In 2006, author Howard Gardner published a book titled Five Minds for the Future. The book considers how global trends in contemporary society, such as the increasing power of and reliance on technology, will affect the future of education and the development of human intelligence. The book goes on to outline a theoretical model of five different types of intelligences and the pertinent role each will play in the future. While the book was written and published nearly two decades ago, many of Gardner’s trends, forecasts, and analyses have proven useful over the progression of time, and continue to increase in global influence. As such, his cognitive “Five Minds” model warrants revisiting, particularly in the current design education landscape marked by rapid technological innovation and disruption, as well as in light of the rapid and widespread adoption of artificial intelligence. Through qualitative desktop research and literature review, this article aims to describe and evaluate the current technological character of design practice and education in relation to the five various intelligences outlined by Gardner. The aim of this work is to provide a practical example of a framework through which we can begin to assess and even interpret some of the effects of artificial intelligence (AI) on education, and in particular, on the discipline of design. The effect of which will allow for a less alarmist and more structured approach to the future discourse on AI in design education. By using Gardner’s Five Minds for the Future (2006) as a framework, this paper contributes to the discussions around AI’s effect on design practice and education through a lens that is not strictly technical in nature, nor sentimental in its perspective. Gardner’s framework allows educational discussions to concern themselves with the ends that matter most: the type of minds that the enterprise seeks to develop, as these are ultimately the minds that will occupy and shape society. This paper concludes by cautioning that through the lens of Gardner's framework the widespread adoption of AI in design education, as well as in practice, runs counter to the educational journeys necessary for the development of the intelligences identified.