Design Systems for Intelligent Technology

Intelligent technology seems poised to emerge with unprecedented force across many domains of human activity. Advanced technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence (AI)– based applications and services) hold great promise to enhance work processes such as industrial operations and process control. However, the promise of intelligent technologies will not be realised unless their use is properly grounded in terms of their advantages to human action, operational safety, and the efficiency of the controlled system. Therefore, the novelty associated with what can be done with intelligent technology and how it should be integrated into human action and thought presents key design problems and questions to be answered in the design of future systems. Design systems (DSs) have become standard product design and development tools for creating consistent and well-functioning software applications and industry products by providing standard and reusable design patterns, components, and language. Currently, the industrial application of DSs mainly focuses on aspects of technology design such as visual identity, design principles, user interface elements, traditional engineering design, and interaction patterns. In the present paper, we propose to investigate and open a discussion on the concept of DSs for intelligent technology. This concept extends and builds upon current ideas and industrial practices regarding DSs. This paper is based on case studies of Finnish industrial companies seeking to implement and develop intelligent technology solutions for process control and design processes. Based on our research, we offer preliminary ideas on how DSs should be expanded to better address, identify, and solve challenges relevant to the design of intelligent technologies. Furthermore, we see that these extensions to the present industrial applications of DSs represent an important – even indispensable – step towards realising the vision of Industry 5.0, in which people and intelligent technologies collaborate.