Rosenverse

This video is only accessible to Gold members. Log in or register for a free Gold Trial Account to watch.

Log in Register

Most conference talks are accessible to Gold members, while community videos are generally available to all logged-in members.

Don’t Make Me Think 3.0: What Endures and What Evolves in UX

Gold
Wednesday, March 11, 2026 • Advancing Research 2026
Share the love for this talk
Don’t Make Me Think 3.0: What Endures and What Evolves in UX
Speakers: Steve Krug and Louis Rosenfeld
Link:

Summary

Two of the most influential figures in UX, Steve Krug and Lou Rosenfeld, sit down to reflect on the thinking that built the field and what must change as we move forward. In a world shaped by AI, wider access to tools, and growing expectations of UX research beyond design delivery, they will explore how core principles are being stretched, challenged, and reinterpreted. The conversation will also focus on what does not evolve—the values, practices, and instincts that remain essential and universal. Grounded in experience across multiple cycles of growth and contraction, this conversation will provide you with perspective, continuity, and reassurance for a field in motion.

Key Insights

  • Steve Krug has been secretly working on Don't Make Me Think 4.0 for 5-6 years, planning release soon.

  • AI will serve as power steering in UX work, speeding tasks but not fully replacing human judgment.

  • Simulated users and AI-generated personas are ineffective substitutes for watching real user interactions.

  • UX professionals must maintain ethical standards and advocate for users amid economic and technological pressure.

  • There is uncertainty about the future job market and roles in UX and research due to AI and automation.

  • Deep understanding of AI—its strengths and limitations—is crucial for future-proofing UX careers.

  • Ethical tension exists between AI’s economic drivers and the need for responsible, user-centered design.

  • The UX minor at University of Michigan shows rapid growth, indicating domain knowledge blending with UX is emerging.

  • Current AI hype overestimates AGI capabilities; AGI is not expected in the foreseeable future.

  • UX work will shift more toward education and coaching as AI democratizes some labor but can't replace empathy.

Notable Quotes

"The first rule of book update club is you never talk about book update club."

"Unlike social media, which I think should not exist, AI should exist but with caution."

"I feel like we are the user advocates. Our job is to be on the side of the angels and the users."

"It’s not self-driving cars, it’s power steering."

"Simulated users is pure enshittification. It’s not worth the paper it’s printed on."

"There’s no reasonable prediction that AGI will exist in our lifetimes."

"You can do stuff faster, but that doesn’t mean it’s gonna do the job as well."

"Most of our job is education — teaching people what AI is good for and what it’s not."

"Things are gonna get a lot worse before they get worse."

"Empathy is key to wanting to do this job — wanting users to do well."

Ask the Rosenbot
Lisa Gironda
Opener: Chief of Staff–An unexpected journey
2024 • DesignOps Summit 2020
Gold
James Lang
Hopeful Futures for UX Research
2026 • Rosenfeld Community
Adel Du Toit
Get Your CFO To Say: 'Our Strategic Goal is User Obsession'
2022 • Design at Scale 2022
Gold
Angy Peterson
More Than Technology: Personalized Public Sector Experiences
2021 • Civic Design 2021
Gold
Jemma Ahmed
Research at an inflection point: Adapting to a new era of collaboration, equity, and innovation
2025 • Advancing Research 2025
Gold
Jilanna Wilson
Distributed DesignOps Management
2019 • DesignOps Community
Ian Swinson
Designing and Driving UX Careers
2016 • Enterprise UX 2016
Gold
Amahra Spence
Designing for Liberation, Rehearsing Freedom
2022 • Civic Design 2022
Gold
Sam Proulx
Mobile Accessibility and You
2022 • Design at Scale 2022
Gold
Kelly Dern
AI as a Design Partner: How to Get the Most Out of AI Tools to Scale Your Process
2023 • DesignOps Summit 2023
Gold
Dorelle Rabinowitz
The Magic Word is Trust
2018 • Enterprise Experience 2018
Gold
Dr. Nikki Smith
Research Strategy: Connecting Insights to Outcomes
2025 • Advancing Research 2025
Gold
Sheri Byrne-Haber
Accessibility at Scale
2021 • Design at Scale 2021
Gold
Maria Skaaden
Panel Discussion: Methodologies and Work Environments
2018 • DesignOps Summit 2018
Gold
Matt Stone
Scaling Empathy, A Case Study in Change Management
2021 • Design at Scale 2021
Gold
Weidan Li
Qualitative synthesis with ChatGPT: Better or worse than human intelligence?
2024 • Designing with AI 2024
Gold

More Videos

Anna Avrekh

"You have to prepare research to withstand scrutiny by anyone so your team can go forward confidently."

Anna Avrekh Dr. John Pagonis Klara Pelcl Sina Schreiber

Expert Panel: Leading in and with Research

March 10, 2022

Megan Campos

"Demographic criteria is generally considered less important compared to project-specific or contextual criteria in recruitment."

Megan Campos

What Did I Miss? The Hidden Costs of Deprioritizing Diversity in User Research

March 12, 2021

Kat Vellos

"Personal resiliency is no match for environmental toxicity."

Kat Vellos

Opener: The Other L Word

January 8, 2024

Adrian Howard

"The best people in a community experience 90% awesome when the reality is 10%."

Adrian Howard

Sturgeon’s Biases

September 25, 2024

Nicole Aleong

"We have a role to play in democratizing the future and amplifying more visions of what that future can hold."

Nicole Aleong

Future Orientations to Everyday Life: Futures Anthropology as a Methodology

March 26, 2024

Tamara Hale

"My heart sank. What the F? Clearly this guy didn’t understand."

Tamara Hale

War Stories LIVE! Tamara Hale

March 30, 2020

Rachael Dietkus, LCSW

"Slowing down is not inefficiency; it is a commitment to dignity and trust."

Rachael Dietkus, LCSW

The power to heal and harm

March 13, 2025

Steve Portigal

"Historians say the past doesn’t repeat itself, it rhymes."

Steve Portigal

Looking Back…to Look Ahead

March 26, 2024

Megan Nipe

"We created personas that address who the veteran is, what their goals are, their pain points, and their experiences with the VA."

Megan Nipe Lyndsay Booth

Human-Centered Design for Engagement: Maturing from Newsletterville to Personalized, One-to-One Messaging

December 8, 2021