Building Better Futures
For over a decade in technology, I’ve watched the same story replay: speed is good, scale is better, growth is everything. Most days, I roll my eyes and move on. But a recent comment about the current AI boom stopped me cold. Analyst Ed Zitron summed it up bluntly:
“It’s just a growth at all costs mindset. The only important thing is growth, even if it ruins people’s lives. Even if it makes the company worse and provides an inferior product.”
This isn’t a revelation—it’s an admission. The “growth at all costs” mindset has always been there. Now it’s just saying the quiet part out loud.
The problem is not growth itself. It’s what—and who—it’s centered on. Companies love to market themselves as “people-centered,” but in practice, the “people” too often means investors. Their expectations set the pace, shape the roadmap, and define success. When valuation is the north star, customers, employees, and communities get pushed into orbit around it.
The results are predictable. Products designed for stickiness, not usefulness. Employees run at unsustainable speeds. Communities carry the externalities. Growth becomes the only metric, while trust, well-being, and dignity quietly erode.
Design offers a different lens. It insists on a broader definition of “people”—not just shareholders or even users, but the human systems technology lives inside. That lens reframes the questions we should be asking:
Does this product improve someone’s daily life?
Does it respect their time, attention, and agency?
What ripple effects—intended or unintended—might it create?
As Ida Persson argues in From ‘how might we’ to ‘at what cost’ we need to hold two truths at once: bold ideas and ambitious growth are worth pursuing, but only if paired with systematic checks on ethical, social, and environmental risks. This isn’t about slowing innovation; it’s about steering it. Products that earn trust and respect human dignity endure longer and grow stronger.
The irony is that this broader approach doesn’t diminish shareholder value—it strengthens it. Companies that prioritize usability, accessibility, and responsibility attract loyal customers, motivated employees, and supportive communities. They don’t just grow—they grow with intention.
The future won’t belong to those chasing growth at any cost. That mindset burns too hot and too fast. The companies that last will be the ones that redefine growth as the outcome of creating genuine human value. When we design for people in the fullest sense—not just investors, but users and communities—we build more than better products. We build better futures.