Is A.I. Ready for Lighting Design? (Is Lighting Design Ready for A.I.?)

by | Jan 16, 2025 | A.I., News

A.I. Lighting Design

Is A.I. Ready for Lighting Design? Insights from Light + Intelligent Building Middle East

During this year’s Light + Intelligent Building Middle East event, I set out with a single, focused goal: to determine whether artificial intelligence (A.I.) is a viable tool for lighting designers today.

By the end of the event, I had my answer.

A Shift in the Conversation

Reflecting on last year’s show, I don’t recall A.I. being a significant discussion topic in the lighting design context. A quick search of my Light Middle East articles from 2024, including those published on EdisonReport and designing lighting (dl), revealed no mention of A.I.

This year, however, was a completely different story.

Once again, I had the privilege of giving the opening remarks for the InSpotLight sessions on Wednesday and Thursday, comprising 18 sessions. Remarkably, A.I. was mentioned at least once in all but two sessions. Think about that—16 out of 18 sessions included mentions or discussions about A.I.

A.I. Lighting Design

IALD President Andrea Hartranft Leads a discussion at Light + Intelligent Building Middle East

Andrea Hartranft Sparks the Discussion

On Wednesday, I introduced Andrea Hartranft, President of IALD and Principal of Hartranft Lighting Studios. Andrea moderated a panel discussion titled Preparing for the Future: Skills and Connections for the Next Generation in Lighting Design, Manufacturing, and Construction.

Andrea opened the discussion with an anecdote: that morning, someone forwarded her a lighting design A.I. link. She asked the panel if A.I. could advance the profession. This set the stage for an engaging conversation about the role of A.I. in the industry.

Real-World Applications of A.I.

Andy Shaw, Managing Partner at AMA and Chair of the RIBA Gulf Chapter, shared that his firm successfully leverages A.I. for renderings. As an architect, Andy stood out as the only person I encountered who is meaningfully integrating A.I. into his design process.

Conversely, many lighting designers admitted to using A.I., but mainly for tasks outside of design. They shared examples of utilizing A.I. for marketing, writing submissions, crafting emails, and even bookkeeping. Some told me they use A.I. for documentation and the production parts of the design process. However, none applied it in a substantive way to conducting the actual design.

A Healthy Skepticism

Andrea made a striking point during the discussion: “People should design lighting for people.” While she expressed openness to A.I. as a tool, she emphasized the irreplaceable value of human-centered design.

As the show wrapped up, the consensus was clear: A.I. is not yet ready to take on the actual lighting design. However, most agreed that it likely will be in the future, with some predicting this shift could happen sooner than we expect. What stood out to me most during these conversations was the designers’ attitude toward A.I. There is a healthy respect for its capabilities and potential. At the same time, there is a palpable sense of unease, even fear, about what it could mean for the profession.

The question is no longer if A.I. will play a role in lighting design but when and how.