<![CDATA[AI and Design]]>Two Carnegie Mellon faculty explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping the world of design. Each week, we'll break down the latest AI developments, dive deep into AI topics that matter to designers, and talk with fascinating guests who are right at the intersection of these fields.

All views expressed are our own and not reflective of Carnegie Mellon or the Human-Computer Interaction Institute.

]]>https://aianddesignpod.com/Riverside.fm (https://riverside.com)Mon, 18 May 2026 03:57:25 GMTTue, 13 Jan 2026 03:30:31 GMT60Dan Saffer and Nik Martelaro<p>Two Carnegie Mellon faculty explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping the world of design. Each week, we'll break down the latest AI developments, dive deep into AI topics that matter to designers, and talk with fascinating guests who are right at the intersection of these fields.<br /><br />All views expressed are our own and not reflective of Carnegie Mellon or the Human-Computer Interaction Institute.</p>episodicDan Saffer and Nik Martelarodsaffer@andrew.cmu.eduno<![CDATA[Cognitive Surrender, Speed isn't The Bottleneck, and special guest PM Thomas Groendal]]>Wharton researchers fed people AI-generated answers, half of them deliberately wrong. The participants accepted them 73% of the time — and their confidence went up. They're calling it "cognitive surrender." Nik and Dan dig into what separates it from plain old cognitive offloading, and the design moves that might pull people back.

Then: Ethan Ding's "Claude Code Is Not Making Your Product Better," and why taste, not coding speed, is the bottleneck for product quality.

Finally, Tom Groendal, Senior Product Manager at CACI's DarkBlue Intelligence Group, on what AI actually looks like inside a working product team: melting role boundaries, a "product brain" repo that doubles as institutional memory, and the new role that keeps surfacing in conversation after conversation — the context manager.

LINKS

Thinking - Fast, Slow, and Artificial: How AI is Reshaping Human Reasoning and the Rise of Cognitive Surrender
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6097646

Cognitive Surrender
https://addyosmani.com/blog/cognitive-surrender/

Creative Tools: The Case for Keeping AI Unfinished
https://medium.com/ui-for-ai/creative-tools-the-case-for-keeping-ai-unfinished-80c601821b53

claude code is not making your product better
https://ethanding.substack.com/p/claude-code-is-not-making-your-product


Obviously Awesome (book)
https://amzn.to/433nIkR

]]>ef16779b-5929-4ef2-a05e-74dde0030a01Tue, 12 May 2026 19:57:48 GMT<p>Wharton researchers fed people AI-generated answers, half of them deliberately wrong. The participants accepted them 73% of the time — and their confidence went up. They're calling it "cognitive surrender." Nik and Dan dig into what separates it from plain old cognitive offloading, and the design moves that might pull people back.</p><p>Then: Ethan Ding's "Claude Code Is Not Making Your Product Better," and why taste, not coding speed, is the bottleneck for product quality.</p><p>Finally, Tom Groendal, Senior Product Manager at CACI's DarkBlue Intelligence Group, on what AI actually looks like inside a working product team: melting role boundaries, a "product brain" repo that doubles as institutional memory, and the new role that keeps surfacing in conversation after conversation — the context manager.<br /><br />LINKS</p><p>Thinking - Fast, Slow, and Artificial: How AI is Reshaping Human Reasoning and the Rise of Cognitive Surrender<br /><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6097646" target="_blank"><b>https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6097646</b></a></p><p></p><p>Cognitive Surrender<br /><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://addyosmani.com/blog/cognitive-surrender/" target="_blank"><b>https://addyosmani.com/blog/cognitive-surrender/</b></a></p><p></p><p>Creative Tools: The Case for Keeping AI Unfinished<br /><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://medium.com/ui-for-ai/creative-tools-the-case-for-keeping-ai-unfinished-80c601821b53" target="_blank"><b>https://medium.com/ui-for-ai/creative-tools-the-case-for-keeping-ai-unfinished-80c601821b53</b></a></p><p></p><p>claude code is not making your product better<br /><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://ethanding.substack.com/p/claude-code-is-not-making-your-product" target="_blank"><b>https://ethanding.substack.com/p/claude-code-is-not-making-your-product</b></a></p><p><br />Obviously Awesome (book)<br /><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://amzn.to/433nIkR" target="_blank"><b>https://amzn.to/433nIkR</b></a></p>no00:57:24118Cognitive Surrender, Speed isn't The Bottleneck, and special guest PM Thomas Groendalfull<![CDATA[Agent Users, New Design Team Structures, Team Dynamics, AI Chat Problems, Constraints Not Prompts]]>Dan and Nik talk about how to design for your next user being an agent, the impact of AI on team structure and dynamics, the challenge of memory and recall in conversation-based AI systems, and the shift towards AI experience design focused on constraints, not prompts.

