Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
The Pygmalion Effect: In Which a Vibe Coding Experiment Becomes a Million Lines…
This video is featured in the Josh's test playlist playlist and 1 more.
Summary
What started as intuitive "vibe coding" with AI assistants quickly revealed why UX professionals need systematic Information Architecture approaches more than ever. Christian Crumlish will share his journey building Piper Morgan, an AI product management assistant, and the hard-won lessons about when design instincts need systematic support. You'll discover why IA principles guide AI system design, how UX professionals can extend their design impact through AI-assisted prototyping, and practical frameworks for maintaining human advocacy when everyone can generate interfaces. Bring curiosity about UX's evolving role—leave with systematic approaches for staying essential.
Key Insights
-
•
Vibe coding lets non-developers create functioning software quickly by describing it in natural language to AI bots.
-
•
Without foundational architecture and systematic methods, vibe coding leads to fragile, unmaintainable 'spaghetti' code.
-
•
AI bots often agree with any idea, which can be dangerous if users don't critically oversee outputs—a phenomenon dubbed the 'rocket to Mars' anti-pattern.
-
•
Christian found it essential to split AI assistants into personas with distinct roles to maintain clarity and reduce confusion.
-
•
Systematic verification, test-driven development, and documentation are vital pillars to produce reliable software with AI assistance.
-
•
Working hands-on with AI coding agents increased Christian’s empathy and understanding of engineers' daily challenges.
-
•
Modern UX and IA are indispensable in AI software development to mediate between human needs and machine capabilities.
-
•
Embedding ethical guardrails and values like kindness directly into AI system architecture can prevent harm and misuse.
-
•
Future AI solutions may favor smaller, domain-specific language models orchestrated via overarching frameworks rather than monolithic large models.
-
•
Despite the hype, AI-assisted development is still early-stage, requiring disciplined human oversight and patience for meaningful results.
Notable Quotes
"I thought I could skip the architecture step, but I ended up with spaghetti code that broke constantly."
"These bots will say yes to all your ideas, whether they're good or bad—that's the rocket to Mars anti-pattern."
"If I stop doing it, it stops, and I'm the human in the loop, or the monkey in the middle."
"I’ve created dedicated personas in the bots, like a chief of staff and lead developer, to keep roles clear."
"Verification first — always check existing docs and models before asking the bots to build anything new."
"Working with AI made me understand what engineers go through with setups and debugging."
"Vibe coding turns the conversation 'should designers code?' on its head — now designers can just talk to bots."
"All of us have at least some facility in adjacent disciplines now because of AI assistance."
"The bots can produce large amounts of code quickly, but many lines are test or documentation code, not production."
"Ethics needs to be baked into the architecture upfront, not tacked on later after you've built something powerful."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"The more participatory the practices, the deeper and more intentional the engagement needs to be."
Alexia Cohen Adriane AckermanIncreasing Health Equity and Improving the Service Experience for Under-Served Latine Communities in Arizona
December 4, 2024
"The customer’s mental model is a bit different than your mental model and also different than the actual product."
Marc Majers Tony TurnerInterrupted UX - Add A Dose of Reality To Usability Testing
March 11, 2022
"Design is a third way of knowing, different from science and humanities, involving making and artifice."
Jorge ArangoDesign as an Antidote to VUCA
May 9, 2019
"If you get a perfect OKR score, it means you didn’t set your sights high enough."
Brenna FallonLearning Over Outcomes
October 24, 2019
"We as humans value warmth information in others more than competence information."
Daniel GloydWarming the User Experience: Lessons from America's first and most radical human-centered designers
May 9, 2024
"People with disabilities often pay more to buy from stores they trust are accessible and where they feel confident."
Sam ProulxOnline Shopping: Designing an Accessible Experience
October 3, 2023
"Data is not just numbers; it tells us the story of student learning."
Kristin SkinnerFive Years of DesignOps
September 29, 2021
"I appreciate your allyship when I'm in the room, but I appreciate it more when I'm not in the room."
Denise Jacobs Nancy Douyon Renee Reid Lisa WelchmanInteractive Keynote: Social Change by Design
January 8, 2024
"I was surprised how quickly I could launch a project and get six leads within just a few hours using User Interviews."
Roberta Dombrowski Lianna Aduana5 Reasons to Bring your Recruiting in House
September 30, 2021
