  Artificial intelligence AI can bring substantial benefits to society by
helping to reduce costs, increase efficiency and enable new solutions to
complex problems. Using Floridi's notion of how to design the 'infosphere' as a
starting point, in this chapter I consider the question: what are the limits of
design, i.e. what are the conceptual constraints on designing AI for social
good? The main argument of this chapter is that while design is a useful
conceptual tool to shape technologies and societies, collective efforts towards
designing future societies are constrained by both internal and external
factors. Internal constraints on design are discussed by evoking Hardin's
thought experiment regarding 'the Tragedy of the Commons'. Further, Hayek's
classical distinction between 'cosmos' and 'taxis' is used to demarcate
external constraints on design. Finally, five design principles are presented
which are aimed at helping policymakers manage the internal and external
constraints on design. A successful approach to designing future societies
needs to account for the emergent properties of complex systems by allowing
space for serendipity and socio-technological coevolution.
