A Web Designer’s Raw Feelings on AI
When AI first started making waves in web design, I’ll admit, I was intimidated. It seemed like it was being framed as a magical shortcut — suddenly, anyone could generate layouts, templates, even custom designs with just a few prompts and the click of a button. And if I’m being brutally honest, as a web designer and a small business owner, yes, I feel threatened.
There’s this creeping sense that AI is the easy way out, a silver bullet for anyone wanting a website on the cheap. And I get it! AI is fast, it's accessible, and it promises to level the playing field. But here’s my raw feeling: it’s not enough.
Creativity, that human spark, can’t be mass-produced. It can’t be coded. It’s something that lives in the empathy we pour into each project, the personality we weave in, the craft we refine.
I won’t pretend that I’m not overwhelmed. The speed at which AI is evolving, and how easily it’s becoming a go-to solution, it rattles me. But I also believe that AI should be a tool, not a replacement. When wielded thoughtfully, it can free us up to focus on what matters most: the essence of a brand, the story behind every page, the soul in every click.
In the spirit of honesty, I use AI frequently. I use it for brainstorming, outlining my ideas, keyword and content research, and crafting messaging. But I also have recognized a diminishment in my ability to write as strongly as I once did (and that scares me more than anything.)
Recently, a prospective client said to me, “I’m not anti-AI, but I am anti-over reliance on it.” That really resonated with me. Lately, it’s all I see in my social media feed. Everyone now it promoting AI courses and sharing how they’re leveaging AI in their lives and businesses…
It’s scary. It makes me nervous. I worry about the very real threat of “being replaced” — or being “left behind” if I don’t adapt — and my craft being over taken by heartless, spiritless, soulless tech.
And of course, there’s the much grander impacts of AI. On our environment. On our society and governments. And all of the potential threats and risks on public and personal safety. I’ve witnessed this disruption first-hand as my hometown has become the site of a new data center beside Lake Michigan.
Maybe I am defensive — after all, I am a designer, an empath, a creative. But this is my conviction: no matter how good AI gets, no matter how quick or cheap it becomes, it will never fully replace the humanity we bring. And if we rush to let technology run the show, we risk losing the very thing that makes us human… and at what great cost?
