Mercedes design chief claims AI will replace him in 10 years and be much cheaper
- Mercedes-Benz chief of design has said AI will replace him
- The designer revealed he already uses AI for the marque
- He says his AI replacement will be cheaper
Published on Feb 28, 2025 at 7:23 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Feb 28, 2025 at 12:09 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
The Mercedes head of design says that he thinks his role will be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI) in the future and that the tech will make ‘designers obsolete’.
Mercedes-Benz Global Design Chief Gorden Wagener recently said that while he doesn’t think the tech is there just yet, it’s only a matter of time.
Wagener said AI technology was ‘getting better every day’.
He went on to joke that he sees himself being replaced by AI in the future – and that it will cost a lot less.
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Mercedes design chief says the technology isn’t there just yet
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past five years, there’s a good chance you’re familiar with AI – from the autonomous bots launched by the likes of Tesla, to reasonably priced robo-taxis, artificial intelligence is big business.
Tesla boss Elon Musk has even shared when he thinks AI will surpass human intelligence.
Mercedes-Benz design chief Gorden Wagener revealed that the company is already using AI – and that while it’s not quite there just yet, he sees it playing a major role in design in the future.
“We work with AI now,” Wagener told ABC News.
“You get 99 percent of c**p with AI and sheer quantity. That’s the biggest problem – sorting out the good stuff from the bad. But you get one percent good stuff and we keep learning. It’s getting better every day.
“AI will drastically change the way we design. I think in 10 years maybe most of design will be done by AI and it will make designers obsolete.”
But he thinks one day he might be replaced by artificial intelligence
The designer then went on to say that he even believes his own role could be done by AI in the future and that it will cost the company a lot less.
“My successor will be a machine and will be much cheaper than my salary,” he added with a laugh.
However, while Wagener may believe the future is AI, his views are not shared by Maserati design chief Klaus Busse.
In an interview with The Drive just last year, Busse said that AI is a helpful design tool but it’s ‘not the solution’.
“As of today, AI is not seeing the future, it’s only a mirror of everything it can find on the internet,” he added.
A very good point.
Some of the images used for this article were generated using AI
Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Claire covers a wide variety of topics, with a special focus on cars, technology, planes, cryptocurrency, and luxury.
