Archive

LLMs

UX works through social relationships. AI tools are erasing them.

Mar 22, 2026

•

8 min read

UX works through social relationships. AI tools are erasing them.

Stakeholders want to vibe code and have designers clean up after them afterwards. But rather than helping with velocity, there is just more noise and more work for everyone.

Pavel Samsonov

Problem Design

Software is a coordination problem. AI can't help you with that.

Mar 13, 2026

•

6 min read

Software is a coordination problem. AI can't help you with that.

The feedback loops of the product delivery lifecycle go through people. Adding AI makes it slower, not faster.

Pavel Samsonov

Problem Design

Checking an LLM's work is a systemic, not an individual, problem.

Mar 8, 2026

•

8 min read

Checking an LLM's work is a systemic, not an individual, problem.

Only a culture of design critique can prevent sloppy AI-generated problem definitions.

Pavel Samsonov

LLMs

"AI layoffs" like Block's are a race to the bottom that have nothing to do with productivity.

Mar 1, 2026

•

7 min read

"AI layoffs" like Block's are a race to the bottom that have nothing to do with productivity.

You won't be replaced by AI, nor a person using AI, because backfills aren't real.

Pavel Samsonov

Systems Thinking

Research is leadership, and code can help (but only in the right places)

Feb 22, 2026

•

7 min read

Research is leadership, and code can help (but only in the right places)

Code was never the blocker in delivering customer value — and the easier writing code becomes, the more it distracts from the work we must do to unblock productivity.

Pavel Samsonov

LLMs

Corporations demand perfection from workers, but AI gets unlimited slack.

Feb 15, 2026

•

7 min read

Corporations demand perfection from workers, but AI gets unlimited slack.

LLM users have bottomless patience for inconsistent tools, and no grace left for their colleagues. What if we could flip it around?

Pavel Samsonov

Feedback Loops

Feb 7, 2026

•

5 min read

The circular logic of our metrics

We design what is familiar. The design patterns we adopt are the ones yelling at us the loudest.

Pavel Samsonov

Systems Thinking

You can't "AI-proof your career" with a project mindset

Feb 1, 2026

•

8 min read

You can't "AI-proof your career" with a project mindset

Don't try and compete with LLMs. Instead, cure yourself of computer brain.

Pavel Samsonov

Systems Thinking

Vibe prototyping isn't solving any problems. But it's creating many new ones.

Jan 24, 2026

•

7 min read

Vibe prototyping isn't solving any problems. But it's creating many new ones.

It's easy to prototype and so everyone is prototyping, without really knowing why they are doing it.

Pavel Samsonov

Problem Design

Your problem framing is sabotaging your strategy

Jan 18, 2026

•

7 min read

Your problem framing is sabotaging your strategy

Skipping to designing the solution before you have adequately designed the problem is not speeding you up, but slowing you down.

Pavel Samsonov

Archive

UX works through social relationships. AI tools are erasing them.

Software is a coordination problem. AI can't help you with that.

Checking an LLM's work is a systemic, not an individual, problem.

"AI layoffs" like Block's are a race to the bottom that have nothing to do with productivity.

Research is leadership, and code can help (but only in the right places)

Corporations demand perfection from workers, but AI gets unlimited slack.

The circular logic of our metrics

You can't "AI-proof your career" with a project mindset

Vibe prototyping isn't solving any problems. But it's creating many new ones.

Your problem framing is sabotaging your strategy

The Product Picnic