When Shaza revealed in our Slack channel her upcoming talk on AI/UX at Ørsted on April 25th, I was beaming with excitement as the notion of AI/UX sparked a curiosity tinged with a hint of apprehension in me. Would this innovative frontier replace our roles, or augment them? Eager to unravel the mystery, I eagerly anticipated Shaza’s insights.

Stepping into the Ørsted Malaysia office feels like entering a fresh, modern space. Sunlight pours through expansive windows, illuminating a space furnished with sleek Nordic design, the space feels inviting and innovative in its clean lines. Zen and Nuriy from the UX team greeted Shaza and me with a warm welcome, a palpable energy buzzed through the air with a mix of focus and friendly collaboration. It’s clear this is a place where people from over 17 nationalities are passionate about Ørsted’s mission in renewable energy, and that gets us excited to be part of it!

Shaza started the talk with the myth of Prometheus, the Greek titan who is best known for defying the Olympian gods by stealing fire from them and giving it to humanity. The fire he gave wasn’t just warmth, but the spark of progress in technology and knowledge, and the fire that brought us to this talk today, is AI.

A little soul-searching before AI tooling

To design for a relationship with AI, we need to know ourselves first.” – IBM, Design for AI

Stampede has been a long advocate of the use of thoughtful design and technology to create positive change. Our current exploration, “To AI or not to AI?”, began with deep reflection, because as with any true improvement, the journey starts with a clear understanding of why. We found asking ourselves repeatedly, “Will doing this help us create a better world?” and if it does, “What does a better world look like to us?”, while we are on our way to creating a better world, “Are we being thoughtful with how we do it?”

Our curiosity is insatiable, like a researcher chasing down a breakthrough.

Our early journey in injecting AI into our design process

The real value will come from using AI to enhance human creativity and innovation, supporting human needs and potentials.” — Ginni Rometty

The design process, from user discovery and problem definition all the way through prototyping and testing, offers numerous opportunities for optimization. In Stampede, we view this process through the lens of “Drag vs. Lift”. Drag represents actions or practices that slow us down, reduce efficiency, or stifle creativity. Conversely, Lift refers to actions that boost productivity, spark innovation, and streamline workflows.

We looked for drags in two primary areas: Research and Design Delivery. Our strategy was to over-index on pains in the design process that are also causing business pains. Ideally, these drags would require less effort to address yet deliver significant impact. For each pain point, we then explore potential AI solutions that could act as our co-pilots in the design process.

An example of Drag is the endless design iteration cycle, which can significantly delay the product’s time-to-market. While iterations are crucial for building confidence, there is a tipping point. We use the Rule of 70% in our process, suggesting to aim for 70% confidence to make timely decisions, balancing accuracy with speed. But how do we do this?

Stampede’s UX researchers help PMs achieve the critical 70% confidence mark faster by using AI co-pilot that automatically records, transcribes and analyze user feedback from testing sessions, accelerating actionable insights and propelling product development. We also employ advanced user behavior models to help forecast future trends and predict user reactions to different design options, empowering product teams to proactively anticipate user needs and deliver solutions that resonate. This is how UX researchers in Stampede become key partners in this fast-paced decision-making process.

AI is definitely changing the game in our processes, like how we conduct user research differently now with AI-assisted proto-persona, or how we design surveys differently now with AI to role play as respondents, and it’s only going to be more exciting from here! Surprisingly the one that sparked the most conversation during the talk was, how do we design accessibility differently now with AI?

Transforming the digital experience of seniors

The crowd started stirring into accessibility topics when Shaza mentioned about how frustrating it can be for our parents to use apps that seem like a breeze to us. Technology can be a real barrier for the senior community and often it’s because we, the younger generation, design it without fully comprehend their needs. We might think an interface is clear and simple, but for someone with declining eyesight and dexterity, it could be a confusing jumble. This is where AI enters as an accessibility game-changer, it can help us realize blind spots by analyzing user behavior patterns and identify areas where seniors might struggle with an app. It can assist us in designing appropriate copywriting tone, creating a designing language that resonate with their physical and emotional needs. By leveraging AI in our process, we can move beyond designing for our current selves and create technology that truly empowers everyone, regardless of age or ability, creating a better world for our senior community (and perhaps our older selves might benefit from it!)

Intersectionality is the dawn of AI-ready teams

Lunchtime buzzed with discussions about future-ready designers with the Ørsted team. We shared Stampede’s “design onigiri” illustration, visualizing the roles of UX, UI, and product designers. Imagine a designer with business acumen and a product manager fluent in user research, these overlapping skills don’t clash, instead, they spark a powerful synergy that this intersectionality creates a shared perspective, supercharging collaborations that will move the industry forward.

Fun fact: The “design onigiri” was inspired by Shaza’s recent trip to Japan. The Ørsted team saw an opportunity to suggest a Malaysian twist – a ‘nasi campur’ version, which is really awesome, talk about global design inspiration!

And it’s a wrap!

