Apple Computer 50 years anniversary | The New UX for AI | Excellent AI support chat from Substack | New reasoning image model: Luma Uni-1 thinks through what to draw | AI is more creative than humans and will likely get even more creative in the future with more compute | Upgraded AI music model Suno 5.5

AI is not just a better chat box. It changes the user’s role from operator to supervisor, which forces UX to move from command-based interaction toward intent-based delegation, new usability metrics, orchestration layers, calibrated friction, and ultimately exploration-based interaction to clarify the user’s needs.

Summary : Why I generate images in 4K resolution | Half of UI academic research fails to reproduce | NotebookLM Cinematic Videos Do Well with Viewers | Midjourney Version 8 Disappoints | New protocol for AI agents to use micropayments | Microsoft releases its new MAI-Image-2 model | NVIDIA’s GTC Conference UX Roundup for March 23, 2026 (Nano Banana 2) Why I Generate in 4K You may have noticed that almost all of the images I post in this newsletter are 1280 pixels wide. And ye

Summary : The average user is a terrible design target for digital products. High-end “Whale” users in the 95th or 99th percentile of usage volume (P95 or P99) have different needs and often generate dramatically more business value than the masses of low-end users that hit the P50 median usage metrics. The P95/P50 ratio ranges from 3 to 100 (or higher), depending on domain characteristics, leading to different recommended design strategies. Averages flatten reality. In pro

Summary : Books dominated by Old UX instead of new UX | How Adam Smith predicts AI will turn out for the economy | Chinese sci-fi video made with Seedance 2 | The 5 levels of AI agency UX Roundup for March 16, 2026 (Nano Banana Pro) Old UX Dominates in New Books; New UX Too Rare Vitaly Friedman published a list of 21 new books about UX (including some online sources). It’s a useful service to list them all in one place, and several of these new books look interesting, judgin

Summary : A design crit should implement strategic participant roles, 24-hour context share, and rigorous prioritization frameworks. This allows cross-functional teams to align technical feasibility with business objectives in a design, mitigating costly development risks and driving product excellence. Unless you follow the defined process in this article, a design critique can easily be derailed. (Nano Banana 2) Ever felt like design reviews are just messy arguments? Tired

Summary : Using Nano Banana 2 to render the heroes of the graphical user interface as a monument | Two examples of great AI (short) videos | AI won’t kill software | Bing reports AI citations of your website | AI task horizons keep increasing | Google simplifies its AI product architecture | One-shot instructional AI video from NotebookLM | GPT 5.4 is probably a better writer than 5.2 UX Roundup for March 9, 2026 (Nano Banana 2) Using Nano Banana 2 To Render the Heroes of the

Summary: Six levels of AI design maturity. Early levels involve skepticism and ad-hoc tool use. Later levels embed AI into design systems and product delivery. The highest level envisions AI generating interfaces autonomously. As interfaces dissolve into real-time-generated experiences, the designer’s role shifts from pixel pusher to system gardener. The article includes a self-assessment framework and emphasizes the need to progress one level at a time to successfully instit

Summary : The AI is the computer | AI is disrupting the filmed entertainment industry | UX trends for 2026 | AI can use the GOMS UI analysis method | New image model: Nano Banana 2 | New music model: Lyria 3 UX Roundup for March 2, 2026 (Nano Banana 2) The AI is the Computer Aravind Srinivas (the founder of Perplexity, which is probably the best AI-driven answer engine but has ambitions to be more) wrote an interesting essay titled “ The AI is the Computer .” When I worked a

Summary: The GUI’s success wasn’t about any single invention, but a synergy of 4 elements: Window, Icon, Menu, and Pointer, through a 60-year history of usability improvements. But the era of WIMP is drawing to an end with a radical shift toward Generative UI and World Models, in which static menus are replaced by fluid, intent-driven AI interactions. (I made all the comics in this article with Nano Banana Pro.) The evolution of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) represents

Summary : Year of the Fire Horse | Reversing creative workflows | AI coding wins complete dominance | Usability scaling continues | 40 years of being right become 40 years of being wrong | Usability Engineering book passes 30,000 citations | Award-winning AI video UX Roundup for February 16, 2026: Happy Year of the Horse! (xx) Year of the Fire Horse Happy Year of the Horse! But it’s not just any old horse this year, it’s the fire horse, a combination that only comes aroun

Summary: We possess the philosopher’s stone in the form of AI (transmuting cheap sand into expensive thought), tutoring that used to be limited to emperors (also AI), and tools that transcend biological limits (AI again). The only thing holding us back is our willingness to act, because humans still need agency. AI works. The question is: will you? I have long been a fan of Marc Andreessen, the man who built the first practical GUI web browser and now co-leads Silicon Valle

Summary : AI judgment may follow a scaling law | Scaling AI’s judgment of usability heuristics | Generating consistent visual design assets with AI | New AI music model: Mureka O2 UX Roundup for February 2, 2026. (Nano Banana Pro) AI Judgment May Follow a Scaling Law The “bitter lesson” just became more bitter for those humans who still believe in meatware supremacy and their “unique” ability to have “taste” or judgment about what’s best among the ceaseless AI creations. A

Summary: Short and easily digested versions of Jakob Nielsen’s 18 predictions for UX and AI in 2026: A 10-Page comic book and a series of 10 posters. My 18 predictions for UX and AI in 2026 turned into a very long article of almost 10,000 words. I recommend reading the full thing, because details matter. But if you’re pressed for time, here are three fast ways of getting an overview: Music video about AI & UX in 2026 (YouTube, 5 min.) A 10-page comic strip A series of 10 s

Summary : New video with 2026 predictions for AI & UX | AI analyzing usability test recordings | Character consistency still difficult | Google DeepMind documentary film | Amazon’s ecommerce agent Rufus does well | AI renews drug prescriptions | Problems using Mechanical Turk for user research UX Roundup for January 19, 2026. (Nano Banana Pro) 2026 Predictions: The Music Video The article with my 18 predictions for AI and UX in 2026 is very long (almost 10,000 words), so I