Job security: What happens when AI takes over web design?
I’ve managed to surround myself with creatives, graphic designers, and web designers, and a recurring discussion I keep having is around job security. We’re not talking job security in the traditional sense, ‘my job’s going to be shipped off to some tropical country’ or ‘the state of the economy…Brexit…yada yada’ — no. We’re talking, in all seriousness, about job security from AI and machines.
The automotive and production industries faced this issue after WWII. As technology developed and 2nd & 3nd generation production line workers got replaced with KUKA robots. These corporations saw improved efficiency and profit margins. A fiscal no-brainer, but these shifts put a lot of people out on their ass with little to no place for them and their acquired skill sets. Look at Detroit, for example, the city has deeply struggled since plants shut down.
How does this fit into the creative space?
Well until recently, if you wanted a website you would have to sit down with a web designer, go through your plan, they would disappear into their cave and emerge with your shiny new website.
Increasingly, as the world attempts to lay claim to their corner of the internet, we’ve seen dozens of ‘DIY website’ building tools and apps materialize. I’m talking about Software as a Service (SaaS); Squarespace with their slick looking marketing and templates, Karlie Kloss and her partnership with Wix, and Shopify, offering ready to go eCommerce sites. The list goes on.
On top of that, you have Wordpress, which according to W3Techs, is used by 28.9% of all websites!
And yes, while it requires a little more skill and knowhow to make a sophisticated website in Wordpress, for those who want something simple there are free templates which anyone can use.
Website builders and Content Management Systems are at the point now where the code they produce is cleaner and more efficient than what most average web designers can deliver.
Then there’s The Grid.
The product paints the picture of a Utopian internet, where websites build themselves and dynamically change as you add content and media. It sounds incredible. Democratizing the internet. Currently, from my understanding, The Grid is still far from that goal. But as AI and machine learning improve, how long will it be before that’s the case?
At present, there is still a very human side to all this. The reason these products exist is because a human developed an idea and then more intelligent humans developed software which gives every layperson the ability to design a website with near-perfect code. With time this will only get more and more refined, but what does this mean for those whose livelihoods depend on people needing websites designed?
Let’s desensationalize this for a moment and ask the real question: how many of us have lost a website job to a website building tool?
What we’ve seen suggests that the market for smaller brands and garage businesses, who in the past would have required a designer, is shrinking.
Business owners are opting for the Squarespace and Wix-esque packages of the world and learning how to build and manage their websites personally, both cutting costs and developing skills.
Despite this shrinkage, the truth is a Squarespace or template-based website is not unique. So the good news is that in order to get something bespoke you will still need a designer. The same applies to time and learning curves — not everyone has the time or will to learn how to do this, but they understand the benefits of these tools and therefore outsource the job to a Squarespace expert.
The challenging news is that the competition will get tougher and your offering will need to be more substantial — becoming a one-stop-shop solution for your clients.
Then there’s the future of AI websites.
The good news is that there’s still a long way to go. ‘How long?’ is difficult to answer.
What is clear is that this should be an early warning sign to current and future web designers that the tides are changing. Adaptation and evolution should be high on your agenda.
Consider how you could fit into that web designer-less world when it eventually comes. And when it comes, you want to be there at the front of the line, because in a similar fashion to the automotive and production industries, there will still be a limited number of jobs for humans, and the same will become true for web designers.
Until then, my friends and I will continue to watch vigilantly and move to position ourselves as pioneers of this new trend. Are you concerned about this change? Can you share any stories of clients opting for these tools and is this trend becoming an increasing issue for you too?
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