So why am I thinking about plastic? There’s a lot of talk about AI as a new technology, but I wonder should we really be thinking of it as a new material? Like plastic, it can feel like a magic wand: anything we can imagine is not just possible, it’s cheap & convenient (if you ignore the environmental concerns). But like plastic it’s brittle, artificial, and doesn’t age well, and the more we use it in a product or process, the more those properties will be evident. The higher the synthetic/organic ratio, the lower the perceived quality is going to be. It’s clear we’re in the “covering furniture in plastic” phase of AI right now, but maybe if we treat it more like a material and less like a magic wand we can avoid some of the sins of the past. The modernist designers explored the strengths and weaknesses of the new materials of their day, and showed how — with some thoughtfulness — they could be used for good to improve regular people’s lives in meaningful ways. As the product designers of today, it’s our turn to do the same.
24 October 2025