Product Pals Live @SNN: Emma Carter on Leading Design in the AI Era

<p>It’s one of the biggest questions product teams are asking right now.</p><p>If anyone can generate prototypes, build interfaces, and ship ideas faster than ever… what happens to the role of design?</p><p>In our latest <strong>Product Pals Live</strong> episode, recorded at <strong>Signal Not Noise 2026</strong>, we sat down with <strong>Emma Carter</strong>, Head of Design at MYOB and author of three books on design leadership.</p><p>One idea from our conversation has really stayed with me:</p><p>AI will make building easier. But it won’t replace the need to deeply understand people, ask better questions, or know whether we’re solving the right problem.</p><p>That shift changes the conversation.</p><p>Design is not just about creating screens. It’s about connecting customer needs, business goals, technology, and human judgement.</p><p>In this episode we also explore: 🎨 Why design is much more than UI and aesthetics 🤝 How Product, Design, and Engineering can become better partners 🗣️ Why engineers should spend more time talking to customers ⚖️ When to move fast with AI—and when slowing down creates better outcomes 🔮 How AI may reshape the future of product teams and specialist roles</p><p>This was one of our favourite conversations from <strong>Product Pals Live</strong>, and we hope it sparks as much discussion for you as it did for our live audience.</p><p>🎧 The episode is out now! Search <strong>Product Pals</strong> on YouTube or your favourite podcast platform.</p><p>💬 I’m curious what do you think?</p><p>As AI becomes better at creating, do you think the roles of Product Manager, Designer, and Engineer will become more specialised… or begin to merge?</p><p><br /></p>