Chapters

  • 00:00 Your Next User is an Agent
  • 12:23 Rethinking the Shape of Design Teams in AI World
  • 17:03 The Impact of AI Efficiency on Team Interactions
  • 24:39 The Forgotten Conversation Problem in AI
  • 31:14 The End of Prompting: AI Experience Design with Constraints

LINKS
Your product has a new user. It’s not human.
https://www.elenaverna.com/p/your-product-has-a-new-user-its-not

Rethinking the shape of design teams in an AI world
https://uxdesign.cc/rethinking-the-shape-of-design-teams-in-an-ai-world-82f986bf9a27

The “Bug-Free” Workforce: How AI Efficiency Is Subtly Disrupting The Interactions That Build Strong Teams

https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2026/04/bug-free-workforce-ai-disrupting-teams/

The forgotten conversation problem in AI chat

https://uxdesign.cc/the-forgotten-conversation-problem-in-ai-chat-4d3d0c3ea525

The End of Prompting: Why the Future of AI Experience Design Is Constraint-First

https://uxmag.com/articles/the-end-of-prompting-why-the-future-of-ai-experience-design-is-constraint-first

]]>986bc8cf-0a84-4f04-af77-387d27b96fa9Tue, 05 May 2026 14:53:47 GMT<p>Dan and Nik talk about how to design for your next user being an agent, the impact of AI on team structure and dynamics, the challenge of memory and recall in conversation-based AI systems, and the shift towards AI experience design focused on constraints, not prompts. </p><p></p><p>Chapters</p><ul><li>00:00 Your Next User is an Agent</li><li>12:23 Rethinking the Shape of Design Teams in AI World</li><li>17:03 The Impact of AI Efficiency on Team Interactions</li><li>24:39 The Forgotten Conversation Problem in AI</li><li>31:14 The End of Prompting: AI Experience Design with Constraints</li></ul><p></p><p>LINKS<br />Your product has a new user. It’s not human.<br /><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.elenaverna.com/p/your-product-has-a-new-user-its-not" target="_blank">https://www.elenaverna.com/p/your-product-has-a-new-user-its-not</a><br /><br />Rethinking the shape of design teams in an AI world<br /><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://uxdesign.cc/rethinking-the-shape-of-design-teams-in-an-ai-world-82f986bf9a27" target="_blank">https://uxdesign.cc/rethinking-the-shape-of-design-teams-in-an-ai-world-82f986bf9a27</a></p><p></p><p>The “Bug-Free” Workforce: How AI Efficiency Is Subtly Disrupting The Interactions That Build Strong Teams</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2026/04/bug-free-workforce-ai-disrupting-teams/" target="_blank">https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2026/04/bug-free-workforce-ai-disrupting-teams/</a></p><p></p><p>The forgotten conversation problem in AI chat</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://uxdesign.cc/the-forgotten-conversation-problem-in-ai-chat-4d3d0c3ea525" target="_blank">https://uxdesign.cc/the-forgotten-conversation-problem-in-ai-chat-4d3d0c3ea525</a></p><p></p><p>The End of Prompting: Why the Future of AI Experience Design Is Constraint-First</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://uxmag.com/articles/the-end-of-prompting-why-the-future-of-ai-experience-design-is-constraint-first" target="_blank">https://uxmag.com/articles/the-end-of-prompting-why-the-future-of-ai-experience-design-is-constraint-first</a><br /></p>no00:42:11117Agent Users, New Design Team Structures, Team Dynamics, AI Chat Problems, Constraints Not Promptsfull<![CDATA[Deep Dive: AI Skills (with Google's MC Dean)]]>Google's MC Dean, the author of over 100 AI skills for designers on everything from accessibility to moods, joins Nik and Dan to talk about Skills: how to make them, how to use them, and what the future of them could be.

