I’m concerned about the future of UX incorporating AI.
Not because of the technology, but because of the lack of critical capacity among adopters: a lot of people who perceive themselves as “UXers” don’t read books.
We already have mockup monkeys and wireframe monkeys. Now, we will have knife-wielding monkeys taking over the design process.
Prompt monkeys are coming.
That’s all I had to say.
Since I had extra screen space, I decided to copy and paste what Gemini, Google’s AI, came up with when I asked it to take what I’ve written above, and continue writing “for people who don’t read books and who don’t understand why that’s important”.
At first, I thought it would just be filler.
But I was wrong. It’s much, much more concerning than that.
Take a quick look and ask yourselves if you see any issues:
UX and AI: Attention Monkeys! AI is not a toy!
Are you a “mockup monkey” or a “wireframe monkey”? Do you think you’re a UX expert because you know how to use basic tools? Beware! AI is coming with more power than a simple wireframe, and if you don’t handle it carefully, you can create disastrous experiences for users.
AI in UX is not magic, it’s responsibility:
Learn the basics: AI is not magic, and it is not the solution to all your UX problems. Study, read books and articles, attend workshops and events. Become an AI for UX expert, not a mere imitator.
Critical thinking: Don’t blindly trust what the AI tells you. Question, analyze, and compare its results with your own knowledge and experience. AI is a tool, not a guru.
Ethics first: AI can be powerful, but also dangerous. Use it responsibly, avoiding discriminatory, deceptive, or harmful interfaces. Remember: the user first!
Forget about shortcuts, AI demands:
Understand the biases: AI is not perfect and can be biased. Your job is to identify and mitigate them so that they do not negatively impact the user experience.
Complement, not replace: AI should not replace human interaction, but rather complement and enhance it. Find the balance between automation and human warmth.
Teamwork: AI is complex, collaborate with experts in the field to create intuitive, accessible, and user-friendly interfaces for everyone.
The future of UX in the age of AI is bright, but only if we take it seriously. Let’s avoid being the UX monkeys with knives!
Remember: Continuous education, critical thinking, ethics, and teamwork are the keys to harnessing the power of AI in UX and creating truly positive and meaningful user experiences.
What the AI perpetrated sounds reasonable. But it’s nothing but bullshit.
At first glance, what Gemini generated doesn’t seem so bad. And that’s precisely the problem: that it has hard-to-detect errors. Because these are fundamental errors.
“Question, analyze, and compare its results with your own knowledge and experience”, it says. But it never, in any instance, considers or recommends validating anything with users.
It overlooked that UX without users is not UX.
The prompt monkeys are coming.
The devaluation of UX over the last 10 years will be peanuts compared to what’s coming.
