I nearly scrolled past this ‘UX is Dead’ post, trying not to take what looked like clickbait, but the idea that ‘UX is evolving’ is one that I thoroughly agree with.

My take though, is less about gradual evolution and more analogous to Jevons Paradox – the idea that when something becomes more efficient or easier, demand for it actually increases rather than decreases.

The same applies to UX. As technology makes things technically easier to achieve, the demand for seamlessly joined-up and fully integrated experiences will only grow.

I think we’ll look back at this moment – and the people forecasting a decline in UX and UCD roles due to tech developments, automation and AI – and smile at their naiveté. Like we do at the story of theoretical physicist Max Planck, being told by a professor not to go into physics because “almost everything is already discovered”.

For those without my amateur interest in theoretical physics, Max Planck went on to revolutionise science with quantum theory. And whether or not this individual story is apocryphal, we’ve been here before, more than once.

Every time people assume a field has reached its peak, something new comes along and makes it even more essential.

Even small ideas and advances create new expectations, new complexities, and new frustrations in need of fresh resolutions. Our demands only grow. Particularly for smoother and easier experiences. We’ll need more people than ever to stitch it all together.

Especially, once we break through into quantum UX! 😅

Footnote: After writing this, I remembered Tim Paul’s post on automation and Jevons Paradox, which explores a similar idea through the lens of government service design. While I’m looking at UX as in industry / offering more broadly, his post is a great example of how automation doesn’t replace UX and how it just changes where and how the work happens. Well worth a read.