The Cognition Drift

Episod

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  S01E38 : From MRI Scanners to Rectangles on a Screen 29.07.2026 46min

  Dr. Ali has walls covered in printed design work, a private pilot's licence, and a background in nuclear magnetic resonance research at Oxford — which is either the weirdest origin story for a UX designer, or a completely logical one, depending on how you think about it.In this episode we look at how you get from building MRI scanners to asking why nobody put an LED on the outside of an amplifier to avoid dismantling the whole thing to check the voltage rails. That turns out to be a pretty good entry point into what UX actually is and where it came from.There's also a detour through what it means to design something you've never had to operate yourself. Plus the usual nonsense you've come to expect - including chemicals in a can that taste like a Rocket lolly.
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  S01E37 Strap in the Charmander! 19.07.2026 40min

  Mortality, caffeine addiction, and consciousness uploads — not the usual way into an AI conversation, but here we are.It's a short walk to digital consciousness, a company in China that will train an LLM on your personality and sell it to you as a keychain, and a genuine philosophical argument about continuity of self — because what's the point of uploading your mind if the thing that wakes up on the other side isn't actually you?The Prestige gets pulled in, Star Trek transporters come up, quantum immortality makes an appearance, and Greg Egan's sci-fi novel Diaspora provides a surprisingly useful frame for thinking about what it even means to replicate a person across space. Ship of Theseus is name-checked, almost correctly.There's also a green Ford Mercury Sable with a giant Charmander strapped into the back seat, which is a sentence that will make complete sense by the time you get there.Good episode to have on while you drink your fifth coffee of the day.
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  S01E34 - White Monster is back and AI is taking everything 19.07.2026 48min

  White Monster is back in stock, a 20-year-old director just made one of the highest-grossing horror films ever from internet lore, and somehow all of this connects to a genuinely useful conversation about what AI is actually doing to jobs.Robert brings in an MIT paper on what they're calling the iceberg index — the idea that visible AI disruption in tech is maybe 1-2% of what's coming, with cognitive jobs in finance, law, and accounting making up the much larger chunk underneath. The frame that lands well: AI is disrupting tasks, not jobs, and getting that distinction wrong is how companies end up just bolting a chatbot onto everything and wondering why nothing changed.Genuinely useful episode, Mexican wrestling and all.
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  S01E33 - Nobody Can Do It Until Somebody Does It 19.07.2026 49min

  This week we look at at UX research that's really just asking Claude to do your homework, the Ferrari Luce getting dunked on by the internet, and why we've somehow decided that trying things and failing is embarrassing now.There's also a broader thread around why anything genuinely new gets ridiculed first and celebrated later — Porsche Cayenne, AirPods, Snapchat Spectacles, baggy jeans. Steve Ballmer gets a brief mention.Casual, a bit ranty in the best way. Put it on.
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  S01E36 Building a Rendering Engine in a Month 20.06.2026 49min

  AI music for a space game, a prompt on version 22, and the slow death of PowerPoint — not a bad hour.The episode opens with Suno and what it actually takes to generate music you'd willingly send to another person (answer: a lot of tracks you'd never send to anyone). From there, the conversation broadens into something both hosts are wrestling with from different angles — how do you take a process that's basically wired to your own brain and make it land for someone else?One of them is building a space game that's quietly turned into a crash course in 3D modelling, custom rendering engines, LoRA model training, and procedural audio. The other is on version 22 of a prompt designed to replicate his own strategic thinking ahead of a Q3/Q4 planning session for his entire team. Both projects got considerably more involved than intended.There's also a solid thread on ditching PowerPoint for interactive HTML, why attention spans in 2026 apparently cap out at two slides, and what happens to value when the cost of making something effectively hits zero.
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  S01E35 Sleeping on MMA Mats 20.06.2026 1j 33min

