UX challenge #19: Why this Google Maps feature prepared us for AI-driven navigation
Why does Google Maps force you to decide fast when you’re driving?
Why does Google Maps force you to decide fast when you’re driving? Have you noticed how you only have a few seconds to select a faster route when the Google algorithm finds ways to optimize your travels en route?
That’s by design– the app wants to minimize the amount of attention you spend looking at a phone screen while driving.
As we gradually enter an era of AI-driven cars, researchers and designers are testing how AI and humans will hand-off controls to each other. How much time does a driver need during a handoff from AI? How much time does AI need to calibrate a handoff from a human driver? The reaction times of both AI and humans will be crucial to designing safe handoffs between drivers and AI in the future.
Fun fact– my dad is a pilot and when 2 pilots control a plane, they hand off controls by saying it’s “your controls” or “my controls”. Would something like that work for human drivers and AI?
It’s been interesting to see driverless cars from Waymo and UberEats delivery robots traverse the streets of Philly where I live. Both brands are piloting a very near future filled with driverless cars and robot-human interaction. This summer, the world I had imagined 20 years into the future seems to be happening around me right here, right now in 2026.
This is why we focus on topics like AI design heuristics, human-AI interaction, designing for human inputs and AI outputs, and revising and editing AI outputs in our 7-Month UX Design Accelerator. It’s important to design thoughtfully and intentionally for AI uncertainty in outputs and handoffs of control between humans and AI.
So how can you start massaging senior level skillsets like product scoping, product positioning, feature scoping, project scoping, AI & UX strategy, business strategy and entrepreneurship today?
Start by planning out your focus within your new UX career. Have you found a specific UX career path to focus on, or are you still feeling it out? You can take our 2-minute personality quiz to discover what UX job best suits you.
You can also attend our 2026 UX Career Planning FigJam workshop to consider how to make your pivot and make use of transferable skills from past work and education history.
And finally, you can watch our video on the State of UX Design in 2026 to understand today’s competitive job market and how to stand out and position yourself for success as a UX designer or UX researcher today.
Bonus points for you if you watch our YouTube video on 22 Tips to Pivot into UX- No Degree Required.
Turn your plans into action. The harsh reality is that it’s not enough to just passively learn UX by consuming content. You have to put your learning into practice, and showcase 5-6 UX case studies within an intentional UX portfolio that showcases your UX expertise and industry expertise.
You might want to work through our FigJam UX Hackathon sessions to plan out your UX portfolio, ensuring that it remains focused on your strengths and expertise, while also providing information that hiring managers and recruiters are looking out for.
You will also have to set aside dedicated time each week to learn the end-to-end UX process and senior level UX skillsets that can help you progress in your UX career. Book a 20-minute, free UX strategy consultation with us to see if our 7-Month UX Design Accelerator program is the right fit for you.
If you find that we are the right fit for you, you can register for the Fall 2026 cohort and save your seat by paying the $490 fee this summer. Once registered, we will get you access to our 0-1 AI Product Innovation course and our VIP jobs board. We will also book an onboarding call with you over the summer to finalize your UX project topics and UX portfolio planning before you even begin taking the class :)
Stay consistent and do the work. There are no shortcuts. The biggest “secret” to landing a six-figure UX job is focused, hard work and consistency.
Once you commit to the 7-Month UX Design Accelerator, you are committing to attending 2-3 hours of lectures and interactive workshops on Sundays for the 4-months of end-to-end UX curriculum.
You are also committing to 3 additional months of 1-on-1 career coaching to go through UX resume rewrites, LinkedIn profile rewrites, UX case study rewrites, and UX interview practice.
And after that, you are committing to consistently apply to UX jobs every day or every week, troubleshooting the UX job search in group career coaching sessions with UX Woman that hold you accountable.
So are you ready to go beyond the planning phase to take action on your UX career goals?
As always, rooting for your success!
Samaya, your UX Woman.
P.S. You can also subscribe to our advanced UX topics Substack to get access to our VIP entry-level UX jobs board, VIP remote UX jobs board, our Power without Permission playbook for women in UX & tech, our 90-day UX job search playbook, and our Delusional by Design playbook on creativity as a UX career changer.
P.P.S. We’ve had a chance to speak to a lot of incredibly talented folks who are eager to start building up a strong UX portfolio for the next hiring season. If you are ready to put your stake in the ground and start building with intention, I recommend registering for the Fall 2026 cohort TODAY to save your seat! And don’t be a stranger! Book a call with us to talk through things…