LINKS

MC Dean on Substack
https://marieclairedean.substack.com/

MC Dean on Github
https://github.com/owl-listener

Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman book
https://amzn.to/4sYGQek

]]>f775d85d-920d-47f5-acf8-a510d8aa867aTue, 28 Apr 2026 14:02:58 GMT<p>Google's MC Dean, the author of over 100 AI skills for designers on everything from accessibility to moods, joins Nik and Dan to talk about Skills: how to make them, how to use them, and what the future of them could be.<br /><br />LINKS<br /><br />MC Dean on Substack<br /><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://marieclairedean.substack.com/" target="_blank">https://marieclairedean.substack.com/</a><br /><br />MC Dean on Github<br /><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://github.com/owl-listener" target="_blank">https://github.com/owl-listener</a><br /><br />Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman book<br /><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://amzn.to/4sYGQek" target="_blank">https://amzn.to/4sYGQek</a></p>no00:47:38116Deep Dive: AI Skills (with Google's MC Dean)full<![CDATA[Claude Design, Innovative AI and Design Research from CHI 2026]]>Surprise surprise, Dan and Nik talk about Anthropic's launch of Claude Design. The Nik does a set of rapid-fire interviews from the 2026 CHI conference, featuring the latest HCI research in AI and Design.

]]>5de8f51a-9cf3-40cf-94ed-4141d982fb8aTue, 21 Apr 2026 12:36:44 GMT<p>Surprise surprise, Dan and Nik talk about Anthropic's launch of Claude Design. The Nik does a set of rapid-fire interviews from the 2026 CHI conference, featuring the latest HCI research in AI and Design.</p>no00:55:50115Claude Design, Innovative AI and Design Research from CHI 2026full<![CDATA[Insights from Anthropic's Head of Design, Why AI UX Sucks, AI Aesthetics, Human-Centered Design 2.0]]>Dan checks out a Fast Company interview with Anthropic's Head of Design Joel Lewenstein and finds reasons for hope. Dmitry Kargaev points out the flaws of AI UX and has some reasons for why is happens. A catalog of AI brand archetypes, and Dan applauds Patrizia Bertini's call to rethink Human-Centered Design to be less about "users" and more about "citizens."

Links:

Fast Company Interview with Joel Lewenstein

https://www.fastcompany.com/91519289/inside-anthropics-biggest-design-choices

AI Products Have Terrible UX: Here's Why

https://hackernoon.com/ai-products-have-terrible-ux-heres-why

Aesthetics of AI

https://www.acolorbright.com/en/insights/aesthetics-of-ai

Human-Centred Design has grown up. It’s time we did too

https://uxdesign.cc/human-centred-design-has-grown-up-it-is-time-we-did-too-766601c1fc7d

We're All Doing The Same Job Now

https://odannyboy.medium.com/were-all-doing-the-same-job-now-81924e0c80d6

The Existential Designer

https://odannyboy.medium.com/the-existential-designer-facilitating-meaning-through-interaction-8952c358ec52

