AI is changing the way we work, sometimes faster than we realize. Vibe coding, copilots, and automation are reshaping expectations for both technical and non-technical roles. Product managers and UX designers are seeing their disciplines evolve in real time.
In my last post, I shared what vibe coding looks like from a product manager’s perspective and a few lessons learned along the way. This time, I wanted to hear from others. I asked my colleagues here at PubNub, PMs and UX designers, to share their advice and predictions. We focused on three questions: what guidance they would give kids (or their parents) considering STEM, what new product managers should keep in mind, and how they see their fields changing in the years ahead.
Advice for the Next Generation
The first question I asked our PMs and UX designers was something that came from one of our internal off-topic Slack channels. “Kids today can vibe code. AI can generate working apps in minutes. We are even seeing youth hackathons where the code is mostly AI-assisted. At the same time, there is constant news about the future of entry-level coding jobs and whether computer science education should evolve. If you were speaking to an 8-year-old, a high schooler, or even a college freshman who is leaning toward STEM or coding, what advice would you give them? Should they still learn the fundamentals of coding from scratch, or is there a better way to prepare for the future?”
"When I think about the next generation learning to code, my 9-year-old daughter comes to mind. She loves Scratch and KiwiCo kits, which teach her to break down big problems into small steps — the essence of coding. My advice is to learn the fundamentals to build logic and problem-solving skills, but also embrace AI as a tool. Prompting an AI is a new kind of literacy, and being able to frame problems and spot its biases will be as valuable as writing code itself."
Emma Verrechia, Director of User Experience
Years of UX / UI design experience: 10-15
“Now more than ever, critical thinking is essential. AI won’t do the job end to end, but it can help tremendously with speed, efficiency, and even learning. It’s still just a tool, one that can be misused or misinterpreted, not an oracle you can rely on fully. You may not need to learn CPU architecture or even deep coding to work in software anymore, but you must always be capable of verifying your sources, validating AI’s output, and being knowledgeable enough to make decisions and take responsibility for them.”
Jakub Koj, Sr Product Manager
Years of product management experience: 5-10
“There is always value in learning the logical flows of code. Even if you use AI to generate most of it, understanding how solutions are put together makes you a better vibe coder and helps you validate AI’s output instead of accepting it blindly. Focus on logic and terminology—because when you can ‘talk the talk,’ AI will give you better results. It’s less about memorizing syntax today and more about building the problem-solving mindset that will carry you forward.”
Keith Lindsay, Sr Product Manager / Principal Solutions Architect
Years of product management experience: 10-15
“Just because AI can code doesn’t mean fundamentals don’t matter. It’s like math and calculators—you still need the basics to think critically, debug effectively, and be creative. When you combine that foundation with AI tools, you can ask sharper questions, review outputs with confidence, and turn ideas into real solutions. Knowing the basics also gives you the flexibility to adapt as tools change, because the core principles of logic and design stay the same.”
Ginni Kakkar, Associate Product Manager
Years of product management experience: 2-5
“Vibe coding is only a tool. Without learning fundamentals like algorithms and data structures, you’re just remixing patterns without understanding what’s really happening. The more you know, the better you can ask the right questions and push beyond the obvious. Fundamentals give you the confidence to build something useful, scalable, and original. They also open the door to true innovation, where you can move past remixing and actually create something that AI itself will need to learn from.”
Phani Pandrangi, VP of Product Management
Years of product management experience: 20+
“Yes, still learn the fundamentals—not to memorize every syntax rule, but to understand how things work. That foundation makes you a better problem solver and lets you evaluate, debug, and guide whatever AI produces. I’d encourage young people to build something small on their own, like a simple app, game, or website, to learn structure and logic. Once you have that base, use AI to accelerate your learning and creativity. For UX, the same applies: a strong grasp of principles is what makes the difference.”
