AI Superpowers

A lot is happening in the tech scene. One of the biggest shifts right now is AI. It’s already impacting our old, trusted workflows. For the better? I hope so. Either way, it’s hard to ignore, and we need to see how it can help us improve in our work.

It creates those wow moments, but at the same time it also brings some uncertainty. How do I position myself with this new kind of superpower? Before AI, things felt more clear. You knew your strengths, you knew what you delivered. And if you got stuck, you’d ask a colleague to think along or jump in.

Now that’s different. With AI, I can do much more on my own. I can explore ideas faster, generate concepts, even build things I normally wouldn’t do. And that’s exciting. But it also raises the question: just because I can, does it mean I should?

The possibilities are wide, maybe too wide. It makes it harder to decide where to focus. As a product designer, where do I place my bets? Do I move closer to engineering, product, strategy, research? Or do I stay where I am, focused on design, just with better tools?

The gap

Everything feels like it’s one prompt away. But that doesn’t make me an expert. I can create something that looks convincing, while my understanding falls behind. That gap between output and real knowledge feels important. How do you deal with it? I don’t have a clear answer. Every time I think I do, AI evolves again and opens up even more possibilities.

My thoughts

• Stay close to what interests you. If something already pulls your attention, you’re more likely to go deeper and build real skill.
• Explain what you’re creating with AI. Is it a product, a prototype, a draft, or just inspiration? If it’s conceptual, it’s okay if you don’t fully understand it.
• Look around. See how other designers are adapting. Moving toward engineering feels like the obvious path, but there are plenty of other opportunities.
• Don’t act like you can do it all yourself. Respect the skill in your team and don’t ignore your colleagues’ knowledge when reviewing AI output.

At the core, not everything changes. There will still be product designers. Just with different strengths, and different ways of working.