]]>50b7adbc-1080-4d2b-bbb8-c5e95c5ec90fTue, 14 Apr 2026 03:35:02 GMT<p>Dan checks out a Fast Company interview with Anthropic's Head of Design Joel Lewenstein and finds reasons for hope. Dmitry Kargaev points out the flaws of AI UX and has some reasons for why is happens. A catalog of AI brand archetypes, and Dan applauds Patrizia Bertini's call to rethink Human-Centered Design to be less about "users" and more about "citizens."</p><p></p><p><b>Links:</b></p><p>Fast Company Interview with Joel Lewenstein</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.fastcompany.com/91519289/inside-anthropics-biggest-design-choices" target="_blank">https://www.fastcompany.com/91519289/inside-anthropics-biggest-design-choices</a></p><p></p><p>AI Products Have Terrible UX: Here's Why</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://hackernoon.com/ai-products-have-terrible-ux-heres-why" target="_blank">https://hackernoon.com/ai-products-have-terrible-ux-heres-why</a></p><p></p><p>Aesthetics of AI</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.acolorbright.com/en/insights/aesthetics-of-ai" target="_blank">https://www.acolorbright.com/en/insights/aesthetics-of-ai</a></p><p></p><p>Human-Centred Design has grown up. It’s time we did too</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://uxdesign.cc/human-centred-design-has-grown-up-it-is-time-we-did-too-766601c1fc7d" target="_blank">https://uxdesign.cc/human-centred-design-has-grown-up-it-is-time-we-did-too-766601c1fc7d</a></p><p></p><p>We're All Doing The Same Job Now</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://odannyboy.medium.com/were-all-doing-the-same-job-now-81924e0c80d6" target="_blank">https://odannyboy.medium.com/were-all-doing-the-same-job-now-81924e0c80d6</a></p><p></p><p>The Existential Designer</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://odannyboy.medium.com/the-existential-designer-facilitating-meaning-through-interaction-8952c358ec52" target="_blank">https://odannyboy.medium.com/the-existential-designer-facilitating-meaning-through-interaction-8952c358ec52</a></p>no00:30:06114Insights from Anthropic's Head of Design, Why AI UX Sucks, AI Aesthetics, Human-Centered Design 2.0full<![CDATA[Deep Dive: The Future of Design Practice and Process (with author Mike Kuniavsky)]]>Dan, Nik, and special guest Mike Kuniavsky ("Observing the User Experience") do a deep dive into the impact of AI on the traditional design practice and process. They get into the disappearing/evolving role of design artifacts, the influence of AI on design literacy, and the reevaluation of the design process in the age of AI. AI has triggered the democratization of design tools, a shift in organizational power dynamics, and ofttimes the complete disregard for of unknown unknowns. They also explore the changing product risk surface, the redefinition of scale in design practice, and the role of synthetic users in user-centered design.


LINKS:

Mike's article "Design practice assumes a world that no longer exists: what’s next?" https://medium.com/@mikekuniavsky/design-practice-assumes-a-world-that-no-longer-exists-whats-next-ca3f588ad4d8

Other recent articles on Design Process:

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/design-process-isnt-dead/

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/design-process-isnt-dead/

https://medium.com/@kristian.bjornhaug/the-design-process-isnt-dead-but-ai-is-changing-where-design-happens-220dce1b3acd

https://medium.com/design-bootcamp/the-new-design-process-2-6-2b5967507263

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/design-process-isnt-dead-its-only-thing-save-us-rick-starbuck-7pbmc/


“Cognitive surrender” leads AI users to abandon logical thinking, research finds https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/04/research-finds-ai-users-scarily-willing-to-surrender-their-cognition-to-llms/

