INDUSTRIAL DESIGNERS: automating the task isn't the same as replacing the value

Most tech is sold with a simple pitch: reduce costs by removing people. And it works, because that's how buyers think. What can we replace, not what do we preserve.

The problem is the framing. We define the role in mechanical terms, automate that narrow slice, and claim victory. But the real loss shows up later, when users start leaving and no one can figure out why the experience feels colder, less grounded, less trusted.

The brilliant market expert Rory Sutherland often refers to this as the doorman fallacy.

A doorman opens the door, yes. But they also offer presence, safety, and a sense of welcome. Strip that out and you might save money, but you also might tank your brand and lose the human cues that made people feel like they belonged there.

The same applies to tech, to UX, to service design. Some parts of the experience aren’t measurable in tasks per second. They just make people feel like someone cares.

We don’t protect those moments enough in product development. Maybe because they're harder to quantify. Or maybe because the wrong people are doing the math.

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