Dylan Field: Is AI Replacing Designers?, Design is the New Code & Democratizing Creativity

Field argues AI commoditizes code but not design, shifting competitive advantage toward human taste, brand, and boldness.

• Antitrust blocked Adobe deal: Figma's $20B Adobe acquisition (announced 2022) died after 16 months of US/EU/CMA review; Field calls the delay itself "punishing" regardless of merits, citing Roomba/Amazon as a parallel where blocking sent the market to China.
• Growth survived Claude Design scare: Despite Anthropic launching competing Claude Design and market calls that "Figma's dead," Figma grew 48% year-over-year post-announcement, with Field calling model progress distinct from product progress.

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