  Andrew is building his asteroid game at 3am, Joe is napping on MMA mats, and somehow this turns into one of the more grounded conversations about AI and layoffs you'll hear right now.Once the chaos settles, Joe and the others get into something that's been quietly playing out across a lot of companies: the gap between the AI productivity gains that were promised and what's actually showing up in the work. Robert's Ferrari-and-bad-driver analogy makes an appearance — a junior designer burning through Claude tokens for six months, producing output a senior could spot as wrong in minutes. The tool wasn't the problem.Honest conversation, no tidy conclusions.
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  S01E32 - Hello Fellow Kids in Double Denim 16.05.2026 1j 37min

  Double denim is apparently making a comeback, and that's genuinely the least surprising thing discussed in this episode.After a brief detour through fashion choices that will age poorly, the conversation settles into something more interesting: how the medium you use to communicate actually shapes how you think. Dictation versus typing, speaking versus writing — it's not just an output question, it turns out it changes the thinking itself. WhisperFlow gets a mention for anyone curious about AI-enabled dictation that doesn't make you sound like you're narrating a legal document.
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  S01E31 - Day One Is Just Day One 16.05.2026 46min

  Two people who probably should have slept more sit down to catch up after a few weeks apart — and cover a lot of ground in the process.Starting on something a lot of teams are quietly wrestling with: whether the word "AI" itself has become so loaded that just calling them "new tools" would get better results. From there it sprawls into whether personal software is actually the future LinkedIn keeps promising, or whether most of what people are building is closer to a hobby project that'll get used twice and abandoned.
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  S01E30 - Peachy Keen on AI Fatigue 21.02.2026 47min

  Join us in the latest episode of Cognition Drift, where we dive into a compelling discussion on the nuances of AI development and its unintended consequences in modern workflows. As the episode unfolds, the conversation reveals a critical exploration of how technological advancements, particularly AI, are reshaping productivity and the quality of output in various industries.
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  S01E29 - Is Execution really Free? 21.02.2026 41min

  In this engaging episode of Cognition Drift,we turn our thoughts to idea generation and execution in the face of rapidly advancing technology. This conversation traverses the impact of digital tools that democratize the ability to bring ideas to life, arguably reducing the cost and complexity of execution. We consider whether this shift might invert traditional values attached to ideas versus their execution. Historically, execution was king; ideas were plentiful, but the capability to realize them was the bottleneck. We ponder whether we're entering an era where the execution becomes so streamlined and accessible that the originality and potential impact of the idea itself regains prominence.
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  S01E28 - Bulldoze with Purpose 21.02.2026 38min

  In this revealing episode of Cognition Drift, our discussion centers around setting personal and professional targets for the year 2026. As the first episode of the new year, we look at our visions and resolutions in a candid conversation that explores the intersection of ambition, accountability, and personal growth. We also take some time to reflect on the personal motivations behind our professional goals: the psychological and emotional rewards of seeing tangible impacts from their work and the intrinsic satisfaction derived from overcoming challenges and driving change.
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  S01E27 - Old School Snow Cones 21.02.2026 44min

  In this engaging episode of "Cognition Drift," we focus on the transformation from specialized roles to a more generalist approach, and explore how the industry's demands have shifted over the years, particularly with the integration of AI and various digital tools. We also look at the concept of design systems, emphasizing the importance of these frameworks not only from a design perspective but as a crucial part of engineering. We review the common misconceptions about job roles within the design and technology sectors, stressing the importance of comprehensive understanding over narrow specialization.
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  S01E26 - Conversations as Catalysts 21.02.2026 37min

  In episode 26 of "Cognition Drift," we delve into the essence and impact of this podcasting journey, exploring the intersection of technology, AI, and personal growth through conversation. We contemplate the role of a consultant or designer in an age where AI can automate many of the technical aspects of design and decision-making, and ponder whether the true value they offer is becoming less about producing numerous deliverables and more about setting strategic rules and frameworks that guide intelligent systems.
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  S01E25 - Native or Not - that is the Question 21.02.2026 39min

