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Exit Interview #2: Rediscovering the ethical heart of design
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Summary
After two decades in Product Design, I’m stepping away — not out of burnout, but disillusionment. The craft that once sought to elevate human experience now too often serves the false gods of metrics and efficiency, while the industry eagerly embraces approaches that lead to its own commoditization. I’ll share why I’m stepping away from the tech industry, what I’ve learned about doing design responsibly in a system obsessed with mechanical efficiency, and how my next chapter—studying deception and morality in AI—might still bring us back to what design was meant to be.
Key Insights
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Kenneth transitioned from senior UX design roles into technology ethics and philosophy due to ethical disillusionment and industry collapse.
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Philosophy demands a shift from empirical, data-driven thinking to rigorous, logical reasoning devoid of experimental data.
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There is a growing awareness of the moral impact of technology, but a retreat from ethical responsibility is currently observable in the tech industry.
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Designers inevitably engage in ethics through decisions affecting others, whether consciously or not.
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The ethics of deception in design is complex; some deception like placebo buttons is socially acceptable, but dark patterns are morally problematic.
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AI as a designer raises novel ethical questions since AI lacks intention and cannot understand deception in human terms.
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Support for transitioning from industry design work to academic philosophy is limited and often requires personal resilience and external financial backing.
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Academia is a difficult career path with limited job security and funding, especially in humanities and philosophy, making it a commitment driven by intrinsic motivation.
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Kenneth views his role as translating complex ethical philosophy into approachable guidance for tech practitioners.
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Despite leaving design practice, Kenneth retains affection for the discipline but is critical of the industry's current direction and values.
Notable Quotes
"Ethics tends to emerge at the level of mastery of a community."
"I'm basically a philosopher because 50% of people don't know what an ethicist is."
"Design permeates everything as a lens through which you see the world; philosophy is just a different shaped lens."
"You can't just measure ethics like a scientific question; you have to reason differently."
"Philosophy is hardass; it's rigid, robust, and demanding, not fluffy or subjective."
"Designers use deception all the time, but the moral dividing line between acceptable and harmful deception is fuzzy."
"There is no value in outsourcing the thinking of philosophy to AI; doing the thinking yourself is the point."
"The tech industry is retreating from responsibility and ethics despite increasing awareness of moral impact."
"Support structures for switching from design to academia are sparse; you mostly have to figure it out yourself."
"I love the things—technology, design—but I really dislike the industry."
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