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UXPA 2026: Soul Searching – A Case for Analog UX Thinking in the Age of AI

Our work is moving faster than ever before, and it’s easy to mistake activity for achievement. New technologies are reshaping the way we design and deliver digital experiences. UX professionals are at a crossroads. What’s our role? This talk makes the case for slow, deliberate, sensible UX strategy in an increasingly automated world. Drawing on case studies and interviews, we’ll explore how classic design principles, like storytelling, editing, and ethical judgement, are more necessary than ever. Attendees will leave with a different perspective on how to contextualize AI in their work. This talk looks beyond UX work to consider how we can establish better systems of decision-making to prioritize common sense, minimize our tendency to overstuff UIs, and build better coalitions with business partners to bring UX strategies to life. Attendees will hear practical tips for pitching strategic UX visions, and the pitfalls of becoming enamored with our own solutions.

Education◦
A case for analog thinking in the age of AI S‌ o‌ u‌ l Searching LOU CIMAGLIA UXPA 2026
LOU CIMAGLIA Boston MA | UX Content Strategist | Nearsighted
LOU CIMAGLIA Exhausting | Asking a lot already | Nearsighted
People your age just don’t get it.
You’re not prepared.
84 Organizations increasing their AI investment Deloitte's State of AI in the Enterprise report – January 2026 %
78 Leaders expressing higher confidence in AI Deloitte's State of AI in the Enterprise report – January 2026 %
65 Americans who report using AI weekly Edison Research, May 2026 %
54 Students using AI for “assistance with school tasks” Pew Research, February 2026 %
$300 BILLION Cost to put a man on the moon Adjusted for 2026 inflation
$700 BILLION Projected AI infrastructure spend by end of 2026 TechCrunch, February 2026
We’ve gone from rough idea to working prototype before anyone leaves the room... What used to take a week……now happens in a single conversation. – Product Manager, DataDog
Compile UX research Create personas Competitive analysis Prototyping Content brainstorm Governance and gap analysis
The The EAGERADOPTER EAGERADOPTER “AI is the future, and the future is now.”
The The CAUTIOUSLYCURIOUS CAUTIOUSLYCURIOUS “I’m skeptical, but I don’t want to fall behind.”
The The MORALLYOPPOSED MORALLYOPPOSED “...and for that reason, I’m out.”
The The DOOMSAYER DOOMSAYER “Respectfully, we are so cooked.”
An uncanny resemblance.
...overly nostalgic...
You’re not fun to talk to about this stuff. – Lou’s Wife
Digital technology….is good medicine for an ailing society. TV has given us government by image; interactivity will return power to the people. Top-down programming has isolated us; bottom-up networks will reunite us. – Johnathan Franzen, 1995
Content marketing executive
– UX Principal AI is a tool to help me do things more efficiently.
– Content strategist It’s been helpful in the research and discovery phase. Good for refining tone and generating ideas.
– UX Principal I swing between hopeful and existential dread.
– UX Principal Companies want to implement AI but can’t seem to articulate how or exactly what results they’re wanting.
Thinking process AI in the...
Take that, The Road
UX process AI in the...
The customer experience Wireframes Research Content strategy Accessibility Behavioral science Governance Information architecture Problem statements
Customer experience AI in the...
We have no idea where AI is taking UX
Before we continue...
WHAT IS ANALOG THINKING? Trying to make sense of something new by searching for lessons from something old. Stepping away from AI and taking a deep breath. Touching grass, as the kids say. Life Is A Carnival Roll ‘em down and turn it up: it’s the UX mixtape
Breakdown EDITORIAL DISCIPLINE (Or, resisting the temptation to overdo it, and what happens if we do) Analog skill #1 Not everything can make it on the tape
AI tutors for students AI grading for teachers AI scribes for ambulance reports AI care for chronic lung disease AI for social facilitation AI for the physical world
We’ve got a trust problem. Side B: AI is showing up everywhere. Whether it should or not. Side A:
AI tutors for students AI grading for teachers AI scribes for ambulance reports AI care for chronic lung disease AI for social facilitation AI for the physical world
– Paul Graham, CEO, Y Combinator It feels like being lied to, and who would stand for that?
TRUST, BY THE NUMBERS 76% of Americans believe they can trust AI-generated information only some of the time or hardly ever. A June 2025 survey indicated that half of U.S. adults are more concerned than excited about AI. AI has a net negative 20 favorability rating. I Don’t Wanna Lie
Because there’s no set definition of AI, one breakdown somewhere hurts trust in AI everywhere. Hitting pause:
The The BLOATRISK BLOATRISK When the buffet table looks a little too good.
Do we care if we recognize AI? Flip the deck:
YOU GOT YOUR AI IN MY PEANUT BUTTER! 89% of people said they’d prefer speaking with a real person when contacting a healthcare provider. 75% of consumers said they’ve received a fast AI response and still felt frustrated. 29% said talking to AI is their most frustrating service experience. (Forbes) Just As Strange
I talked to employers who were frustrated when they realized students were trying to consult ChatGPT during an interview. – University administrator
The recruiter would take really long pauses after I answered a question. He said, ‘sorry, just validating your answer with ChatGPT. Looks like it agrees with you.’ Iendedtheinterview. – Senior Marketing Director
How does UX make sure we aren’t building AI just for the sake of AI? Hitting pause:
WHAT IS THIN SLICING? Listen to someone speak for 5 seconds. The sociological principle that trained observation of someone’s body language, tone, intonation, etc., can generate insights that might contradict what was actually said.
Conversation mining Listen for the spaces between the notes Power to the People Into the Great Wide Open A new UX ceremony Listen to call center recordings and user interviews regularly Foster a culture of empathy through qualitative storytelling. Make real voices the star of your research and product decisions
PRACTICING RESTRAINT Institute a culture of consistent feedback from real customers. Keep a running “Futures File” for your team. Schedule quarterly meetings, or more often, possibly, to discuss the ideas that the team has been slowly logging. Lessons from the editor’s desk What UX should do Musta Got Lost
I'm mad. This makes me angry. I'm angry, and I'm mad. I feel injured. Betrayed. Like a sacred trust has been violated ... People are having anxiety headaches. They've been placed in a distressed state. – Washington Post interview, 1985
We don’t want to stray from what works. But how can we stand out? Flip the tape:
I Fought The Law INTELLIGENT DISOBEDIENCE (Or, how UX Moneyballed itself, and what we should do to fix it) Analog skill #2 Learn the rules, then break ‘em
Intelligent disobedience
Intelligent disobedience
Intelligent disobedience
Intelligent disobedience
Intelligent disobedience
Everything already looks the same. In 5 years, I don’t know how we’ll even be able to tell anything apart. – Senior Creative Director, UX
I don’t know if a digital experience should be memorable. – UX Director
Working with UX used to feel like working with the creative department. Now it feels like working with the creative police. – Senior Director, Product Owner
The The CURSEOFKNOWLEDGE CURSEOFKNOWLEDGE No one likes inside baseball. At this point, no one likes regular baseball.
The The ENDOWMENTEFFECT ENDOWMENTEFFECT The reason you haggle at yard sales. Intelligent disobedience
RECONSIDER BEFORE DEFAULTING TO PAST PATTERNS In UIs, and in our UX process - show, don’t tell. AI will allow us to create interactive tools, calculators, and experiences. Spend less time lecturing. We’re not debating hamburger menus. We’re debating the strategy.
– Jared Wrobleski Instead of starting with nothing, AI can generate something for people to edit. Let them refine, not create from scratch. They learn by seeing what's possible, by modifying, by doing.