Pablo Stanley - Protecting your creativity in an AI world
Summary
Delegating too much creative work to AI tools risks atrophying your thinking—instead, use them to amplify curiosity and expand ideas rather than replace the creative process. Pablo Stanley built Ecto, a code-first design tool with AI agents, demonstrating how to build creative tools that enhance rather than diminish human creativity.
Key Takeaways
- AI tools can become addictive and cause creative atrophy if used as delegation shortcuts rather than amplifiers—the key is using them to expand ideas, deepen thinking, and turn small sparks into amplified concepts.
- Build opinionated design tools around developer workflows: Ecto uses HTML/divs and Tailwind classes by default because that's what developers actually use, making the tool native to their mental model.
- Implement context-aware inline controls that change based on selected elements—when selecting an image, show fit/cover/contain options; for boxes, show background color and padding—reducing cognitive load.
- Integrate AI agents directly into design canvases with live code reflection: users can click any element and ask the agent to create variations, seeing changes stream in real-time as they're generated.
- Position AI as a variation and exploration tool rather than a replacement—enable users to ask for design variations and alternatives while maintaining human control and decision-making over final output.
Related topics
Transcript Excerpt
There is a danger in using these tools, I think, because if we delegate too much of to it, we're not forcing ourselves to think and this is what was happening with me when I was trying to do the pixel art. I'm being shaped by the tools that I use. Feels like an addiction because it's so good. My belief is that we need to use it in a way that expands our ideas. It magnifies our curiosity. It allows us to go deeper but also broader where suddenly maybe that thing that was like a little spark in your brain suddenly can be amplified into a gigantic star that is full of fire. Welcome to Dive Club. My name is Red and this is where designers never stop learning. This week's episode is with Pablo Stanley who's one of the people who I've looked up to in this industry for a long time. So, we're goin…