Design Changing from Artifact-production to Intent-shaping (17 minute read) (opens in new tab)

AI is transforming UX design from creating artifacts like screens and prototypes to defining intent, judgment, and behavioral boundaries for AI systems. Designers must shift to higher-level responsibilities, including encoding what "good" means into systems and maintaining coherence across AI outputs rather than performing traditional craft activities. Those who resist this change and stick to old artifact-production methods will become unemployable within five years.