Monika Mosur, UX / UI Designer
Years of UX / UI design experience: 2-5
“Knowing some coding fundamentals can dramatically improve the quality of what you get out of AI—or at least save you some headaches. A healthy balance speeds you up and keeps you from blindly following AI off a cliff. And this applies beyond coding too: the right mix of real-world knowledge and AI is incredibly powerful.”
Nicolis Miller, Product Analyst
Years of product experience: 1-3
Guidance for Product Managers and UX Designers
The second was about what guidance they’d give to product managers and UX designers.
“Product management and user experience have always been a balance of art and science, but the tools and expectations are shifting. For those just starting out, whether they come from a technical background or not, what guidance would you share? What are the skills, habits, or mindsets that you believe matter most now?
How about for those product managers and UX / UI designers with 10 to 20 years of experience? Would your guidance be different?"
“For new designers, focus on research, product thinking, and how to use AI as a tool. AI can handle data and prototypes, but it can’t replicate empathy or nuance — those make you indispensable. As you grow, your value shifts from producing wireframes to defining the right problems, setting direction, and telling the story. And across all levels, we must ensure AI-powered experiences are fair, transparent, and respectful of users."
Emma Verrechia, Director of User Experience
Years of UX / UI design experience: 10-15
“Multitasking sounds tempting, but a great PM masters focus and tackles one task at a time. Make sure you’re doing the right thing—be ruthless with prioritization and put your effort where it matters. AI can help with that, but you still need to think about goals and outcomes, not just the task in front of you. Use qualitative data for inspiration, not validation, and don’t let loud opinions throw you off track. Always question your hypotheses, or make sure someone else does. And above all, remember you are not your target user. Don’t rely only on your own perspective—go and talk to real users.”
Jakub Koj, Sr Product Manager
Years of product management experience: 5-10
“Human connection and empathy are more important than ever. A PM sits at the center of business, engineering, and the customer, and those tradeoff decisions can’t be outsourced to AI. At the same time, AI will often overshoot by generating an overstuffed PRD or long list of features. The real skill is trimming that down to a focused MVP that still solves the customer’s core problem. I also believe PMs should practice vibe coding because it forces you to be precise. If you can clearly explain a project to AI, you can clearly explain it to your team.”
Keith Lindsay, Sr Product Manager / Principal Solutions Architect
Years of product management experience: 10-15
“For new PMs, the key is curiosity and the ability to understand not only what customers want, but why they want it. Communication is critical, because translating customer problems into ideas that engineers can act on is where real impact happens. You don’t need to be the most technical person in the room, but you should be comfortable enough with technology to speak the language and know what’s possible.”
Ginni Kakkar, Associate Product Manager
Years of product management experience: 2-5
“No matter how long you’ve been in product, the most important skill is the ability to crisply define the what and the why. Everything else flows from that. You need to understand customer pain points, see the bigger market picture, and translate those insights into solutions that work now and in the future. Yes, prioritization and cross-team alignment are important, but if you can’t clearly articulate the problem and the purpose, the rest doesn’t matter. AI can help with research and execution, but the judgment to frame the right problem is still a uniquely human role.”
Phani Pandrangi, VP of Product Management
Years of product management experience: 20+
“For beginners, the most important skill is problem-solving. Tools will change, but your ability to uncover insights, design for users, and meet business goals will last. Stay adaptable and focus on critical thinking over mastering one platform. For senior designers, the challenge is different: leadership now requires fluency in AI-powered workflows, comfort with data-driven decision-making, and the humility to keep learning.”
Monika Mosur, UX / UI Designer
Years of UX / UI design experience: 2-5
“A willingness to learn and try new things is still one of the most important qualities for product managers at any stage of their career. In my opinion, AI hasn’t changed that—it just gives us new tools to learn and experiment with.”
Nicolis Miller, Product Analyst
Years of product experience: 1-3
The Future of Your Field
Lastly, it’s a look into that crystal ball. “The pace of change is accelerating. Vibe coding and AI copilots are already altering how we ideate, design, and build. Looking at your own discipline—whether product management or UX design—what changes do you foresee in the next few years? What should people in your role be preparing for?”