]]>c53d777a-16f3-4d9b-a1bb-b8eea6e2adffTue, 07 Apr 2026 13:19:08 GMT<p>Dan, Nik, and special guest Mike Kuniavsky ("Observing the User Experience") do a deep dive into the impact of AI on the traditional design practice and process. They get into the disappearing/evolving role of design artifacts, the influence of AI on design literacy, and the reevaluation of the design process in the age of AI. AI has triggered the democratization of design tools, a shift in organizational power dynamics, and ofttimes the complete disregard for of unknown unknowns. They also explore the changing product risk surface, the redefinition of scale in design practice, and the role of synthetic users in user-centered design.</p><p><br />LINKS:</p><p>Mike's article "Design practice assumes a world that no longer exists: what’s next?" <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://medium.com/@mikekuniavsky/design-practice-assumes-a-world-that-no-longer-exists-whats-next-ca3f588ad4d8" target="_blank">https://medium.com/@mikekuniavsky/design-practice-assumes-a-world-that-no-longer-exists-whats-next-ca3f588ad4d8</a><br /></p><p>Other recent articles on Design Process:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.nngroup.com/articles/design-process-isnt-dead/" target="_blank">https://www.nngroup.com/articles/design-process-isnt-dead/</a></p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.nngroup.com/articles/design-process-isnt-dead/" target="_blank">https://www.nngroup.com/articles/design-process-isnt-dead/</a></p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://medium.com/@kristian.bjornhaug/the-design-process-isnt-dead-but-ai-is-changing-where-design-happens-220dce1b3acd" target="_blank">https://medium.com/@kristian.bjornhaug/the-design-process-isnt-dead-but-ai-is-changing-where-design-happens-220dce1b3acd</a></p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://medium.com/design-bootcamp/the-new-design-process-2-6-2b5967507263" target="_blank">https://medium.com/design-bootcamp/the-new-design-process-2-6-2b5967507263</a></p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/design-process-isnt-dead-its-only-thing-save-us-rick-starbuck-7pbmc/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/design-process-isnt-dead-its-only-thing-save-us-rick-starbuck-7pbmc/</a></p><p><br />“Cognitive surrender” leads AI users to abandon logical thinking, research finds <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/04/research-finds-ai-users-scarily-willing-to-surrender-their-cognition-to-llms/" target="_blank">https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/04/research-finds-ai-users-scarily-willing-to-surrender-their-cognition-to-llms/</a></p>no00:54:01113Deep Dive: The Future of Design Practice and Process (with author Mike Kuniavsky)full<![CDATA[Claude Computer Use, Product Intuition, Author Chris Noessel ("Designing Assistant Technology")]]>Dan and Nik talk about Anthropic's latest announcement about computer use and its impact on how designers design screens. Then they discuss the article "AI didn't kill product intuition. It exposed who never had it." Author Chris Noessel stops by to talk about his new book Designing Assistant Technology and the challenges and considerations in designing AI to assist users. The conversation touches on the risks of descaling and over-reliance, and cthe importance of keeping cognitive engagement in AI design.

https://amzn.to/414zOta
https://www.productparty.us/p/ai-didnt-kill-product-intuition-it

]]>cdf7d38e-f0d7-429a-b75a-58dfd7e82c27Tue, 31 Mar 2026 12:42:44 GMT<p>Dan and Nik talk about Anthropic's latest announcement about computer use and its impact on how designers design screens. Then they discuss the article "<b>AI didn't kill product intuition. It exposed who never had it." </b>Author Chris Noessel stops by to talk about his new book Designing Assistant Technology and the challenges and considerations in designing AI to assist users. The conversation touches on the risks of descaling and over-reliance, and cthe importance of keeping cognitive engagement in AI design.</p><p></p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://amzn.to/414zOta" target="_blank">https://amzn.to/414zOta</a><br /><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.productparty.us/p/ai-didnt-kill-product-intuition-it" target="_blank">https://www.productparty.us/p/ai-didnt-kill-product-intuition-it</a></p>no00:42:19112Claude Computer Use, Product Intuition, Author Chris Noessel ("Designing Assistant Technology")full<![CDATA[Google Stitch, 2026 Design in Tech Report, Downloadable Design Skills]]>Dan and Nik offer opinions on Google Stitch, a new design tool that just dropped from Google Labs. They also dig deep into John Maeda's 2026 Design in Tech report, debating his key insights for designers in the evolving landscape of AI and design. Lastly, a discussion on the codification, sharing and future of downloadable design skills.

Google Stitch: https://stitch.withgoogle.com/
Design in Tech 2026: https://designintech.report/
MC Dean's Skills: https://substack.com/@marieclairedean/p-190232071 and https://substack.com/@marieclairedean/p-190956350

