With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: Responsible Management of Artificial Intelligence in Supporting Design Research Activities

Novel technologies are getting growing attention in our scholarly lives and are shifting the way traditional research practices are used. This paper explores how design research is affected by technological advancements and what potential risks can arise from that. By surveying information systems (IS) design literature, we observed a focus on enhancing the design outcome through computational, data-driven, and AI-driven approaches. Only a few papers in our sample provide insights into how the design process, from problem understanding through artifact building to evaluation, can be supported. We therefore explore the opportunities of delegating tasks between human designers and technology by presenting examples from the broader design research literature and borrowing illustrations from adjacent fields. Our work aims to open up the solution space of technology-aided design processes and creates awareness of the responsible handling of technology in design research.