We've Been Here Before: Answering AI's Call

"There's a moment in Andor, the Star Wars series, that I think is far more human than sci-fi, when Luthen Rael tells Cassian Andor: "These days will end." It's not a threat. It's a truth. A signal. A reminder. A reminder that change is coming. It's fast and unrelenting, and you can either cling to the past or get to your feet and fight, fight for the future you want."

"Do you remember when mobile phones took over? I'm not just talking about the device, but the mindset. Suddenly, user experience wasn't optional. UX became the centre of product design because mobile changed how everyone, and I literally mean everyone, interacted with the internet. Companies that once treated UX as an afterthought scrambled to build responsive design teams. Entire methodologies were rewritten to serve the new frontier."

"And before that? Social media. It was dismissed by marketers at first. "Not serious." "Not strategic." But some curious few dared to explore, not because it was safe, but because they sensed something powerful. And so they helped redefine marketing. And now? A brand without a social presence looks like a dinosaur. Yes, these shifts were disruptive. But they didn't destroy us. In fact, they invited us to do better, to design with empathy, ethics, and accessibility. To think harder about data, about privacy, about unintended consequences."

Change is imminent for content and product designers as AI emerges as a transformative force. Historical technology shifts—first social media, then mobile—reshaped priorities, making UX central and forcing organisations to build new teams and methodologies. Early resistance gave way to experimentation, leading to more empathetic, ethical, and accessible design, and heightened attention to data, privacy, and unintended consequences. AI represents the next wave and already functions as content in many respects, producing outputs that affect user experience. Designers must adapt skills, embrace new workflows, and proactively shape AI-driven experiences rather than cling to legacy practices.

Read at Medium