"In UX, our work is shifting from designing screens to shaping the intelligence that helps users reach their goals. That means designing not just for humans, but for AI systems acting on their behalf. We need to prevent a design monoculture where everything looks the same, and push for originality and human-centered solutions. To prepare, we must get comfortable with AI tools — using them critically, not blindly — and design for the evolving ‘conversation’ between people and intelligent systems."
Emma Verrechia, Director of User Experience
Years of UX / UI design experience: 10-15
“I don’t see product managers being replaced by AI anytime soon, but I do see PMs who master AI replacing those who underestimate or ignore it. Product management is changing quickly, and AI is becoming a basic, everyday tool. If you don’t embrace change fast enough, you risk being overrun by others who do. The PMs who thrive will be the ones who adapt, learn continuously, and use AI to extend their impact.”
Jakub Koj, Sr Product Manager
Years of product management experience: 5-10
“AI will get smarter and more precise, but we can’t let it do all the thinking for us. The real danger is slipping into complacency and blindly trusting its output. Product managers will need to stay sharp, keep validating results, and cultivate creativity. AI is great at regurgitating patterns, but it’s not truly innovative. The human edge will continue to come from asking the hard questions, thinking outside the box, and keeping customer interviews and problem discovery at the center of the craft.”
Keith Lindsay, Sr Product Manager / Principal Solutions Architect
Years of product management experience: 10-15
“I see AI taking over more of the busywork—things like research, summaries, and drafting requirements—but that doesn’t make PMs less important. In fact, it highlights the value of judgment, experience, and staying close to customer expectations. The role will shift toward prioritizing what really matters and steering AI toward outcomes that reflect ground reality rather than just market noise. The PMs who thrive will be the ones who keep human connection at the heart of product decisions.”
Ginni Kakkar, Associate Product Manager
Years of product management experience: 2-5
“Right now, most of what we see from AI is remixing—taking patterns it has learned and recombining them in new ways. That will create plenty of solutions, but it also means many products will feel similar. The real moat comes from true innovation, which is harder but also far more defensible. In the years ahead, product leaders will need to balance remixing with originality and not give up on learning fundamentals. The companies that succeed will be the ones that use AI to accelerate execution while still pushing for ideas that are genuinely new.”
Phani Pandrangi, VP of Product Management
Years of product management experience: 20+
“AI is already reshaping how we ideate, design, and build. Tasks like wireframing or prototyping will become much faster with AI copilots, which will shift the focus of UX toward collaboration with business stakeholders and product managers. The less replaceable part of UX is research, problem framing, and strategic thinking. Understanding human behavior, aligning solutions with business objectives, and facilitating collaboration will remain at the heart of the role.”
Monika Mosur, UX / UI Designer
Years of UX / UI design experience: 2-5
“With AI helping with the complex parts of building, I see product managers creating far more mockups, PoCs, and demos through vibe coding. It’s a faster way to share a vision with co-workers and curate demos for customers. Trying out AI for demos or prototypes now could give you a real head start on where the field is going.”
Nicolis Miller, Product Analyst
Years of product experience: 1-3
In Closing
Across all the perspectives, one theme stands out: AI is here to stay, but it is not replacing the fundamentals. Whether it’s kids exploring STEM, new product managers starting out, or seasoned leaders looking ahead, the advice is consistent—learn the basics, stay curious, and use AI as a tool, not a crutch.
For product managers and UX designers, the value will continue to come from empathy, judgment, and the ability to frame problems clearly. AI can generate drafts, run analysis, and even suggest solutions, but it can’t replace the human skill of asking the right questions, making the right tradeoffs, and connecting deeply with customers.
The future of our fields will move faster, with shorter loops between idea and execution, but the heart of the work remains the same: solving real problems for real people.
If you would like to start learning how to utilize AI to improve your product or UX, learn how to build MVP apps and add real-time features in minutes today.