]]>d90effda-9aeb-489e-9f00-b3ed873400a3Wed, 25 Mar 2026 01:34:14 GMT<p>Dan and Nik offer opinions on Google Stitch, a new design tool that just dropped from Google Labs. They also dig deep into John Maeda's 2026 Design in Tech report, debating his key insights for designers in the evolving landscape of AI and design. Lastly, a discussion on the codification, sharing and future of downloadable design skills.</p><p></p><p>Google Stitch: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://stitch.withgoogle.com/" target="_blank">https://stitch.withgoogle.com/</a><br />Design in Tech 2026: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://designintech.report/" target="_blank">https://designintech.report/</a><br />MC Dean's Skills: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://substack.com/@marieclairedean/p-190232071" target="_blank">https://substack.com/@marieclairedean/p-190232071</a> and <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://substack.com/@marieclairedean/p-190956350" target="_blank">https://substack.com/@marieclairedean/p-190956350</a></p>no00:52:26111Google Stitch, 2026 Design in Tech Report, Downloadable Design Skillsfull<![CDATA[AI Image Editors, Institutional v Individual AI, Author Louise MacFadyen ("Designing AI Interfaces")]]>Nik and Dan talk about new AI image editing tools from Canva and Adobe and the value of baking AI right into existing tools. The conversation switches to a provocative new essay by George Sivulka on the importance of Institutional AI and not just Individual AI, which can be chaotic if it's not coordinated.

https://x.com/gsivulka/status/2031797989908627849

Lastly, Dan interviews Louise Macfadyn, author of the upcoming book Designing AI Interfaces.

https://amzn.to/4lAf9qi

]]>9bc449bd-e9d7-473d-8dd5-e062de588236Tue, 17 Mar 2026 13:01:15 GMT<p>Nik and Dan talk about new AI image editing tools from Canva and Adobe and the value of baking AI right into existing tools. The conversation switches to a provocative new essay by George Sivulka on the importance of Institutional AI and not just Individual AI, which can be chaotic if it's not coordinated.<br /><br /><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://x.com/gsivulka/status/2031797989908627849" target="_blank">https://x.com/gsivulka/status/2031797989908627849</a><br /><br />Lastly, Dan interviews Louise Macfadyn, author of the upcoming book Designing AI Interfaces.</p><p></p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://amzn.to/4lAf9qi" target="_blank">https://amzn.to/4lAf9qi</a><br /></p>no00:53:36110AI Image Editors, Institutional v Individual AI, Author Louise MacFadyen ("Designing AI Interfaces")full<![CDATA[Very Special Hot Takes Episode: Product Sense, AI Brain Fry, Real Time UI and much much more]]>There was just too many interesting stories this week, so Nik and Dan do a Very Special Hot Takes episode with a wide-ranging conversation that covers 14 topics, including the importance of product sense, open source tools, the cultivation of design judgment, the urgency of AI regulation, the future of AI images, the impact of AI on design jobs, real-time UI, writing specs for AI agents, and breaking the echo chamber in interfaces.

Chapters

  • 01:05 AI Brain Fry
  • 02:47 The Importance of Product Sense
  • 05:40 Collaborative Editing in AI-Generated Images
  • 07:52 The Model is The Machine
  • 12:06 User Experience and Proprietary Data in AI Products
  • 16:06 Sacred Values in AI
  • 19:50 OpenPencil
  • 22:46 Training Design Judgment
  • 26:57 The Critical Need for AI Regulation
  • 30:01 The Future of AI Image Generation
  • 31:50 Sorting Designers
  • 35:38 Real-Time UI
  • 41:58 Writing Effective Specs for AI Agents
  • 45:28 Breaking the Echo Chamber in Interfaces
]]>db0aa216-648e-43da-a835-1f2737f4267bTue, 10 Mar 2026 12:40:52 GMT<p>There was just too many interesting stories this week, so Nik and Dan do a Very Special Hot Takes episode with a wide-ranging conversation that covers 14 topics, including the importance of product sense, open source tools, the cultivation of design judgment, the urgency of AI regulation, the future of AI images, the impact of AI on design jobs, real-time UI, writing specs for AI agents, and breaking the echo chamber in interfaces. </p><p></p><p>Chapters</p><ul><li>01:05 AI Brain Fry </li><li>02:47 The Importance of Product Sense </li><li>05:40 Collaborative Editing in AI-Generated Images </li><li>07:52 The Model is The Machine </li><li>12:06 User Experience and Proprietary Data in AI Products</li><li>16:06 Sacred Values in AI </li><li>19:50 OpenPencil </li><li>22:46 Training Design Judgment </li><li>26:57 The Critical Need for AI Regulation </li><li>30:01 The Future of AI Image Generation </li><li>31:50 Sorting Designers </li><li>35:38 Real-Time UI </li><li>41:58 Writing Effective Specs for AI Agents </li><li>45:28 Breaking the Echo Chamber in Interfaces</li></ul>no00:50:5819Very Special Hot Takes Episode: Product Sense, AI Brain Fry, Real Time UI and much much morefull<![CDATA[Jenny Wen's Three Types of AI Designers, Designers Should Be Crushing It, Managing AI Pressure]]>Dan and Nik delve into the evolving role of designers in the age of AI, emphasizing the need for adaptability, control of your own process, and how vision and judgement are design's superpowers. This episode explores the impact of AI on the design process, the importance of maintaining focus on the work, and the challenges of keeping up with the rapid pace of change in the industry.

