When I started the project, I focused on the disappearance of entry-level jobs, an issue that felt increasingly relevant. The causes are mixed, a slow economy, global uncertainty, and although AI isn’t the main reason, it’s still eating up entry-level tasks or making them easier.

In design, it’s not the entry-level tasks that are most affected, but the early exploration ones: generating first drafts, alternative layouts, or draft UX copy. And it’s only getting better over time, relentlessly devaluing a (human) designer. A founder or business-minded person might think, why do I need to hire a human designer if I can just subscribe for 20 bucks? Or, I just need a one person who’s great at prompt engineering and can run LLMs to design, code, write copy, like a conductor in an orchestra.

This defensive state sent me down the rabbit hole of what AI can’t do, what it can’t replace. I found things like curiosity, judgment, empathy, connecting ideas, systems thinking, and problem solving. Are these new skills? Not really. They’ve just been buried under conversations about pixel-perfect work, design systems, and cool micro-interactions.

On the other hand, we can see AI in a more positive light. It offers a real opportunity to make our work better. When I interviewed leaders and designers who use AI, a recurring theme emerged:
“AI is just a tool.”
“It’s only as good as the person using it and that person’s depth in their domain.”
Good judgment complements the use of AI—and to develop good judgment, you need other skills: synthesis, critical thinking, systems thinking, and the ability to frame or reframe a lens.

Looking at it from both sides, the need to protect and the chance to grow point to the same thing: human skills — the very abilities that make us human are what make us more valuable and make the use of AI more effective.

Image: Luke Skywalker and C-3PO in Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) © Lucasfilm / Disney.