There’s a lot of chaos out there. Ignoring the dumpster fire that is the wider world, let’s focus just on the tech industry. If you work in tech, you know - it’s a bit of a panic right now.

Jobs have dried up, AI is quickly being used to create more and more code, meaning fewer engineers needed to create products.^1 That extends further, of course, as PMs, researchers, analysts and other product management roles get reshaped by the use of AI^2

There are a lot of people that are nervous about AI, and also a lot of people that are annoyed in general by it. I’m neither - I’m really excited.

Back in 2008, I went to the IA Summit (now IAC) for the first time, and in a single 3-hour workshop taught by Donna Spencer, I became infatuated and fascinated in the idea of user experience design and information architecture.

At that time, the UX industry for the web was in its early, rapid ascent. Conferences popped up all over the place, publishers started grinding out material about the discipline, and spirited discussions sprang up online about what this all was about.^3

There’s something magical about the birth of a new industry, new discipline or new way of doing things. It’s fresh, it’s untamed, it’s collaborative. There’s a feeling of discovery and expedition, and the people you meet along the way become lifelong friends and colleagues. When you build something together, that bond never dies.

That’s why I’m so excited about where we are right now in tech. AI is going to really change everything, especially in the product development space. It’ll look completely different in a few years, and some of the techniques we use today won’t matter. We’ll need to invent new ones. We’ll need to collaborate, discover and embark on journeys together to find the best ways to build things in this new world. We’ll make lifelong partnership and friendships, and collaborate together to contribute more things back into the world than ever before.

It’s a really exciting time to be in tech.

1. I’m not sure this is true long term, but the market is reacting right now as if it might be. It’s also likely that this ends up being Jevon’s Paradox again, only time will tell.
2. This is a careful choice of words. I’m not sure yet if it’ll replace jobs, but it will certain redefine how they’re done, and it’s likely the people that don’t adapt to that will just fall out of the industry as a natural consequence
3. If you were on the IxDA discussion list circa 2009-2010, you remember the DTDT discussions over…and over…and over. iykyk.