"AI Is Confident When It's Wrong" | NYU Professor Regine Gilbert on Who Design Leaves Out

AI as Designer? Regine Gilbert on Inclusive Design, Bias, and Ethical UX in a Faster Workflow

In the first episode of the World Class Design podcast, host Guidione Machava interviews NYU professor and author Regine Gilbert about how generative AI is changing design work, why speed-focused workflows can sacrifice user experience, and how AI outputs embed bias and accessibility gaps. Gilbert explains that designers shouldn’t assume AI is correct, citing ChatGPT generating a white image for Black inventor Garrett Morgan, and urges designers to do research, write clearer prompts, and check work with others. They discuss deceptive patterns, the tension between ethical design and business pressure, and practical tactics like quick pre-mortems to identify risks early. Gilbert reframes accessibility and inclusivity as reducing friction, highlights the financial and regulatory stakes, and argues designers’ lived experience, empathy, and judgment cannot be replaced by AI.

00:00 WCD Podcast with Regine
01:23 Introduction
01:57 Meet Regine Gilbert
05:29 Design Ethics & AI Decision-Making
08:38 Bias in AI & Inclusive Design
33:18 The Designer’s Role in an AI World
38:27 Hot Take & Takeaways

More from World Class Design: https://world-class.design
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zORa7kG8Ls