Human software.
The best AI is boring.
Published Jul 28, 2025 · Around 2 minutes to read
AI discussions are either wild hype or total doom.
But honestly, the best AI is kind of boring. It takes over mundane, tedious tasks. Tasks that feel like a grind.
Computers are naturally good at repetitive tasks. Now that they can “talk” like people, we can design experiences that feel more human, and enable us to get even more done. “Design is the rendering of intent”. And AI gets us closer to what we actually want to do.
But won’t AI replace humans?
Not really. Technology has always transformed work. Some tasks/jobs might be gone, but new ones pop up. Ideally, computers doing the grunt work frees us up to do meaningful work. Agents are the next step towards that ideal.
Agent Experience, like UX or DX, should be human first. We design agents to help humans perform better with software. Critical thinking, reasoning, and actions should still be taken by humans. And the humans should always understand WHY those actions were taken. Intentional friction is a design choice that yields better results. Getting visibility into this process is where AI shines.
The best AI is boring. It quietly makes life easier, frees us up for meaningful work, and gives us control.
I’m an extreme advocate of AI bettering our lives, but not at the expense of our humanity.
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P.S. Design tooling needs to be overhauled. Designing in Figma means that your solutions will be limited to visuals. Designing agent experiences is systems thinking.
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