In September 2026 I trekked down to San Francisco for Outliers, a conference hosted by Outset, which is an AI-moderated customer interview company. I went to connect with researchers and designers working where AI-native product development meets the future of UX research, and to learn from some of the best in the field.

I wasn't disappointed. What struck me most was how central human connection and judgment remained, even as the industry races to put AI into everything, everywhere, all at once. A second emerging theme is how UX Researchers can become builders to create AI-enabled work processes.

Why I started shipping code, and my thoughts on how the next battleground in AI is quality you can actually measure.