#003: A Product Designer’s hot takes on AI, and what to expect.

AI is inevitable. AI is super hot right now. AI is in every sentence.

As I was brainstorming topics to write about for this series, I concluded it would only be right to talk about AI and state my personal opinions. In addition, I want to make this series more meaningful and write about current events and trends I am experiencing as a Product Designer. My goal is to turn this series into a digital time capsule that will be interesting to look back on years from now. With that said, let’s get started with the Hot Takes.

As a Product Designer, I am not overly impressed or intimidated by anything I have experienced or witnessed with AI, yet. Yes, the power we now have to generate content is a game-changer and job-market disrupter. However, what a machine will never be able to replace is the ability to connect, communicate, and collaborate with another human. If a machine ever learns how to do that, I hope to be on Mars running around with bionic legs by then.

My second hot take is that AI will make lazy people lazier and capable people exponentially more capable. AI undeniably raises the skill floor of the workforce and crucially provides another level of speed and efficiency to every team. I have already witnessed how people try to cut corners with AI or use AI as a marketing tool, and the outcome is always bland or underwhelming. It reminds me of an old saying that I will remix: “If you give a person a fish, then they will be fed for one day. If you teach a person how to fish, then they will never be hungry again.” I like to see AI as an augmentation rather than a crutch, and a virtual assistant that wants to help my unique lifestyle.

Relevantly, I was recently inspired by how AI generated content and then subsequently formatted it, and I wanted to utilize that for my writing style in the series. I noticed patterns such as information being grouped in short paragraphs, bulleted lists, and content broken up by bold sentences. I enjoyed absorbing content in that short form, so I wanted to emulate that experience for my articles. Is this breaking the 4th wall? Anyway, here are some high-level groups of thoughts to expand on my AI opinions.

The largest value that AI currently provides me:

• Generating world-class content, such as Images, Copy, Videos, and Audio, from scratch in seconds. Once I have all the pieces, then I can assemble the pieces with my human skills. This saves so much time, I am excited to see what people start coming up with. As for me, I am still in an experimental phase and discovering what is possible.

• Writing code from scratch, and learning the semantics behind implementation of the code. I have always struggled with focusing, and when it came to learning how to write code from scratch it was a near impossible task. Now that AI can match my attention span, I am learning things I never thought I would in my lifetime.

• Entertainment and fascination. I would say that I am easily amused, and a majority of my passion in life comes from seeking laughter. Some of the hardest laughs I have had recently are witnessing others generate stories with AI, and make incredibly ridiculous photos and videos. “Memes”, if you will. I am honestly amazed at some things that I see on the internet these days, and I have been on the internet for a pretty long time. I am not sure if that is a good thing or not.

The largest impact AI will have on the Product Design Industry:

• As always, the industry will remain in a constant state of motion and we must be able to adapt quickly if we want to stay afloat. As long as you as aware of the changes around you, then you will remain in motion with the trend. I try to focus on solving problems first, then the tools and technology will come naturally.
• Qualitative and Quantitative Research capabilities will tremendously increase for those with the required resources available to them. Thankfully, we grow together and this research will only improve the quality of all the Products that are either being developed or already developed. I hope that resources remain accessible and available to all who need them. The Community feature and experience of Figma give me hope that we are collectively on the right track.

• A new Skill Set / Job Need will emerge, that being Dataset Learning Assistants, something that I just made up. The pattern I have noticed is that the better the data set, and the better the machine can utilize that set, the exponentially more powerful the output and learning potential can be. For example, writing prompts and talking with AI to make it do what you want is a new skill set. Once we get better at communicating with AI, the AI will improve, then we will improve, then repeat to infinity. This cycle will continue generating new and unique datasets that require human extrapolation and analysis to be useful.?

The largest impact I predict AI will have on the World:

• YouTube, or a new challenger, will dominate how the world consumes and interacts with content. Videos, VR, and AR are so fascinating and engaging that it is only a matter of time until the technology matches the price point of the average consumer. Once it’s cheap, then I will buy it. And I predict that YouTube will be the platform to host the experience.

• The standard job market and employment distribution throughout the world will change in such a dramatic way that governments will have to intervene. Maybe that’s a dramatic take, but at a minimum, something must be done to address the fact that AI will replace certain jobs. Maybe that is up to an individual and their unique situation, but from my Bay Area perspective and constant witnessing of crime and homelessness, I don’t see how this problem gets solved without government intervention. AI is not helping this part of the population.

• There is so much we have yet to understand about the human mind, but AI is taking us in an exponentially positive direction. In my opinion, industries like Physical Health, Mental Health, and Education will get a needed boost by utilizing the capabilities of AI. I am sure there are more Industries that will be positively affected, but these are ones that I am particularly interested in. I hope that I can potentially contribute to the growth of these industries in some way, but that will remain a thought for now.?

To wrap up my thoughts, I will say that overall I am incredibly excited to see what happens next with AI, and I hope that we collectively solve some wicked problems. As I continue to search for large problems that I can solve, I notice how many problems seem unsolvable and require a tremendous amount of collaboration and effort. Hopefully, AI can raise the floor and lower the ceiling for everyone and not just those who are already winning.

I am more worried about people with ill intent looking to take advantage of a situation for power over the population, but that is a topic for another time. For now, I will continue to ride the wave, remain resilient, embrace the unknown, and write these articles.

Change is inevitable, and it is right now. Let’s hold each other accountable as humans so that the singularity does not become a regularity.

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