Envisioning the Strategic ROle of Design in the Age of AI
Client challenge
A large financial services firm recognized that artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming how products and experiences are designed, delivered, and governed. With AI’s growing influence on every layer of business, the design team—tasked with creating intuitive, human-centered experiences—faced a pressing question: What is the future value of design in an AI-driven world?
Leaders needed space to step back from day-to-day demands and reimagine the evolving role of design in shaping strategic business value, identifying both risks and opportunities in this next era.
Transform together
To support this ambitious inquiry, Beneficent designed and facilitated a half-day strategic foresight workshop with 30 UX design leaders from across the organization. Grounded in futures thinking, the session created a framework for exploring how AI will reshape financial services and redefine the design function.
Participants were introduced to key foresight tools—including signal spotting, trend analysis, and 2x2 scenario planning—before diving into collaborative exercises. Together, they:
Identified signals of change in AI, design, financial services, and society
Mapped out plausible future worlds shaped by uncertainties such as AI autonomy, human oversight, centralized vs. decentralized design, and shifting consumer expectations
Envisioned both aspirational and undesirable futures—and plotted how to reach or avoid them
Defined key opportunities for design to lead, adapt, and deliver meaningful value in a rapidly changing landscape
Outcomes & benefits
1. Envisioning a future state, together
Design leaders co-created vivid scenarios that clarified the strategic paths ahead. Each group defined a preferred future for the firm’s design practice in an AI context—highlighting 2–4 high-potential opportunities for design to elevate impact.
2. Determining actionable next steps
Teams then backcasted from their future visions to define concrete milestones and short-term actions that could be initiated immediately. They mapped tangible steps to evolve design’s role from maker to strategic advisor in the business.
One Team’s Exploration
AI & Human Value
Tension between AI-generated value and human-driven value
AI automation as a stabilizing force in downturns, reducing decision fatigue
Potential for more equitable systems and faster response to economic change
Design in the Future State
Designers may face obsolescence without redefining their value in an AI-dominant world
Emphasis on "human-first principles" to guide ethical design and policy
New models needed for education, work, and creative purpose in an AI-shaped economy
Aspirational Future Vision
A world with less work and more time for relationships, rest, and purpose
Cross-national cooperation to define values and standards
Generational acceptance of new AI-driven systems and models
Creation of clean, abundant energy sources to fuel equitable global growth
This team's scenario highlighted both the radical redefinition of financial systems and the importance of preserving human dignity and meaning as technology advances.
Experience Matters
Challenges:
Uncertainty about AI’s long-term impact on design practice and decision-making
Limited organizational clarity on how design should evolve strategically
Risk of falling behind in aligning design with emerging AI-driven business models
Opportunities:
Elevating design as a strategic partner and foresight leader
Using futures thinking to align design practice with the firm’s innovation roadmap
Tapping AI to augment human creativity, improve inclusivity, and reduce friction in financial services
Results:
Shared language and mental models around futures thinking and strategic foresight
Scenarios and frameworks teams can continue using to explore design’s value
Momentum for evolving design’s role within the broader organization
PARTICIPANT REFLECTION
"I’ve heard from folks that they really enjoyed the session. Got them thinking in ways they haven’t before, and introduced them to a new framework they can apply in their work (and their life)."
One breakout group explored a future shaped by increasing AI autonomy, decentralized finance, and shifting concepts of value and work. Their scenario reflected both disruption and aspiration, raising questions about the evolving meaning of money, human worth, and systemic stability. Key themes included:
Shifting Financial Models
Emergence of decentralized finance (DeFi) with expanding markets and new infrastructure
Confusion and competition around payment systems and currency value
Possibility of a single global currency and automated currency exchange