This week's UXD <> AI signals worth sharing

4️⃣ UXD <> AI news stories

• UK lawmakers push for transparency on AI training data.

• Democratizing AI education: Symbiosis launches new AI institute

• Microsoft’s layoffs illustrate a shift in corporate employment opportunities.

• Sad Francisco podcast: ghost artists, AI, and the commodification of musicians.

1️⃣ Designing with AI

• Trees talk back: AI-powered garden at Chelsea Flower Show.

1️⃣ AI design tool of the week

• Tana is like Notion + ChatGPT + your brain’s ideal structure

1️⃣ UXD prompt of the week

• 🎯 Prompt of the week: What are 3 unintended consequences this feature might create for users who are unfamiliar with our product or in high-stakes environments?

3️⃣ UXD <> AI news stories

UK lawmakers push for transparency on AI training data.

A proposed amendment to the UK’s data bill would require AI companies to disclose when and how they use copyrighted materials to train their models. This could be a watershed moment for ethical AI especially for creators, artists, and designers who’ve seen their work scraped. It’s also a major shot across the bow for OpenAI, Meta, and others who rely on very loose definitions of “public data”.

The issue I’m most concerned about with AI is data privacy, copyright materials and privacy. I'm going to be keeping a close eye on this development in the UK and hope that the US follows suit. Although the budget bill that’s being proposed in the US House of Representatives right now has a restriction on AI regulation by states for 10 years. The bill didn’t pass the committee so they’re on recess to draft a new bill. If you’re an American and want to see AI regulation, now is a good time to contact your Rep and especially if they’re on the House Budget Committee.

Democratizing AI education: Symbiosis launches new AI institute

Symbiosis International University in Pune, India, has launched the Symbiosis Artificial Intelligence Institute (SAII) to make AI education accessible across various academic disciplines. The institute challenges the traditional notion that AI is exclusive to computer science by offering interdisciplinary programs that blend AI with other domains. SAII's mission is to cultivate responsible, ethical, and innovative use of AI for societal good, ensuring that AI literacy is no longer the preserve of a select few. human creative direction in a more positive way.

There’s a really great dev and content creator I follow and she posted a video today talking about how the threat with AI is the ability for fascism to take root and conquer the human mind in unprecedented ways. She contended that if more folks learn about AI including how to use it that we can offset that maniacal power heist, bring it to the people and have balance. I couldn’t have said it better myself.

If you’re worried about AI: jump on board everyone. Learn it, use it and evolve at the rapid rate of those same power hungry folks do in order to offset the negative dynamic.

Microsoft’s layoffs illustrate a shift in corporate employment opportunities.

Last week, Microsoft laid off thousands of engineers and particularly in Washington state. While simultaneously touting that AI now writes up to 30% of its internal codebase. The impact on software teams is real. Designers and researchers should be asking: how do we stay critical, not just useful?

There’s little room for debate on the “Will AI take my job?” conversation however I still have the same position I’ve had for quite some time: this is an opportunity for the workforce to begin producing for themselves and not for someone else. Yes corporate jobs are dwindling however now more folks have the opportunity to open their own businesses with the power of AI. This is a tremendous mindset shift and are folks up for the challenge? That’s still to be determined. I know this much is for sure: there’s a lot of gaps out there in the world that can be solved with your idea.

Sad Francisco podcast: ghost artists, AI, and the commodification of musicians.

In this excellent episode of Sad Francisco “Ghost Artists and Other Ways Spotify is Killing Music”, journalist Liz Pelly breaks down how AI-generated tracks, algorithmic filler, and ghost artist accounts are flooding platforms like Spotify. And of course the record labels are using their own musicians sounds to create the AI songs and the record labels are getting paid. This news isn’t just bad for musicians as it’s a warning sign for every creative field.

Hey musicians: maybe it’s time to unionize.

1️⃣ Designing with AI

Trees talk back: AI-powered garden at Chelsea Flower Show.

At the 2025 Chelsea Flower Show, an innovative installation called the Avanade Intelligent Garden allows trees to "talk" to visitors through an AI-powered system named Tree Talk. Developed by Microsoft and IT consultancy Avanade, the garden features 12 trees equipped with sensors that monitor environmental data. This data is translated into human language responses, enabling visitors to engage in live digital conversations with the trees. The initiative aims to raise awareness about urban tree care and demonstrates how technology can enhance our connection with nature.

This is pretty awesome and it shows some opportunities to design new cool things with AI that we never would have been able to before. It was just talking by texting and I think they could have taken this idea way bigger though and created more communication nuances even with text even for MVP. Or light could have been incorporated or sound. Again even for MVP - it would have been a light lift with way more impact. Basically I see a need for an artist to have been involved along with UXD.

Regardless I think this is pretty awesome and as someone who is getting ready to plant fruit tress and a bit nervous because they’re a finicky bunch, this would make a huge difference in ensuring that they live.

1️⃣ AI design tool of the week

Tana is like Notion + ChatGPT + your brain’s ideal structure.

It helps you capture ideas, structure thinking, and synthesize fast.

It’s ideal for early-stage product thinking, workshop planning, or creating shared clarity on messy topics before you ever open a design tool.

Use it for:

• Outlining design critiques or strategy docs

• Synthesizing research notes or workshop feedback

• Drafting working docs before sharing with cross-functional team mates

1️⃣ Prompt of the week

🎯 Prompt of the week: What are 3 unintended consequences this feature might create for users who are unfamiliar with our product or in high-stakes environments?

That’s it for now. Linda ✨