Last week, I had the pleasure of delivering a guest lecture at the University of Derby, kindly invited by Dr Chinthaka Jayananda Aluthgama-Baduge.

Rather than focusing on AI as a standalone technology, the session explored the following question: How do we use AI to enhance design thinking without replacing human creativity?

We explored how AI fits across the design thinking process, from generating personas and reframing problems to prototyping and testing ideas.

One learning I made: “Human first, AI second” rule works well in a teaching context. When students are asked to create their own ideas before using AI, they are more likely to become critical towards AI-generated ideas. Why does it happen? It creates a sense of psychological ownership over own ideas. Students value, defend, and refine ideas they came up with themselves far more than those generated by AI.