Double click: You can just do things—but should you always?

Welcome to Double Click, where our community weighs in on trending topics in tech and design.

We’re witnessing a Cambrian explosion of AI tools redefining what software can do—and who can create it. Every day brings new writing assistants, design generators, and research platforms, all adding fuel to the meme that’s become a tech mantra: “You can just do things.” At the core of this catchphrase is the feeling that anyone can make anything happen. It’s not a new idea—many people from this offbeat TikToker to Steve Jobs have championed this mindset—but with so many AI-powered tools available, it feels more true than ever. But is this proliferation exciting or exhausting? Are we entering a golden age of creation, or do we risk wearing ourselves out? We check in with our community for answers.

The thrill of discovery

Remember the early 2010s, shortly after the launch of the App Store, when you first heard about Instagram—or Uber, for that matter? Discovering new apps felt electric, and that energy is back, Michael Mignano, Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, posted on X: “All of a sudden, I’m constantly hearing about great new AI products and apps from random friends—some who work in tech, but also many who don’t. On a daily basis.”

It’s an “awesome time to be an early adopter,” says Michael, and he’s joined by a chorus of others. It’s not just about having more options—it’s about finding tools that dissolve specific pain points. Peter Yang, Principal Product Manager at Roblox, shared on X that he uses Claude as “a co-pilot to sharpen my thinking, spot gaps, and identify important discussion points before big meetings.” Jenny Wen, a designer at Anthropic, uses it “to clarify concepts, to write mock copy, [and] kick up prototypes.”

These tools aren’t just for the privileged few, either. Premium services will run you about $20 a month, which means that it’s become more accessible to both build and use AI. “The democratization of tools means more people can contribute to the product creation process than ever before,” says Ben Blumenrose, Co-Director and Managing Partner at Designer Fund. “This means a broader set of people can both become founders and contribute to the core product at technology companies, which will both speed up the pace of innovation and give us better quality products by broadening the marketplace of ideas.”

The viral culture of "just doing things"

“You can just do things” may be the new “Just do it.” Unlike the Nike slogan, this new rallying cry is more casual and offhand—it sounds more like a realization than an imperative, and perhaps because of that, it’s more permissive. With a relatively low barrier to entry, people are taking it to heart, as seen in the recent (and controversial) craze around generating Studio Ghibili–style images.

There’s certainly a viral aspect to creating with AI. Developer Pieter Levels made waves when he shared a flight simulator game he built in three hours with Cursor and Grok 3. “Three years ago, [Pieter’s game] would’ve led to a couple of similar games popping up a month later,” Figma Software Engineer Vincent van der Meulen commented on X. “It’s only been two weeks now, and every variation under the sun exists: from sea battles to shooters.” (See: Peter Yang’s “zombie survival first-person shooter in blocky style” built with Cursor, Sonnet 3.7, and Superwhisper.)

Here’s another example: When developer Tyler Angert posted “insane project idea: all of Wikipedia on a single, scrollable page” on X, Bloomberg Beta venture capitalist James Cham suggested “an infinitely scrolling Wikipedia page based on whatever you’re interested in next.” Tyler coined it “WikiTok.” App developer Isaac Gemal spotted the exchange, and “immediately thought, ‘Wow, I can build an MVP and this could take off,’” he told Ars Technica. The website—which delivers an infinite, random feed—was live within two hours.

The danger of doing too much

The breakneck speed of innovation is exhilarating, but it can also create fatigue. “‘You can just do things’ is a great phrase, but you can also do too many things, resulting in not ending up doing anything at all,” Benji Taylor, Chief Product Officer at Avara, noted on X.

There’s also the need to balance quantity with quality. “It feels like drinking from a firehose: Anxiety-inducing, yet incredibly exciting as new tools launch almost daily,” says Robyn Park, Head of Platform at Designer Fund, who recently surveyed over 400 designers about how they use AI. “We found that the vast majority of designers are learning these tools on their own with zero formal training. There’s a natural divide where designers who are actively experimenting and building with these tools are racing ahead, while those waiting for clear standards risk falling behind.”

Microsoft’s Future of Work Report 2024 warns that this self-led approach can lead to overconfidence: “While likely increasing task performance on some tasks, AI can also disproportionately boost self-confidence, leading users to overestimate their abilities.” To combat this, Sara Vienna, Metalab’s Chief Design Officer, urges us to be clear-eyed about our output. “Here’s the uncomfortable truth: Speed isn’t the same as quality,” she says. “The best work isn’t happening because AI can generate something instantly—it’s happening when people know what to reject, refine, and reimagine.”

Figma Product Manager Nikolas Klein echoes this sentiment: “While AI can help you make it happen, you still need to be able to describe it, think it through, and have a vision for what you want to build. That requires trying things out, iterating, failing, and trying things out again.”

David Kossnick, Figma’s Senior Director of Product AI, sees parallels between today’s code generation tools and the no-code movement. “No-code platforms promised not needing to learn expert skills to create software, yet many of them ended up requiring deep learning curves on their own bespoke tools,” he says. “It unlocked a new category of makers, but didn’t live up to its full potential because ‘no-code’ doesn’t mean ‘low effort.’ Codegen tools today for non-programmers feel similar.”

What it means for our roles at work

There’s no putting the genie back in the bottle: As these tools and behaviors enter the workspace, they’re blurring traditional boundaries between roles and reshaping productivity. Companies are experimenting with generative AI, trying to make sense of these new capabilities with an “app layer.”

“The downside is that people are not sure how to adapt their entire work stack of tools to this new way of building,” notes Ben Blumenrose at Designer Fund. “There’s a lot to figure out—including questions like: Where do we store the AI-built prototypes? How do we give and get feedback on them? What do non-technical designers do in this environment?”

In this landscape, success depends less on job titles and more on how you navigate rolling changes. Andrew Chen, General Partner at a16z, describes a triple threat in 2025 on LinkedIn as “content creator, vibe coder, [your actual real job.]” Sara Vienna at Metalab agrees that your approach to AI is now an essential consideration. “Before, skill was a differentiator,” she says. “Now, it’s taste. The creators who will thrive aren’t just the ones who know how to use AI, but the ones who know when to use it.”

If we stay true to this taste, we’re poised to go far. “We’re in such early days of AI interface design,” says Figma’s David Kossnick. “Prompt boxes feel like the command line before GUIs [Graphical User Interfaces] were invented. The pace of invention happening in the market is incredible—both on new core capabilities coming out from models that unlock totally new possibilities, as well as experimentation on new interfaces.”

The TLDR

With AI and the momentum around “just doing things,” we’re embracing experimentation and building at an eye-watering pace. Still, it’s up to us to steer these tools in the right direction—and if history is any guide, the most valuable innovations may be just around the corner.