI Do for Design and Product Development? </h2>
As product innovators, we thrive on technology, and we believe in the potential of AI to push the boundaries of research, design, and engineering. But we&nbsp;are still in the Wild West phase of AI. Important guardrails have not yet been developed to address the limitations of AI and the risks of AI-supported product development.&nbsp;
There is a lot we do not yet know about the rapidly evolving landscape of AI, but as we&nbsp;explore how current AI tools might best align with and enhance our design methods and processes, we can see potential benefits in the following applications:
<ol><li>Offloading Human Limitations. AI can assist in areas where humans fall short, such as juggling large amounts of information, detecting subtle correlations, and completing repetitive tasks efficiently.</li><li>Providing Starting Points. AI tools can help jumpstart the process by providing boilerplate text or initial concept ideas. </li><li>Augmenting Human Judgement. AI can analyze data and project requirements to provide insights, recommendations, and assist in strategic decision-making. However, care should be taken to “sanity-check” its outputs. </li><li>Gut Check. AI can assist in identifying potential product flaws and highlight areas for improvement, to allow adjustments to be made before product launch.</li></ol>

To be very clear, AI is not a substitute for human judgment. While AI can generate varied ideas, provide valuable insights, and generate analysis quickly, the human product development team must still guide and direct AI’s exploration and output. It is still incumbent upon the human team to interpret AI output based on context, human experiences in the world, and best practices in the field of product development. 
As long as we do so, collaborating with AI in product development may lead to improved efficiency, reduced costs, enhanced decision-making capabilities, and increased accuracy.

Robot in a Desert – AI Product Development

<h2>Risks of AI in Design and Product Development</h2>
The risks of employing AI in design and product development generally stem from failing to understand its limitations.&nbsp;
To reap the benefits of AI and avoid its pitfalls, it’s important to keep in mind what AI is not and what it cannot do.&nbsp;We need to understand both the strengths and weaknesses of this new generation of AI tools, and equally importantly, we must consider how to use AI responsibly and in the best interests of our clients.
<ol><li>AI has no context awareness. At its basic level, successful design is closely tied to understanding the specific context in which design solutions will be used. However, AI outputs do not appreciate or even recognize important nuances critical to solving user problems. Instead, AI may offer generalized advice or ideas that overlook key aspects of the issue. It’s important to be aware of the risks of solely relying on AI and failing to observe and think critically about the situations outside of AI. Remember: AI doesn't recognize nuance, so contributing your own critical thinking is essential.&nbsp;&nbsp; </li><li>AI is not omniscient or all-knowing. AI companies often portray their tools as having near-magical powers, but the reality is that AI outputs are only as good as the data used to train them. Unawareness of these behind-the-scenes AI production methods can lead users to feel confidence in AI outputs that is in fact unwarranted. AI might also reproduce biases and flawed reasoning found in its training data, which often includes English language information with its associated cultural and demographic biases. Remember: Maintain a healthy dose of skepticism regarding the accuracy and completeness of AI outputs. </li><li>AI is not as user-friendly as it seems. If you have explored generative AI tools <a href="https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ChatGPT</a> or <a href="https://www.midjourney.com/home/?callbackUrl=%2Fapp%2F" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MidJourney,</a> you have likely discovered that effectively communicating with AI is its own skill set. The fact is, AI cannot generate content independently. Your ability to “talk” with AI determines the degree of control you have over the output – and whether you achieve your desired results, or receive instead an incoherent, unrecognizable mess. As with any other skill, improving your ability to communicate with AI requires exploration and practice. Remember:&nbsp;Honing your communication skills with AI, which includes text, voice and visual prompts, reduces the time required to receive the desired, usable AI outputs. </li><li>AI efficiency cannot deliver results “yesterday.” The buzz is that AI will improve work efficiency and productivity, which may lead some to conclude that AI is the solution to the common demand of “we need it done by yesterday.” The truth is, good design requires time because it is more than just creating something that looks good. AI can help designers and product developers speed up parts of the process, but the team will still need to determine which ideas are worth pursuing, then refine and tailor them to meet user needs and project goals. Furthermore, good design involves testing and iteration, all of which require time as well. Remember:&nbsp;AI can improve task efficiency, but product development is a nuanced process that requires critical thinking, careful consideration, and time.</li></ol>

We had a great discussion about the ways AI will impact the medical device industry.

