The Fountain Institute is an independent online school that teaches advanced UX & product skills.
What Can't AI Do in Design in 2026
What Can't AI Do in Design in 2026By Hannah Baker Dear Reader, If you work in design, your feeds are probably saying the same two things on repeat:
Most of that conversation focuses on tools and job titles: “Will designers be replaced?” “Which roles are safe?” It makes for good headlines, but it’s not how the work actually changes in real life. A few months ago, walking to my studio listening to a Planet Money podcast episode, I realized we’re asking the wrong question. The episode interviewed two researchers who both focused on tasks rather than jobs, each from a different angle:
I made a modern task list for product/UX design, ran those tasks through both lenses, and then plotted them. I expected a neat line from “very human” to “very automatable.” That is not what showed up. Instead, three clusters emerged:
Underneath those clusters lay a quieter pattern: the moments where we stop asking “Can AI do this?” and start asking “What should we do here?” Not execution. Not output. That in-between space where context, ethics, and consequences live. In other words: judgment. This new report, The Judgment Gap: Design Skills You'll Need in 2026, follows that thread: from a commute to task lists and scatterplots, to why framing, interpretation, facilitation, and ethical awareness are becoming the real craft of design. If you’ve been half-excited, half-exhausted by the “AI + design” conversation, this is my attempt to offer a different lens.
Facilitating Workshops Cohort 9, is officially happening. The next cohort dates are March 25-April 29, 2026, and enrollment opens Monday, December 15. If you’ve been waiting for the next round (or thinking about leveling up your workshop skills for 2026), now’s the time. A few people have already grabbed pre-sale spots this week, so I expect seats to move once it opens publicly. You can join the waitlist here to get the link the moment doors open.
Until next week!
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The Fountain Institute
The Fountain Institute is an independent online school that teaches advanced UX & product skills.
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