Gorden Wagener, Chief of Design at Mercedes-Benz, has made a bold prediction that artificial intelligence (AI) will likely replace human designers within the next decade, transforming the automotive design landscape. While acknowledging that AI-generated designs are still in their infancy, Wagener emphasized the rapid improvements in the technology and its increasing role in the company’s design processes.
In a recent interview, Wagener shared that while most AI-generated designs still fall short of expectations, a small percentage already meets high standards. He believes AI’s capabilities are advancing quickly, positioning it as a critical tool for the future of automotive design. “We work with AI now,” he said. “You get 99 percent of bad designs, but the 1 percent that’s good is worth it.”
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Looking ahead, Wagener predicted that within 10 years, AI will handle most design work in the automotive industry, potentially making human designers obsolete. He humorously added that his own position might be taken over by a machine that would come at a far lower cost. “My successor will be a machine,” Wagener joked.
While Mercedes-Benz is already incorporating AI into various design projects, including luxury real estate developments, Wagener’s vision is not universally shared. Some designers, like Maserati’s Klaus Busse, believe AI is a valuable tool but caution against its full integration, noting that AI tends to replicate existing designs rather than innovate. Nevertheless, as AI continues to evolve, its influence on automotive design is becoming increasingly undeniable.
