Empowered or Replaced? UX Designers’ Perceptions of AI in the Workplace Through the Lens of Self-Efficacy

Designers navigate uncertainty and opportunity as artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes the UX landscape. This dissertation presents an exploratory study investigating how UX designers perceive the increasing prominence of AI in their professional work. It also applies Albert Bandura’s self-efficacy theory to organize the findings and examine how performance accomplishments, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and physiological states influence their adaptation to AI. Findings indicate multiple perspectives in the sample interviewed: In this study, junior designers predominantly express anxiety over job security, while senior designers tend to embrace AI as a strategic partner that grants them a seat at the table. Designers in this study primarily perceive AI not as a replacement but as a guide and collaborator. However, they acknowledge that AI will compress roles, requiring them to do more with fewer resources. There is also an agreement that designers need to adapt to the changes and design for the next generation by incorporating AI into their line of work. This dissertation contributes to the ongoing interest in AI’s role by providing insights into designers’ feelings about adapting AI into their work lives. The findings highlight the importance of fostering AI literacy and self-efficacy among UX professionals to ensure they can leverage AI effectively rather than feel displaced by it. By understanding how designers adapt to AI-driven changes, this research helps to lay the groundwork for further studies on cross-disciplinary collaboration, shifting job expectations, and AI\u27s long-term impact on the UX design field