AD80: Become an Alchemist

2 February 2025 | Issue #80

In this issue:

Become an alchemist
Trying to replace 1000 human jobs with AI fails
DeepSeek comparison chart
Purposely bad UI
Design Quote of the Week

Prompt: a steampunk scientist pouring potion --ar 16:9

"Become an alchemist."

These were the words that Richard Banfield used to close a recent article he wrote on LinkedIn and it stuck with me. Many of us have a blend of skills from years of doing different jobs. Many of us have a blend of skills from years of doing different jobs. But are we using them the way we should?

Tying these skills together and being deliberate about it can be a new way of thinking.

Richard's thesis for the post is the vision that AI will eliminate some jobs. Obviously, I agree with him since I've been beating this drum for 80 issues of this newsletter. Change is coming whether you like it or not.

Whether you're prepared or not is up to you.

Richard gives advice on how to be prepared for the new reality. Learn how to use AI tools. Learn things that AI can't do (yet), like psychology, behaviors, and user experience. If you understand what motivates people, and how to create the things they want, you're better off. Being a generalist will help you when much of the execution-level work gets outsourced to machines.

Blending these skills will put you ahead of the specialists.

I briefly worked with Richard over a decade ago on a chaotic (our fault) web launch and I have followed his work ever since. He's always a step ahead.

Listen to his advice.

NEWS AT THE INTERSECTION OF DESIGN AND MARKETING

🧍‍♂️We Tried Replacing 1000 Human Jobs with AI

A deep dive into how AI models and automation tools performed when applied to real-world freelance jobs—and why they failed to make any money.

• AI Can Complete Some Tasks, But It’s Not Winning Jobs: About 15% of tasks could be solved with AI, but competition, pay-to-play job platforms, and lack of client trust meant AI didn’t get hired.

• Freelance Marketplaces Aren’t Built for AI Workflows: Job listings are already well-structured AI prompts, but platforms like UpWork and Freelancer rely on reputation, human trust, and a pay-to-apply model that AI struggles to break into.

• My Take: This is good news for freelancers. AI can't do what we do ... yet.

H/T Dan Nestle

Check it out

🐋 Open Source AI is Here? Is it Safe?

Nobody is sure yet. But if you want a breakdown to see how DeepSeek compares to other AI systems, check out this infographic

View the infographic

👩🏻‍🏫 Purposely Bad UI

This is a fun example of people spending time to build out bad UI

Watch on Instagram

Audacious book launch live stream

I'm looking forward to Mark Schaefer talking about his new book Audacious with Marc Simons of Giant Spoon and Douglas Burdett, the retired host of one of my favorite podcasts, The Marketing Book Podcast.

NEW RESOURCES FOR YOU

How Much Does Bad Design Cost? Billions According to GlobalData

People will not tolerate a bad user experience. Data shows that buyers will abandon a cart, or leave a store, if they have to work too hard to find what they want and complete their task.

US retailers lose $125 billion a year due to poor design. Younger age groups, those raised with access to digital experiences, are even more likely to abandon a shopping experience if it's difficult to navigate.

The next time someone wants to ship something that is "good enough," think back to this and try to estimate the cost associated with shortcutting the design step of the process.

The Visual Marketer

Design Quote of the Week

“They enjoy giving form to ideas. If designers were made of ideas, they’d be their own clients.”
– Rudy Vanderlans

My AI disclaimer: I write the main stories by hand (with occasional assistance from Grammarly). If AI generates the images, I include the prompt so you can see how I got to that image. Nothing in this newsletter, or anything I publish anywhere, reflects the views of my employer.