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Early iterations of
the collaboration
process

The Challenge aspects of production, which are second nature to a craftsman.
While the first designs between Man x Machine were This highlighted to me the current limitations of the AI which
aesthetically promising, they were not likely to be viable from I found easier to resolve using my past experience rather
a manufacturing perspective: than further instruction. Whilst I fully appreciate the machine

"The specificity of prompts given to the AI were crucial would maybe learn over time, communicating what I knew
for achieving a design that was both visually appealing and in a way that it could understand was too time consuming
feasible to produce. As a designer, intuitive understanding and would certainly be a problem given the usual scope of
guides what looks good and what will work. However, with my work” continues Lim.
AI, these intuitive elements needed to be articulated explicitly"
said Lim of the process.
The practical skills and material knowledge naturally
acquired by designers such as Lim over years of trial and
error in production proved a stumbling block in communication

with the AI platform:
"The AI initially provided generic timber suggestions but with
prompts for sustainable and workable materials it pointed to
American red oak which is a material that is easy to work and
versatile. It’s readily available, sustainable and it steams and
bends easily so in a sense the material choice made up for
the lack of understanding of industrial production methods. The
AI was able to design beautiful pieces which were too challenging
AI model struggled when prompted to consider the technical when viewed from a manufacturing perspective