Tools · 2026-11-06

Why Human Creativity Still Matters When AI Can Do Almost Everything: Figma CEO's View

Figma co-founder and CEO Dylan Field argues that in the age of AI, a person's value lies in vision, taste, and a point of view rather than in execution alone.

✨ When AI Does Almost Everything

Creating a product used to require a product manager, a designer, and a team of engineers. Now AI can handle many of these tasks, including writing code and making animation or video. Dylan Field, co-founder and CEO of Figma, says this makes creating things more accessible to everyone.

He has also changed his mind. He used to believe AI raises the ceiling of what people can do. Now he is convinced that humans raise the ceiling. When designers and creators choose to be bold, invest their time, and try something no one has done before, the results really change.

📌 Why Design Is the New Code

More software is being released than ever, so standing out is harder. Anyone can now write code, so the key task is to design well and have a distinct point of view on the product. Field calls design the layer above code.

He also believes the idea should come first. AI helps when you start from a blank page. You can look at the result, say what you don't like, and fix it. But if you rely only on AI to carry out your own vision, the result will be shaped by the AI's lens, not yours.

🔹 What Figma Already Offers

Field mentioned several practical tools. Code layers in Figma have moved into open beta, so teams can build prototypes backed by code directly on the canvas.

Figma Design includes generative tools and shaders. There is also a design agent that can use custom tools and more context so the results match what the designer intends. A separate product, Figma Weave, connects outputs from AI models with other inputs in repeatable workflows. The idea is that generating with AI is just a starting point.

🔸 Consume or Create

Field says many people are now letting AI think for them. There is another path: using AI to understand the world better and to do things they never would have dared to attempt. In his view, anyone can become a creator if they are curious and willing to work. He does not claim to know exactly how the world will change, but says we are on the edge of great change.

Sources: 🔗 Figma Blog