I’m not anti-AI. I use it daily. But I’m noticing a quiet erosion of the thinking part of our jobs. And when that goes, what’s left?

So here’s my question: Where have you seen this happen? What does it look like when a team has AI—but no design?

Are we chasing speed and scale at the expense of intention?
Are we shipping work that looks like design, but isn’t rooted in any real understanding?

I sat through a demo recently where the interface looked “done.” It had hierarchy, colour, flow. But no one could tell me who it was for. Or what it was helping them do.

It made me wonder...

What if we built in space for friction? What if depth wasn’t a luxury, but the default? What if leadership meant protecting time to understand, not just deliver?

It’s not about slowing down for the sake of it. It’s about doing work that actually matters.

Design teams are smart, capable, and full of insight. But too often, the pace pulls us toward surface-level answers.

It doesn’t have to be that way.