In recent years, large language models have achieved breakthroughs on a wide range of benchmarks in natural language processing and continue to increase in performance. Recently, the advances of large language models have raised interest outside the natural language processing community and could have a large impact on daily life. In this paper, we pose the question: How will large language models and other foundation models shape the future product development process? We provide the reader with an overview of the subject by summarizing both recent advances in natural language processing and the use of information technology in the engineering design process. We argue that discourse should be regarded as the core of engineering design processes, and therefore should be represented in a digital artifact. On this basis, we describe how foundation models such as large language models could contribute to the design discourse by automating parts thereof that involve creativity and reasoning, and were previously reserved for humans. We describe how simulations, experiments, topology optimizations, and other process steps can be integrated into a machine-actionable, discourse-centric design process. Finally, we outline the future research that will be necessary for the implementation of the conceptualized framework.

翻译：近年来，大语言模型在自然语言处理的多项基准测试中取得了突破性进展，性能持续提升。近期，大语言模型的进步引发了自然语言处理领域之外的广泛兴趣，或将对日常生活产生重大影响。本文提出以下问题：大语言模型及其他基础模型将如何塑造未来的产品开发流程？我们通过归纳自然语言处理的最新进展以及信息技术在工程设计过程中的应用，为读者提供该课题的概述。我们认为，话语应被视为工程设计流程的核心，并因此应通过数字制品加以呈现。在此基础上，我们阐述了大语言模型等基础模型如何通过自动化此前仅由人类完成的涉及创造力与推理的环节，从而为设计话语做出贡献。我们描述了模拟、实验、拓扑优化及其他流程步骤如何被整合至可机器执行的、以话语为中心的设计过程中。最后，我们展望了为实现这一概念化框架所需的未来研究方向。