Willem van der Maden

When Discourse Stalls: Moving Past Five Semantic Stopsigns about Generative AI in Design Research

This essay (co-authored by Willem van der Maden, Vera van der Burg, Brett A Halperin, Petra Jääskeläinen, Joseph Lindley, Derek Lomas, Timothy Merritt) examines how Generative AI (GenAI) is rapidly transforming design practices and how discourse often falls into over-simplified narratives that impede meaningful research and practical progress. We identify and deconstruct five prevalent "semantic stopsigns" — reductive framings about GenAI in design that halt deeper inquiry and limit productive engagement. Reflecting upon two expert workshops at ACM conferences and semi-structured interviews with design practitioners, we analyze how these stopsigns manifest in research and practice. Our analysis develops mid-level knowledge that bridges theoretical discourse and practical implementation, helping designers and researchers interrogate common assumptions about GenAI in their own contexts. By recasting these stopsigns into more nuanced frameworks, we provide the design research community with practical approaches for thinking about and working with these emerging technologies.