Archive

LLMs

Cognitive Pollution: Real knowledge only forms through doing the work

Aug 7, 2026

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5 min read

Cognitive Pollution: Real knowledge only forms through doing the work

What if the cure for getting a grip on this moment wasn't a pound of artificial intelligence, but an ounce of the natural variety?

Pavel Samsonov

LLMs

AI is not a substitute for knowing how to run software projects

Jul 26, 2026

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3 min read

AI is not a substitute for knowing how to run software projects

Despite execs' best hopes for automating their own jobs, technology will always remain downstream of decision-making.

Pavel Samsonov

Problem Design

Thoughtless features never add up to a thoughtful product

Jul 19, 2026

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5 min read

Thoughtless features never add up to a thoughtful product

Your first idea for how to solve a problem is most likely to be a low-impact hack. Delightful user experiences require a higher level of thinking.

Pavel Samsonov

Systems Thinking

Empathy and delight mean nothing when the software is disrespectful

Jul 12, 2026

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6 min read

Empathy and delight mean nothing when the software is disrespectful

Software is now something we do TO users, instead of something that we make FOR them.

Pavel Samsonov

Systems Thinking

Jul 6, 2026

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5 min read

Trust is not built on craft alone

No amount of tooling will let product teams move faster than being trusted to own their process. That trust is earned through rigor rather than mere velocity.

Pavel Samsonov

Systems Thinking

Even with a silver bullet, you still have to aim

Jun 28, 2026

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4 min read

Even with a silver bullet, you still have to aim

Productivity gains among frontline employees can't counteract the abdication of responsibility at the executive level.

Pavel Samsonov

Metrics and Data

Jun 21, 2026

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3 min read

The glassholes are back, thanks to AI

Recording people without consent — once seen as a brazen privacy violation — has become thoughtlessly routine, both in meetings and on the street.

Pavel Samsonov

Feedback Loops

Jun 13, 2026

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5 min read

Feedback loops require real feedback. AI drives it underground.

The methods we take for granted have load-bearing requirements that have already gone extinct in many organizations.

Pavel Samsonov

Feedback Loops

Product teams struggled to create intent. AI let them think they could skip it.

Jun 7, 2026

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3 min read

Product teams struggled to create intent. AI let them think they could skip it.

Don't mistake product delivery for the finish line. It's just the start of the race.

Pavel Samsonov

Problem Design

The future of UX design is not a higher-velocity version of its present

May 31, 2026

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6 min read

The future of UX design is not a higher-velocity version of its present

Scaling the rate at which we fiddle around the edges of a system will never translate into meaningful transformation of that system.

Pavel Samsonov

Archive

Cognitive Pollution: Real knowledge only forms through doing the work

AI is not a substitute for knowing how to run software projects

Thoughtless features never add up to a thoughtful product

Empathy and delight mean nothing when the software is disrespectful

Trust is not built on craft alone

Even with a silver bullet, you still have to aim

The glassholes are back, thanks to AI

Feedback loops require real feedback. AI drives it underground.

Product teams struggled to create intent. AI let them think they could skip it.

The future of UX design is not a higher-velocity version of its present

The Product Picnic