Designers have "signed away all of our ideas" to Instagram says Tom Dixon

Designers shouldn't worry about their ideas being stolen by AI since they have already lost control of their intellectual property to social media platforms, Tom Dixon has said at the Global Design Forum in Istanbul.

During a panel discussion at the London Design Festival (LDF)-backed event on Thursday, the British designer was asked about how the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) might compromise the idea of authorship in design, given that deep-learning models are trained on human-made work.

In response, Dixon pointed out that it is already "virtually impossible" to protect designs, and that building on other people's ideas has long been a part of the discipline.

"So I think, you know, whatever happens, we're in a world where every idea belongs to everybody else," Dixon said. "We've signed away all of our ideas just by putting the picture on Instagram, for instance."

"So although it's frustrating if you're trying to monetise it or extract value from it, the reality is the genie is out the box, and you can't really put it back in in terms of owning your own idea," he added.

"And so I think it's a tough one. If you're trying to protect, you can get obsessed with protecting ideas rather than creating."

By "signing away our rights" even to the images of their creations to social media platforms like Instagram, designers have already effectively relinquished ownership, even if unconsciously, he said.

"My concern doesn't come from AI and design"

Dixon also suggested that fears about AI's potential impact on design should not be the focus of conversations around the technology.

"Designers need to use the latest tools effectively, and it may speed up the opportunities to improve things," he said.

"In the end, design is about improvement, right? And we desperately need to improve everything right now. So if we're clever, we'll use it, you know, for the good."

"I mean, my concern doesn't come from AI and design, my concern comes from AI in warfare, AI in fraud. So as a tool, it's the most monumental opportunity for designers right now."

Appearing on the panel alongside Dixon, French-Lebanese architect Lina Ghotmeh expressed doubt that AI will be able to replace architects.

"I still think in architecture it's very difficult, actually, for AI to replace architects, because architecture is about creating places for people, and you have to have that kind of sensitivity to space and environment," she said.

"And AI will allow us to deal with the complexity behind designing, for example, parametrics of climate or bringing on complex givens like the behaviour of people and spaces. But I wouldn't think it can replace us."

Midjourney designs "look alien"

She added that she has been dissatisfied with the work produced by image-generating AI models such as Midjourney.

"Actually, we always try when we're designing, using those tools – Midjourney and others – to play with those," she said.

"But everything that comes up with those in a program looks so alien."

The talk was taking place in The Red Room, an installation created to host Global Design Forum Istanbul sessions by local studio NUN Architecture and creative platform People Places Ideas.

Set within the open-air atrium of the seventh-century church Hagia Irene, part of Istanbul's famous Topkapı Palace complex, the monochromatic intervention references the ochre tones commonly found in Istanbul's historic architecture.

Translucent, gauzy red tulle has been draped down the walls and across the top of the atrium to form a translucent roof, with a red carpet and specially designed red plywood chairs completing the dream-like effect.

Global Design Forum is the talks platform of LDF. The inaugural Istanbul edition combines a two-day programme of discussions with installations across the city, under the artistic direction of local artist and designer Melek Zeynep Bulut.

Global Design Forum Istanbul is taking place at the Topkapı Palace, Istanbul, Turkey from 14-15 May 2026, with installations across the city. Visit Dezeen Events Guide for more architecture and design events around the world.

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