A huge thank you to Ørsted’s UX team, especially Zen Cheong and Nuriy Arisa and your fantastic design team, for your incredible hospitality and for creating a space where we learn alongside fellow designers. It’s collaborations like these that fuel our mission at Stampede to create better worlds, one thoughtful innovation at a time 🚀

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Stampede Makers is a quarterly event that celebrates the designers and builders in all of us. Run by the team at Stampede, it gathers those who are advancing their craft in design and technology to create better, more thoughtful worlds.

Makers 7 raised an important and timely question. As designers, our job has always been about solving problems creatively, but with data and AI, we’re stepping into a new reality where the boundaries of what we can achieve are expanding. Instead of getting bogged down by repetitive tasks, AI is helping us focus on what really matters—creating meaningful value and bringing innovation to the forefront.

Illuminating the way for us were three distinguished speakers from the fields of data science, design, and business, each offering unique perspectives on the integration of AI in design.

Dr. Lau Cher Han, Malaysia’s foremost expert in data science, is renowned for his human-first approach to technology. With extensive experience in AI and data-driven solutions, Dr. Lau has helped industries across the board harness AI to create meaningful, user-centred applications. His keynote explored how designers can leverage AI and data not only to diagnose problems but to foster innovation and design sustainable, human-focused solutions.

Pedro Custódio, Design Leader at EY Malaysia, is deeply engaged in UX and innovation, and a strong advocate for grassroots community initiatives. Pedro shared his insights on how AI is reshaping the role of designers, emphasizing the importance of human creativity in combination with AI’s capabilities. His perspective provided valuable direction for those seeking to enhance their design processes with AI.

As CEO of KATSANA, Syed Ahmad Fuqaha Sd Agil has led the integration of AI and data into telematics and mobility solutions. His focus on developing user-centric innovations, particularly in creating safer and more efficient transportation systems, offered a practical demonstration of how data is essential in designing impactful, real-world solutions.

If there’s ever a brain trust for designing human-centred AI in Malaysia, this is it.

A new era of design

During his keynote, Dr Lau shared how AI and data are opening new possibilities in design. To him, the key to successful technology is not the tech itself but understanding human psychology. “Psychology-driven solutions are always cheaper than technology-led solutions,” a powerful insight that underlines the importance of designing with human needs and behaviour in mind, not just relying on advanced tools.

Dr Lau took the audience through his journey of moving from the purely technical side of things to a user-centric design approach. He illustrated this with stories of everyday design decisions, such as why traditional Chinese teacups lack handles—they are easier to transport, cheaper to produce, and signal usability (if the cup is too hot to hold, it’s too hot to drink). These subtle considerations of user experience highlight how design can shape behaviour in ways that technology alone cannot.

He also shared that while AI can help automate repetitive tasks, such as generating proposals or analyzing large data sets, its real value lies in uncovering hidden insights—patterns that aren’t immediately visible to the human eye. This capability makes AI a powerful tool in user research, where it can sift through large amounts of qualitative data to provide more accurate and insightful feedback.

To him, AI is not about replacing human creativity or empathy but about enhancing it. While AI can assist with tasks like role-playing user personas or simulating usability tests, the human aspect—especially the emotional and empathetic connection—remains irreplaceable. He concluded that “AI can offer emotions, but only humans can give the full spectrum of empathy and emotional experiences.”

The shift from manual to meaningful work

A few years ago, we worked with a team of data scientists on an engineering app that reduced the time it took to predict equipment failures from two weeks to 15 minutes. Not only that, but it also recommended the best time window for balancing cost and risk. We expected some pushback from users, thinking they might feel their work was becoming obsolete.

Instead, they embraced it. Why? Because it took away the tedious parts of their job, freeing them up to create bigger value for the company.

This mirrors Pedro’s point on how AI isn’t about replacing our work. AI now allows us to enhance our ability to focus on more valuable tasks. As this liberates designers from mundane, repetitive work, it creates opportunities for us to channel our energy into solving higher-order problems that demand creativity and innovation. Pedro also noted how AI can give us a sense of empowerment—allowing us to accomplish more with the same or even fewer resources.

Designing the future, together

In the panel discussion, Pedro and Fuqaha shared real-world examples of how data and AI are transforming user-centred innovations. As a practising designer, Pedro brought home the point that while AI can enhance our capabilities, it’s crucial to understand its limitations and work alongside these systems—not against them. He advocated for effective collaboration between designers and AI, where we leverage AI’s strengths but retain creative control of our work. This balance, as he put it, is key to maintaining our value as designers in an AI-driven world.

Data and AI are not here to take over—they’re here to make us better, more focused designers who can deliver greater impact.

Looking ahead

Makers 7 showed us that designers today have an opportunity like never before. With data and AI integrated into our workflows, we can create more impactful, sustainable, and user-centred solutions. The future of design has never been about the tools—it’s about how we use them to understand, serve, and delight users in ways we never could before.

I am excited and optimistic about where design is heading and the designers’ role in it. How about you?

Thank you for being part of our community of designers and builders of the future. To creating better worlds together, and see you at Makers 8 in June!

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