The 10th Annual Design in Tech Report: Coming March 12, 2024

John Maeda
2 min readMar 10, 2024

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The rapid version of #DesignInTech Report 2024: DESIGN AGAINST AI will be available on Tue, March 12 via YouTube.

What’s in this year’s report?

Well, I gathered a few Design × AI themes looking back at 10 years of the rise of computational design. Should we protest AI? Compete against AI? Collaborate with AI?

Design as a discipline is uniquely situated in the technology world to manage the impending shift to “Zero UI” that function-calling models are now enabling — try out the #SemanticKernel Planners with Plugins to understand what I’m talking about.

There’s important work to be done in **critical thinking** while inventing the new design language for digital products and services being led by folks like Sarah Gold Kwame Nyanning Corinne Schillizzi Mihaela Vorvoreanu Ruth kikin-Gil Nadia Piet Albert Shum Mia Blume Aarron Walter Elijah Woolery Emily Campbell Donn Koh and a host of exciting emerging and classical voices out there.

Their collective work has made me more optimistic as a result of compiling this year’s report.

Key Takeaways

The three key takeaways from the 2024 #DesignInTech Report are (and I didn’t have an LLM AI make this up so this is ole’ fashioned human stuff :+):

  1. Computational Thinking Is Invaluable: Coding isn’t key — but understanding computation will help. Learn how to speak machine.
  2. Work Transformation Is Coming FAST: Prepare for AI-induced shifts in design and tech careers, continually. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
  3. Be Critical Of AI (For Customers): Evaluate AI’s impact critically; consider fairness and inclusivity. Show customers the benefits of responsible AI.

Countdown to the online release is over here on YouTube 👉

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John Maeda
John Maeda

Written by John Maeda

John Maeda: Technologist and product experience leader that bridges business, engineering, design via working inclusively. Currently VP Eng, AI Platform @ MSFT

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