]]>d9017298-af68-4204-a1f2-0ad8636b3bc1Tue, 03 Mar 2026 20:58:28 GMT<p>Dan and Nik delve into the evolving role of designers in the age of AI, emphasizing the need for adaptability, control of your own process, and how vision and judgement are design's superpowers. This episode explores the impact of AI on the design process, the importance of maintaining focus on the work, and the challenges of keeping up with the rapid pace of change in the industry.</p>no00:40:2118Jenny Wen's Three Types of AI Designers, Designers Should Be Crushing It, Managing AI Pressurefull<![CDATA[Code and Canvas, Computer Use Agents, The Mythical Agent-Month, Will "Taste" Save Designers?]]>Nik and Dan talk about another announcement from Figma and Anthropic and the impact on the future of design tools. They examine a new research paper from Apple and the HCII on how to best design computer use agents, and talk about Wes McKinney's article The Mythical Agent-Month. They end with discussing the role of taste in an AI world and if it is the skill designers should be focusing on.

]]>387d002c-98e4-4396-b5ea-8437673a397dTue, 24 Feb 2026 23:12:25 GMT<p>Nik and Dan talk about another announcement from Figma and Anthropic and the impact on the future of design tools. They examine a new research paper from Apple and the HCII on how to best design computer use agents, and talk about Wes McKinney's article The Mythical Agent-Month. They end with discussing the role of taste in an AI world and if it is the skill designers should be focusing on.</p><p></p><p></p>no00:42:0517Code and Canvas, Computer Use Agents, The Mythical Agent-Month, Will "Taste" Save Designers?full<![CDATA[State of The Designer 2026, User Control of AI, Waiting is the New Interruption, AI Intensifies Work]]>Dan and Nik delve into the Figma's 2026 State of the Designer Report, people feeling like AI is being shoved at them, the challenges related to AI's impact on flow and attention, and the Harvard Business Report's implications of AI on job satisfaction and work intensification.

]]>d4c4b2bc-9ebf-4661-8b31-b85a08e65012Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:39:02 GMT<p>Dan and Nik delve into the Figma's 2026 State of the Designer Report, people feeling like AI is being shoved at them, the challenges related to AI's impact on flow and attention, and the Harvard Business Report's implications of AI on job satisfaction and work intensification.</p>no00:33:5416State of The Designer 2026, User Control of AI, Waiting is the New Interruption, AI Intensifies Workfull<![CDATA[OpenAI's Frontier, The Return of The Intuitive Designer, Special Guest: Figma's Shane Johnson]]>Dan and Nik chat about OpenAI's new Frontier platform and what it might mean for designers and even their career paths. We then discuss James Harrison's essay "The Return of The Intuitive Designer." Then Dan interviews Shane Johnson, Principal User Researcher at Figma, on the role that user research has in this AI world.

]]>a67b154b-dacd-4a53-8dfd-8a6b531fdbd8Tue, 10 Feb 2026 11:00:00 GMT<p>Dan and Nik chat about OpenAI's new Frontier platform and what it might mean for designers and even their career paths. We then discuss James Harrison's essay "The Return of The Intuitive Designer." Then Dan interviews Shane Johnson, Principal User Researcher at Figma, on the role that user research has in this AI world.</p>no00:47:4515OpenAI's Frontier, The Return of The Intuitive Designer, Special Guest: Figma's Shane Johnsonfull<![CDATA[Figma MCP, UX vs MX, OpenClaw, Creativity Research, and User Research in 2026]]>Nik and Dan dive deep into Figma MCP and the need for a dual strategy for experience design, that considers both human and AI website visitors. Of course Clawdbot/Moltbot/OpenClaw came up. Some research on creativity, and finally the role of user researchers in the AI world.