Don't Miss: How Will AI Impact Medical Devices?

Robot on a Mountaintop With People behind It – AI Product Development

<h2>Redefining Delve's Product Development&nbsp;Process&nbsp;in Collaboration with AI&nbsp;</h2>
The product development process is a complex and dynamic journey that involves multidisciplinary team collaboration. Throughout the process, each disciplinary team tackles various tasks: research and interpretation, opportunity identification, concept development and selection, engineering analysis, and final design refinements. 
The entire process must also meet key objectives regarding standards of innovation, quality, and efficiency, as well as adhering to budget restrictions. With new AI tools emerging daily, trying to keep up with how AI might enhance our process can feel overwhelming, but it's an&nbsp;exciting and important challenge. Our job is to proactively align AI tools with our proven design processes to begin an intentional, purpose-driven collaboration. 
What we are finding is that&nbsp;that AI can function as more than just a tool for automating mundane tasks. In fact, AI can serve as an inspirational collaborator, sparking ideas and spurring creativity. At the same time, it can process large amounts of information efficiently, highlighting key insights and helping to accelerate the development process. &nbsp;

<h2>19 Ways You Can Use AI in Product Development</h2>
In the charts below, we list 19 ways AI can bring value to three areas of the product development process:
<ol><li>Insights and Strategy</li><li>Design</li><li>Engineering.</li></ol>
<h2>Insights & Strategy </h2>
In the Insights and Strategy discipline, the use of AI during product development can bring significant value.&nbsp;
Human researchers play an indispensable role in establishing a personal connection and trust with our research participants, but AI can serve as a co-pilot, assisting with tasks such as discovering granular insights and improving understanding of the big picture.

Insights & Strategy – AI Use Case Opportunities – Research, Data Analysis, Transcription, Writing/ Editing, Multi-Language Translation – AI Task Optimization – Thought Starters, Collaborate with AI to get a starting point and discover new research angles

<h2>Design </h2>
By leveraging AI as a collaborative brainstorming tool, designers can expedite and diversify the idea generation and iteration process.&nbsp;
With the human designers’ guidance, AI can generate and instantly visualize new ideas, then swiftly explore possible variations, ultimately enhancing design outcomes.&nbsp;
While AI can aid the visual design process, human designers remain essential in infusing design thinking and empathy into the process, to ensure that the resulting products meet user needs and deliver an exceptional user experience.

Design – AI Use Case Opportunities – Research – Ideation – Document & Presentation – 3D Modeling/ Renderings – UX/ UI – AI Task Optimization – Thought Starters, Topic overviews: User Online analysis help spot user patterns, relationships and other areas o

<h2>Engineering </h2>
Much of the value of AI within the engineering process of product development&nbsp;would come from improving process efficiency. For example, AI can automate tasks, propose new design approaches, analyze material options, test prototypes, and make recommendations based on project parameters.&nbsp;
With AI support, engineering teams would also iterate more quickly and be able to make design refinements in real time.&nbsp;
In addition, AI will help engineers identify and eliminate risks related to safety and human factors. This would not only reduce the likelihood of product recalls but would improve user satisfaction as well.&nbsp;

Engineering2– AI Use Case Opportunities – Human Factors – Engineering – AI Task Optimization – Improving Ergonomics, Help identify if design is optimized ergonomically for the target user group. Usability testing; identify areas for ergonomic and safety i

<h2>A Final Word</h2>
We believe AI has the potential to revolutionize product development, not just by making the process more efficient and accurate, but by supporting human creativity and boosting our understanding of user needs.&nbsp;
By leveraging the power of AI thoughtfully and responsibly, we will be better able to create innovative products that meet the needs of our clients and end users – and do so faster and more cost-effectively.

Continue this conversation on LinkedIn! Follow Visnu's <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/visnu-fraenkel-0379502/" target="_blank">LinkedIn page</a> and share your thoughts about this blog post <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7049071632685940736?updateEntityUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_feedUpdate%3A%28V2%2Curn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7049071632685940736%29" target="_blank">here.</a>

Learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://www.delve.com/services" target="_blank">Product Development & Design Services at Delve.</a>

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In What Ways Can AI Be Used For Product Development?

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19 Uses for AI in Product Development

19 Uses for AI in Product Development

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