Our Calculator Moment

Why I’m Not Freaking Out About AI (Even as a New Designer)

I’ve been thinking a lot about the future of UX/UI design lately. You can’t scroll for five minutes without seeing someone predict the end of creative professions thanks to AI. And look, I get it. It’s easy to feel spooked when you see AI tools churning out full wireframes, writing copy, or even generating logos in seconds.

As someone still early in my ux/ui design career, I’ll be honest: it’s been overwhelming at times. When you’re just breaking into the field, finding your footing, and trying to prove your value, it already takes guts to put yourself out there. Add in a flood of headlines suggesting your chosen career path might be obsolete before you’ve even really begun? It’s a lot.

But I don’t buy into the doomsday narrative. In fact, I think it’s missing the point entirely.

Last week, I was watching a fireside chat with futurist Sinead Bovell at SXSW EDU 2025 followed by a clip posted by Sinead on her TikTok (cue the adhd hyperfocus playlist).

One line in particular stuck with me:

“We need to raise the bar on what human beings bring to the table.”

She compared the development of AI to the invention of the calculator. Not because it makes everything easier, but because it raises the bar on what humans focus on.

When the calculator came along, people panicked. They thought it would kill the need for math entirely. But what actually happened? We moved past memorising multiplication tables and started exploring higher-level concepts -- deeper, more meaningful work that the calculator could never do on its own.

And that’s exactly what I see happening with UX and UI design.

We’re not being replaced - we’re being challenged. 

Yes, AI can help with generating quick mockups or repurposing visual elements. But good design isn’t just pixels and layout - it’s understanding human behaviour, context, emotion, accessibility, ethics, business needs, and about a hundred other subtle factors. AI can assist, but it doesn’t replace us. It just shifts what we spend our energy on.

If anything, this is a wake-up call. We’re at a point where we need to evolve. The craft of design is transforming - and honestly, we can’t yet see exactly how. But that’s what makes it exciting. We’re being nudged (or shoved, depending on your perspective) to rethink how we work, what we prioritise, and what only humans can bring to the process.

If you’re just entering the industry like me, yeah - it’s okay to feel nervous. But also? This is our moment to help shape the next chapter of design. To me, that means more strategy. More systems thinking. More creativity. More humanity.

I don’t think AI is the end of UX/UI design. I think it’s our calculator moment.