Episode notes
If the future of work is less about replacing people and more about helping them work differently, design deserves a seat at the planning table. Kyndryl's 2026 People Readiness Report found that 61% of organizations have already redesigned roles within or across functions.
In this episode, our guests explore how human-centered design can help organizations create experiences that drive meaningful business value and deepen trust. They suggest what AI makes faster, design must make smarter.
Featured experts
- Kevin Bethune, President, Design Studio, ImagineCo
- Nicholas Kim, Global Lead, Vital and Transformation, Kyndryl
Conversation highlights
Please note the transcript has been modified for clarity and length.
Tom Rourke (Host): As AI changes how people experience and interact with technology, is this a moment where design is under pressure, or is it design’s greatest opportunity?
Kevin Bethune: We’re at an inflection point. Design is still young compared with more conventional business disciplines, and there are varying levels of maturity in how organizations understand its potential impact. But AI creates an opportunity for design to show what it can do in an exponential world. Design can help connect business, technology, and creativity in new ways, bringing multidisciplinary problem solvers together to imagine and shape better futures. (Hear the full response at 2:39)
Tom Rourke: How can design help organizations bring AI into real human experiences in a meaningful way?
Nicholas Kim: Generative AI is attracting enormous attention, but design's role in the conversation is often overlooked. While awareness and education are important, designers ultimately demonstrate their value by making things and showing what's possible. Organizations can build the infrastructure, models, and agents, but without the experience layer, it's difficult to understand how people interact with these technologies or derive value from them. Design's role is to connect emerging technologies to real human challenges, serving as the translation layer between human needs and technical capabilities. (Hear the full response at 15:55)
More to the story
Explore Kyndryl Vital and its design-led approach to transformation, helping organizations apply AI and technology in ways that are grounded in human experience.
Read Kevin Bethune's article, “Design's moment of truth," on why companies need design capabilities now more than ever to navigate ambiguity, connect technological possibilities to human needs, and create lasting business value.