Podcast Summary: 20Product — Is the Design Phase Dead in a World of AI? | The Evolving Role of PMs and Storytelling with Noam Lovinsky, CPO @ Superhuman

Podcast: The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)
Host: Harry Stebbings
Guest: Noam Lovinsky, CPO at Superhuman
Date: January 15, 2026
Episode Theme:
Exploring how AI is reshaping product development—from design to code, storytelling, and the evolving responsibilities of product managers. Noam Lovinsky, with a background at Superhuman, Grammarly, Facebook, and Google/YouTube, shares insights on storytelling in product leadership, the implications of AI-powered tools, the fate of the traditional design phase, and the shift in team composition and workflows.

Main Themes and Purpose

• How AI is collapsing traditional product development roles and phases.
• The centrality of storytelling in effective product leadership.
• The fate of the design process in an era of rapid prototyping and "vibe coding."
• Shifting responsibilities for PMs, designers, and engineers as AI takes over more of the product lifecycle.
• Prospects and risks of increased AI-driven automation, agent-written code, and platformization.
• Predictions for the future of AI’s impact on product teams and technology’s role in society.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Product Leader as Storyteller

[05:08] Noam Lovinsky:

“A great product leader is a great storyteller. Someone that is able to understand what the customers actually need—what problem that actually needs to be solved—and conform that into a story that is just well understood and well aligned, not only with the market and the customer, but that gets everyone internally to row in the same direction... I see product and marketing as the same thing.”

• Storytelling unites teams and focuses products.
• For horizontal products, focus on the feeling and latent needs you address, rather than just features or productivity claims ([06:28]).

Quote:

"I'm pretty tired of the, like, 'this is going to make you more productive' story... we lean to things like time and productivity when we don't know what the value is."
— Noam Lovinsky [07:37]

2. The Design Phase and "Vibe Coding" in an AI World

• AI accelerates prototyping and blurs roles (designer, engineer, PM).

"The tool set is accelerating things that have been happening for a long while... People wear many different hats." [08:29]

• The design phase isn't 'dead', but its tools and tempo have changed:

"You still have to do that sort of thinking... Sometimes a whiteboard is the best place to start, or a figma canvas."
— Noam Lovinsky [10:11]

• For sharing ideas, rapid, high-fidelity prototypes are now the expectation:

"...if you want people to empathize and understand your idea in the highest signal way, you should give them the highest fidelity approximation... as quickly as possible."
— Noam Lovinsky [10:11]

3. AI Tools and Code Generation

• Claude Code is currently leading among AI coding tools ([11:58]).
• Teams start with familiar prototype tools (e.g., Lovable, Figma Make), then graduate to more powerful/terminal-focused AI tools.
• Transition to writing code for and with agents rather than for humans ([13:00]).
  • Product specs are being written for agents; examples and contextual history become vital.
  • Context engineering and prompt design are new required skills.

Quote:

"I hope most people aren't writing specs for humans any longer... Writing specs for agents is really helpful and smart, and the way we write them becomes different."
— Noam Lovinsky [13:00]

4. Impact on Creativity, Team Structure, and Output

• Potential for product homogenization:

“You’re going to have a lot of things that just... it’s the same dialogue, the same flow... But that gives more room for the standouts to shine.”
— Noam Lovinsky [15:16]

• Proliferation of builders:
  AI democratizes creation. "The idea that everyone can build is not a moment in time hype cycle. We've seen it time and time again." [17:21]

• Team structure shift:
  From 5–10 engineers per team down to 2 per PM/designer, with everyone more hands-on throughout the process ([21:11]).

Quote:

"You just have a small number of people that have their hands on a much wider part of the product pipeline."
— Noam Lovinsky [21:11]

• AI’s effect on productivity:
  • AI can automate testing, triage, and even first-run debugging ([22:10]).
  • Biggest speedup: shrinking the exploration phase—faster iteration and learning ([23:02]).

5. Market Impacts and Strategic Questions

• Will AI spending cannibalize labor spending?
  Lovinsky doubts it will lead to linear savings: "Engineers just get to spend more time on other parts of the product development and ... flex their skills more." [25:20]

• TAM (total addressable market) expansion will come from building more solutions, not from just cutting staff:

"The number of problems ... you're able to solve with software ... is just going to expand." [26:46]

• Platform vs. Product:
  You must offer platform extensibility so customers can build on top of your solution. Deep, nuanced, customer-driven customization is the standard ([28:05]).

