As a UX/CX designer, I’ve spent years navigating the gap between what we should be designing for people and what we’re increasingly asked to optimize for markets, metrics, and growth stories. Reading this piece helped me put a name, structure, and urgency to that tension, and it made me decide to be more explicit about where I stand.
This post is my starting point for the year: a critical look at the systems we design within, and a reminder of why user experience should never be treated as expendable.
https://www.wheresyoured.at/the-enshittifinancial-crisis/
At this point, I’d like to express my thanks and appreciation to Edward Zitron. His essay “The Enshittifinancial Crisis” offers a sharp, honest analysis of today’s tech and financial logic and helped me clarify my own perspective. Respect for the clarity, depth, and courage to call out uncomfortable truths.
My Critical UX/CX Perspective
From a UX and CX standpoint, the article describes the systematic failure of a tech ecosystem that now treats users merely as raw material for monetization. Products are no longer designed for people, but for investors, metrics, and short-term growth narratives. Experience erosion is not a design flaw but a deliberate strategy: good user experiences are gradually sacrificed to increase revenue. This logic has now spread to the financial markets.
The AI industry, in particular, demonstrates how little real user and customer needs matter when capital inflows and hype outweigh utility, trust, and sustainability. The result is poor experiences, fragile business models, and growing distrust in digital products.
My Key Takeaways from a UX/CX Perspective
UX is systematically subordinated to investor logic
Poor user experiences are often intentionally designed
“Enshittification” is a business model, not an accident
Users are optimized, not supported
KPIs replace genuine user understanding
AI products are built without a clear user value proposition
In the long run, this approach destroys trust, brand value, and markets
A Final Reflection
If we keep treating users as nothing more than data points and revenue levers, we’re not designing — we’re enabling decay. Experience erosion is not a glitch; it’s a choice of people we all know - Stakeholders who worship short-term gains above all else; suit-wearers and people who couldn’t care less about utility, usefulness or good design. And every designer, product leader, or decision-maker who turns a blind eye is complicit.
Real UX and CX work means demanding better, insisting on human-centered metrics, and refusing to sacrifice trust for hype. The moment we let growth override empathy, we’re building products that fail not just users, but the entire ecosystem.
It’s time to stop optimizing for investors and start designing for people — because anything less is a system we should all refuse to normalize.
I recommend reading Edward Zitron’s article thoughtfully and without rushing — it’s well worth the time.
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