]]>ddfb04a6-0464-4692-9dd9-e9debf882c73Tue, 03 Feb 2026 11:00:00 GMT<p>Nik and Dan dive deep into Figma MCP and the need for a dual strategy for experience design, that considers both human and AI website visitors. Of course Clawdbot/Moltbot/OpenClaw came up. Some research on creativity, and finally the role of user researchers in the AI world.</p>no00:43:3114Figma MCP, UX vs MX, OpenClaw, Creativity Research, and User Research in 2026full<![CDATA[Google AI Studio Design Mode, AI at Davos, Claude's Constitution, and Software Too Cheap to Meter]]>Dan and Nik discuss the rumor of Google's AI Studio getting a design mode, Anthropic and DeepMind CEOs at Davos talking about the future of AI, Anthropic's Constitution for Claude, and the concept of software too cheap to meter.

]]>bc70883f-c405-4a70-941a-21ebe4981048Tue, 27 Jan 2026 15:52:44 GMT<p>Dan and Nik discuss the rumor of Google's AI Studio getting a design mode, Anthropic and DeepMind CEOs at Davos talking about the future of AI, Anthropic's Constitution for Claude, and the concept of software too cheap to meter.</p>no00:41:5213Google AI Studio Design Mode, AI at Davos, Claude's Constitution, and Software Too Cheap to Meterfull<![CDATA[Impeccable, AI as Entertainment, The Four Horsemen of the AIpocalypse]]>Nik and Dan discuss Impeccable: a set of skills for AI agents to improve the "AI House Style" designs that AIs are churning out. Then, talking about a new research paper that suggests AI's greatest potential is as entertainment and cultural production. Lastly, we review Dan's article that categorizes four possible futures for AI, including AI disappearing into existing apps, specialized AI features, AI as an operating system, and AI as a universal intermediary.

]]>bbd08ec0-2679-4d08-9930-1e1aef148408Tue, 20 Jan 2026 16:26:20 GMT<p>Nik and Dan discuss Impeccable: a set of skills for AI agents to improve the "AI House Style" designs that AIs are churning out. Then, talking about a new research paper that suggests AI's greatest potential is as entertainment and cultural production. Lastly, we review Dan's article that categorizes four possible futures for AI, including AI disappearing into existing apps, specialized AI features, AI as an operating system, and AI as a universal intermediary.</p>no00:40:2412Impeccable, AI as Entertainment, The Four Horsemen of the AIpocalypsefull<![CDATA[Microsoft Copilot Checkout, Google A2UI, Razer Ava, 2026 Predictions]]>On this week's episode, Nik and Dan discussed:

  • Microsoft’s Copilot Checkout, a new feature that lets US shoppers complete purchases directly inside Copilot without ever leaving the chat window.
  • Google's A2UI, an open-source specification that allows AI agents to generate user interfaces on the fly.
  • And straight from CES, a holographic AI desk companion from Razer.

Plus: our AI and Design Predictions for 2026.

]]>23359897-8659-4e8f-a6b4-2bd775ab3ce9Tue, 13 Jan 2026 03:35:37 GMT<p>On this week's episode, Nik and Dan discussed:<br /></p><ul><li><b>Microsoft’s Copilot Checkout,</b> a new feature that lets US shoppers complete purchases directly inside Copilot without ever leaving the chat window.<br /></li><li><b>Google's A2UI</b>, an open-source specification that allows AI agents to generate user interfaces on the fly.<br /></li><li>And straight from CES, <b>a holographic AI desk companion from Razer</b>.<br /></li></ul><p>Plus: our AI and Design Predictions for 2026.</p>no00:38:0411Microsoft Copilot Checkout, Google A2UI, Razer Ava, 2026 Predictionsfull