• Changing PM/PL responsibilities:
  Backward compatibility, experimentation, and analytics all shift when your customers or third parties build on your product ([28:57]).

6. Risks and Ethical Reflections

• AI will bring pitfalls:
  Security, data leakage, prompt injection—anticipate mistakes as part of the maturity curve ([30:19]).
• Worry:
  Work and collaboration tools may increase busyness more than they relieve drudgery, if not implemented thoughtfully.

“I'm not sure that a lot of ... tools that we use for work and a lot of the ways that ... we work have actually made us better." [30:19]

• Continuous inference and the slow pace of UX adaptation:
  True 24/7 AI support for all knowledge workers is not here by 2026—model capability outstrips UX ([33:18]).
• Wealth inequality:
  AI will create new abundance but likely increase inequality in the near term before benefits are more widely shared ([34:10]).
• Demonization of tech leaders is coming as visible job loss occurs ([34:54]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the power of stories in product development:

  "Fundamentally a good product leader is just an excellent storyteller... the best companies and the best brands are excellent storytellers."
  — Noam Lovinsky [05:08]

• On 'productivity' as a shallow narrative:

  "I'm pretty tired of the... make you more productive story... We lean to things like time and productivity when we don't know what the true value is."
  — Noam Lovinsky [07:37]

• On rapid prototyping:

  "If you want people to empathize and understand your idea in the highest signal way, should you give them the highest fidelity approximation... as quickly as possible? That I would say, yes."
  — Noam Lovinsky [10:11]

• On writing specs for agents:

  “I hope most people aren't writing specs for humans any longer. I think writing specs for agents is really helpful and smart...”
  — Noam Lovinsky [13:00]

• On team composition:

  "You're much more looking at, you know, it's like maybe 1pm, one designer, two engineers... everyone is in the code."
  — Noam Lovinsky [21:11]

• On accelerating the exploration phase:

  "The fundamental thing that can get shrunk is the exploration phase and the rate of iteration through the exploration phase, how quickly you can kind of get to: this is the thing we actually need to build.”
  — Noam Lovinsky [23:02]

• On the impact of AI on inequality:

  "I don't think the answer... is to curtail things like AI. I do still fall on the side of, I think it ultimately creates a lot more abundance... but I don't think the path from here to there is going to be... as smooth as we might..."
  — Noam Lovinsky [34:10]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [05:08] - The essence of great product leaders: storytellers
• [06:28] - Storytelling for horizontal products
• [07:37] - Critique of "productivity" narratives
• [08:29] - Is the design phase dead? The role of AI in design
• [10:11] - Vibe coding and rapid prototyping as a new norm
• [11:58] - Most popular AI tools and the transition to terminal-based development
• [13:00] - Writing specs for agents vs. humans
• [15:16] - Will agent-driven dev flatten creativity?
• [17:21] - The future of democratized "vibe coding"
• [19:47] - AI-generated code percentage at Superhuman today and in 24 months
• [21:11] - Changes in team ratios and roles
• [22:10] - The automation of testing, incident analysis by AI
• [23:02] - Shrinking the exploration phase of product dev
• [25:20] - AI's impact on engineering productivity: not a linear cost reduction
• [26:46] - Where TAM expansion comes from
• [28:05] - Is it necessary to be a platform?
• [30:19] - What worries Noam: tool overload, security, human factors
• [34:10] - AI's effect on wealth inequality
• [34:54] - The coming backlash against tech’s impact on jobs
• [35:28] - Biggest change of mind: how close we are to AGI
• [36:08] - Anthropic vs. OpenAI: who to back
• [40:07] - Regrets from prior roles: not pushing product expansion sooner
• [40:12] - AI’s biggest coming impact for product leaders: building more
• [42:10] - Noam’s excitement about more time to "make things" thanks to AI

Closing Thoughts

Noam posits that while AI radically increases productivity and collapses the boundaries between product roles, the greatest product leaders will stand out through their taste, creativity, and—especially—their storytelling. The tools may change, but the human elements of inspiration, empathy, and narrative remain central to effective product management and differentiation in a world where AI accelerates and democratizes creation.

For further resources and related episodes:
20vc.com