The Big Question about Impact: A Panel Discussion
Summary
What’s the most important question regarding today’s theme of impact that we, as a community, need to address? We’ve asked you, you’ve spoken—and now we’ll tackle it with the aid of Frances and some of today’s speakers.
Key Insights
-
•
Knowledge management in design is crucial to prevent loss of tacit knowledge when practitioners change jobs.
-
•
Fear and misunderstanding inhibit broader adoption of AI in creative fields.
-
•
Hands-on involvement with AI tools demystifies capabilities and limits, reducing apprehension.
-
•
AI is currently in an early experimental phase, similar to the initial surge of low-quality desktop design after the laser printer's introduction.
-
•
Leadership should represent a mix of those embracing and cautiously evaluating AI to reflect user variability.
-
•
Better AI-powered knowledge management tools will enable design leaders to proactively influence business strategy.
-
•
Inclusive AI development requires representation across marginalized communities to prevent bias and ensure equity.
-
•
AI tools can improve accessibility, for example, by generating more detailed and accurate alt text.
-
•
Ethical AI practices involve measuring and mitigating bias related to gender, race, and other factors.
-
•
The future of AI in design is iterative, involving continuous participation, experimentation, and storytelling to shape its adoption.
Notable Quotes
"It’s really hard when all that tacit knowledge walks out the door every time someone leaves."
"The reason some of these tools aren’t embraced right now is a little bit of fear and lack of understanding."
"The word intelligence in artificial intelligence leads many to read more into the technology than is actually there."
"We’re in a stage where AI is causing an explosion of crazy uses that are not very good right now, like the early days of laser printing."
"Leaders should look for ways to get firsthand experience with these tools, not just rely on media."
"The fear is often from a perception of some locked-in future that we might not be caught up to understand yet."
"We need more storytelling and positive use cases to help people see how AI affects their specific roles."
"At Adobe, we have a product equity team measuring how generative AI impacts gender, race, and other biases."
"AI can help us develop better alt text for images, which improves accessibility for unsighted users."
"If you take away one thing, it’s get hands-on and familiarize yourself with what AI can and cannot do as both a tool and design material."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"If you ask our partners what we do, they might say I’m not totally sure, but I know that we need it."
Rebecca GimenezWork in Progress: Service Design at Airbnb
December 3, 2024
"IBM pivoted its design education program from in person to online very quickly and successfully."
Lada GorlenkoTheme 2 Intro
June 9, 2022
"Research repositories and libraries are social things — many teams look for best practices beyond just building a library."
Brigette Metzler Dana ChrisfieldResearch Repositories: A global project by the ResearchOps Community
August 27, 2020
"It’s hard to detect emotional responses physiologically in day-to-day software use because there’s too much noise."
Discussion
June 9, 2017
"Healthcare.gov was a blow, but it opened the door to new ways to work in government technology."
Sarah Brooks Jennifer PahlkaFireside chat with Sarah Brooks and Jen Pahlka
October 21, 2021
"Since March 2020, we’ve actually conducted all of our interviews remotely, which generally makes scheduling with diverse groups easier."
Lisa Spitz Nikki BrandBuilding Trust Through Equitable Research Practices
November 18, 2022
"We could become healthcare experts because we actually did have a portfolio in healthcare already."
Theresa NeilDesigning for Wellness: Specializing in Healthcare
May 22, 2024
"What if we trained Midjourney on our own style? That felt more ethical and right for our project."
Maverick Chan Claire LinFrom Doodle to Demo: AI as Our Storytelling Partner
October 23, 2025
"Safety is a state of our nervous system, not simply a feeling or relationship."
Alla WeinbergDesign Teams Need Psychological Safety: Here’s How to Create It
September 8, 2022
