17/06/2026
For our 11th birthday Sydney Design Thinking (SydDT) event on Thursday, we came back to a question that’s been sitting under so many of our recent conversations…
How do we keep people, customers, judgement, creativity, and trust at the centre as AI becomes part of more of what we design and do?
We were lucky to have Riley Coleman, Kristin de la Fuente, Alex Zinoviev share thoughtful, practical, and very human perspectives on AI in the real world – with Tarra van Amerongen guiding the panel conversation.
The panel conversation kept coming back to a simple distinction… done is not the same as valuable.
AI can help us move faster, but if we’re building the wrong thing, solving the wrong problem, or removing human judgement that makes the work meaningful – faster doesn’t bring more value.
The tech has changed a lot. The pace is different. The stakes feel different. But the deeper question hasn’t changed much at all… how do we use design to help people solve problems that matter?
Thanks to everyone who made it such a fun night. Couldn’t make it or just want to relive it? https://dynamic4.com/ideas/syddt-127-the-human-loop-keeping-the-customer-at-the-core-of-ai or link in bio.
A huge thanks to Riley, Kristin, Alex, and Tarra for such a generous and thoughtful conversation… and to Kristin for sharing her birthday with us.
Thanks to Resham Agrawal who did the awesome graphic recording this month. This initiative is a collaboration with Shapeshifters. SydDT is a friendly environment for people to practice their live graphic recording skills.
A shout out to Bex Haar for another great write-up with her reflections.
A massive thanks to Thoughtworks, GenAI Lab, Alan Chen and Diana Ayoub from Shapeshifters, and for making it all happen. And Kate Linton for being the lead organiser for this one.
Finally, thanks to the whole SydDT community for 11 awesome years. Plenty to come 😃