Archive

Metrics and Data

Designers will never have influence without understanding how organizations learn

Apr 12, 2026

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9 min read

Designers will never have influence without understanding how organizations learn

We confuse prototypes with demos, and validation with confirmation bias. As a result, we cannot lead — instead, we are led.

Pavel Samsonov

LLMs

AI mandates are a demand for cognitive surrender

Apr 5, 2026

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7 min read

AI mandates are a demand for cognitive surrender

Studies show that reducing our scope of judgment to checking AI outputs leads to abandoning critical thinking altogether.

Pavel Samsonov

Systems Thinking

Grammarly shows how prototyping turned into an excuse for not thinking

Mar 28, 2026

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10 min read

Grammarly shows how prototyping turned into an excuse for not thinking

The industry is in the grip of directionless urgency, and users are paying the price. Strategy has been replaced with half-baked features.

Pavel Samsonov

LLMs

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

Mar 22, 2026

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

Archive

Designers will never have influence without understanding how organizations learn

AI mandates are a demand for cognitive surrender

Grammarly shows how prototyping turned into an excuse for not thinking

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

The Product Picnic