  In this episode of "Cognition Drift," join our discussion on the transformative role of AI in business and the challenges inherent in shifting from service-based to product-based models. We look at the impact AI is having across various industries, questioning whether established companies can truly adapt to become AI-first or if the future belongs to new, agile startups born in the AI era. They discuss the concept of "AI-native" companies and compare them to the adaptability and innovation seen in younger tech enthusiasts who might be shaping the next big tech revolution from their bedrooms.
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  S01E24 - Sleepless Nights & AI Insights 21.02.2026 39min

  In this episode of "Cognition Drift," join our discussion on the transformative role of AI in business and the challenges inherent in shifting from service-based to product-based models. We look at the impact AI is having across various industries, questioning whether established companies can truly adapt to become AI-first or if the future belongs to new, agile startups born in the AI era. They discuss the concept of "AI-native" companies and compare them to the adaptability and innovation seen in younger tech enthusiasts who might be shaping the next big tech revolution from their bedrooms.
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  S01E23 - Dopamine and IDEs 21.02.2026 44min

  In episode 23 of "Cognition Drift," we dig into a variety of thought-provoking topics, from the mundane adventures of finding a favorite drink in Dubai to the complexities of moving houses, and the intriguing world of AI and technology. We look at digital habits, particularly the constant dopamine hits from activities like scrolling through TikTok or watching short videos along with a a broader examination of a new AI-powered Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that controversially uses short engaging clips to supposedly maintain productivity during loading times. Join us as we talk about how these often dystopian elements are subtly weaving into the fabric of everyday life.
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  S1E22 - Cotton Candy Robot 21.02.2026 40min

  In episode 22 of Cognition Drift, hosts Andrew Dunbar and Joe Fletcher delve into the nuanced impacts of artificial intelligence on craftsmanship and productivity in the digital age. The core of their discussion centers on how AI and digital tools, despite their promise to enhance productivity, might be contributing to a dip in craftsmanship quality. Andrew expresses concern over the potential loss of foundational skills. Joe challenges this perspective by suggesting that AI could democratize access to information and skills.
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  S1E21 - Friction and Pizza 16.11.2025 36min

  In episode 21 of "Cognition Drift," Joe Fletcher is joined by 10X founder, Robert Ziky to focus on user experience in digital applications. Throughout the discussion, they look at the difference between application usability, user stickiness, and the impact of privacy concerns on user engagement. Robert starts the conversation by sharing his switch from using Kareem to Talabat for food delivery, igniting a broader discussion on what creates friction in user experience. The dialogue then shifts towards a more profound topic concerning the development of AI technologies that cater specifically to Middle Eastern users. They discuss the potential and challenges of creating an Arabic language AI model that understands and respects cultural nuances and dialectical variations within the Arab world. This part of the conversation highlights the importance of culturally aware AI systems that can genuinely resonate with local users' needs and expectations. Furthermore, Robert and Joe touch upon the implications of AI personality and its adaptability based on user interaction context. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, developer, or just curious about the future of AI, join Robert and Joe as they unpack these complex topics with insightful observations and relatable anecdotes.
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  S1E20 - Why not automate everything? 16.11.2025 42min

  In this episode of "Cognition Drift," hosts Andrew Dunbar and Joe Fletcher look at project estimations and how we can use AI in streamlining workflows, particularly. The duo also explores the potential of AI to revolutionize the way digital solutions are crafted, discussing how established components from a design system could be dynamically assembled by AI to produce hundreds of screens efficiently. Thus reshaping the role of designers towards verifying outputs and focusing on enhancing key user experiences. They speculate on how emerging technologies might integrate more deeply into our daily digital interactions, potentially transforming basic operational models across industries.
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  S01E19 - Jump Rope at the airport 19.10.2025 40min

  In this episode of "Cognition Drift," hosts Andrew Dunbar and Joe Fletcher dive into the peculiarities and unexpected challenges of international travel, and the oddities of travel regulations across different countries.The discussion transitions into a broader dialogue beyond dealing with airport authorities, and peculiar international checkpoints and into the implications on personal privacy, design differentiation, pitching to clients and the differences in product design versus service companies. What does this mean in the evolving world of Digital Transformation for both consultancies and brands looking to stay ahead of the curve?