Why AI-powered robots won’t be taking my UX design job any time soon

By Jason Widmann, Director of Strategy & UX at Stellar Agency

You’ve probably read about how the AI overlords are coming for all our jobs. In fact, I just asked ChatGPT “what are the top three current jobs most likely to be eliminated by AI?” Data entry clerks, telemarketers and assembly line workers beware. 

I certainly hope nobody loses their job – at least not a job they wanted or needed to keep. For the last couple of years, there’s been a lot of chatter in the interactive industry – will AI replace front-end devs? Will it be able to code complex web apps? Or mobile apps? Can it replace copywriters? Or UX designers? I’m probably only qualified to comment on that last question. As a UX designer with over 30 years of experience in the interactive industry, I have to say – I’m a little skeptical about being replaced any time soon. While AI has made some amazing advances in the last few years (and I mean really amazing), it’s still not ready to take on the human brain. 

Let’s quickly unpack that statement and take a look at five key areas related to UX design where human intelligence is so far ahead that we’re not likely to be replaced any time soon:

1. Context
2. Intuition
3. Creativity
4. Empathy
5. Ethics

Context

Definition: “The circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed.”

Understanding the context of a given situation is something human intelligence excels at. Most humans intuitively grasp emotional and social cues and can draw interpretations about what is happening in the present based on personal experiences from the past. An easy, relatable example – most of us learn at a very young age how to intuit when family members are happy or unhappy. We build on these basic pattern recognition skills as we grow older, and the patterns become more complex and nuanced. A contextual understanding is what enables a human UX designer to respond to a given situation in the most effective way.

AI works differently. It depends on data to identify patterns and algorithms to make predictions. It can’t draw on past experiences. Or take note of the social or emotional context and respond appropriately “on the fly” the way most humans can. AI’s predictions are only as good as the data it’s been fed. If the training data lacks diversity or doesn’t cover every potential context, then AI’s ability to understand and respond appropriately – in context – is very limited. Score – Humans: 1  |  AI: 0

[AI] lacks the spontaneous and holistic perspective that humans bring to the design party.

Intuition

Definition: “The power or faculty of attaining direct knowledge or cognition without evident rational thought and inference.”

Intuition is an inherently human ability and is what enables human UX designers to make insightful, informed decisions that frequently transcend a data-driven approach. Intuition is critically important in addressing ambiguous or unforeseen user needs, preferences, or behaviors. Intuition allows us to predict the reactions of target users, adapt to subtle shifts in context, and infuse designs with empathy and authenticity. This results in human UX designers creating experiences that are more nuanced, adaptive, and engaging. These types of experiences resonate on a deeper emotional level, resulting in designs that are both functional and meaningful.

AI is far more rigid than human intelligence because it relies on data and algorithms. While AI is highly proficient in pattern recognition and optimization, it lacks the spontaneous and holistic perspective that humans bring to the design party. AI isn’t going to have one of those magical “Aha!” moments that human UX designers are constantly chasing. AI isn’t going to come up with one of those “crazy like a fox” solutions that take a bunch of seemingly unrelated and random elements and put them together in a highly effective way that no data-driven solution would ever consider. To paraphrase a popular quote: “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Design is knowing which ones to keep.” AI isn’t a big believer in the value of mistakes. Or a fan of deviating from the data. Score – Humans: 2 | AI: 0

Creativity

Definition: “The use of the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work.”

Creativity is another area where human intelligence shines. Our creativity comes from our ability to think abstractly, incorporate our intuition, and draw inspiration from a diverse array of (at times, seemingly unrelated) experiences. If you’re a creative person, you know that emotion, imagination, and experimentation can push your creativity to new heights. Imagination is a particularly human capability – we can envision entirely new concepts, push conventional boundaries, and innovate in ways that AI simply can’t replicate at the moment.

AI, on the other hand, only knows what it knows. If something is truly creative or innovative, it probably hasn’t been done before. And if it hasn’t been done before, then AI hasn’t consumed any data related to it and isn’t aware of it. You might say – but hey, generative AI imagery is creative, isn’t it? Depends on how you define creativity. Generative AI produces those images and artwork based on two things – your prompt, and the data the AI has consumed. In my mind, that makes it less “creative” and a lot more “derivative.” Score – Humans: 3  |  AI: 0

Empathy

Definition: “The action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another.”

As a UX designer, in order to be effective, I need to be able to understand and connect with other people’s emotions. Can I truly address user frustrations, expectations, and joys without understanding them at more than a superficial level? Maybe, if I get lucky. But I’ll do a far better and more comprehensive job when I understand the mindset of target users at a deep level and tailor the experience to that mindset. For example – I was taking a real estate exam as part of my user research for a client. During the test, I accessed the online help feature to see how it was presented to the user. On the one hand, the page contained links to information about nearly every exam-related topic I could imagine. On the other hand, the way it was presented made the page feel dense, crowded, and confusing – I actually felt worse after accessing the help feature rather than better! Had the designer who created that help page thought about the mindset of the user – “I’m taking an important, timed exam; I’m having a problem I need to resolve quickly, and I’m on the verge of panic…” – they might have taken more time to deliver a better organized, simpler and more streamlined approach to delivering help content and features. Something that addressed my question, helped me calm down, and re-focus.

AI can’t interpret subtle emotional cues or cultural nuances. It can’t interpret the overt and really obvious ones either! It can’t tell if you’re nervous or sad. It doesn’t sense tension or frustration because it hasn’t been trained on human emotions. It lacks that thing we call “the human touch” – the ability to respond in a purposeful way with the intention of helping another person feel better. Score – Humans: 4  |  AI: 0

[AI] is more like a small child who lacks the experiences, insights, and perspectives (training) that are necessary for ethical reasoning.

Ethics

Definition: “The principles of conduct governing an individual or a profession.”

Human intelligence can navigate complicated ethical issues that involve prioritizing and protecting things like privacy, accessibility, and inclusivity. The ability to integrate ethical considerations into their work enables humans to develop experiences that are effective as well as fair and respectful. The ability to consider the broader impact of their work makes humans much better at creating responsible, equitable solutions that respect and reflect societal norms and individual values. 

AI, on the other hand, lacks the inherent ability to reason ethically and may produce inadvertently biased, unfair, or even harmful experiences. We’ve all read stories about the darker aspects of AI, but it’s important to remember – AI isn’t evil (at least not in this case). It’s more like a small child who lacks the experiences, insights, and perspectives (training) that are necessary for ethical reasoning. Score – Humans: 5 | AI: 0

Celebrate Your Amazing Skills

My intention in writing this article was not to bash AI or point out its flaws in a Captain Obvious sort of way. Instead, I wanted to highlight the UX design advantages that the human brain has right out of the box. Figma or Adobe XD isn’t your most valuable design tool – your brain is. Your brain and everything it enables you to bring to your UX design solutions – context, creativity, empathy, ethics, and intuition. Celebrate your human intelligence and the awesome job security it provides. Cheers to you!