Leah McDougald

From Disruption to Discipline: A Panel on UX in the Age of AI

Remember when every discussion on AI started with the question: will this actually change how we work? That debate is over. AI is here, appearing as a requirement in job postings, reshaping design practices, and shifting how we think about the skills of tomorrow's UXers. The question isn’t if AI belongs in our work, it’s how we skill up, adapt, and create responsibly. In this panel, we’ll explore the new questions UX and product teams are asking: - When should AI act as a supportive tool, and when should it take the wheel? - How can UX professionals balance traditional UXR/UXD expertise with AI fluency without losing their craft? - Which AI use cases truly deliver speed-to-impact today, and where does AI risk overpromising? - How do we design interfaces that anticipate both human interaction and AI-driven processes/tech? - How can individuals navigate fairness, bias, and responsible use in practice? And yes—this description itself was drafted with the help of AI (did the em dash give it away?!). Because the reality is, whether you’re experimenting, resisting, or already embedded in this world, AI isn’t just disrupting UX anymore. It’s part of how we work. The conversation now is about maturity, mastery, and making it matter.