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Hi, I'm Tayler Hughes.

I'm a product designer, writer, and father of four. I've spent my career building digital products - including the kind designed to capture attention and maximise engagement. Now I write about what that's costing us, and what we might do differently.

Designer. Writer. Father of four.

How My Work Will Benefit You

The central question I explore through my work is: How do we stay human when technology wants to think for us?

We're living through an unprecedented shift. The Attention Economy spent a decade training us to be distracted. Now AI is arriving with an offer to do our thinking for us. This feels like relief - but it's the same business model wearing new clothes.

I'm trying to make sense of this moment, especially for those of us raising children inside it.

My writing focuses on topics like:

  • How technology shapes human capability - for better and worse
  • The business models driving dependency by design
  • Raising children who can think for themselves in the age of AI
  • The difference between technology that extends us and technology that replaces us
  • Building alternatives to extractive systems

I write to understand. Most of what I explore builds on the work of others - researchers, philosophers, technologists, parents asking hard questions. I try to synthesise these ideas into frameworks that are useful and actionable.

I don't have all the answers. I'm working this out in public, one essay at a time. But if you're a parent wondering how to navigate this, or someone who senses that something important is at stake, I hope you'll find something useful here.

You can start by reading my essays or joining the newsletter.

About Me

A few things about my background:

Product designer for [X] years.

I've designed digital products across [industries/contexts]. I understand how engagement metrics shape decisions, how dark patterns get justified, and why good people build extractive systems. This isn't theoretical for me - I've been in the rooms where these choices get made.

Founder of Willard.

A product design consultancy working with startups and organisations building technology. I'm still a practitioner, not just a commentator.

Father of four young children.

This is why the work matters to me. My children are growing up in a world where AI will offer to do their thinking before they've learned how to think. They don't have the luxury of assuming photographs are real. I want them to inherit something better than an economy designed to make them dependent.

Creator of the Extend Prompt.

A free tool that transforms how AI assistants interact with you - activating your thinking rather than replacing it. Used by parents, educators, and anyone who wants AI to make them more capable, not less.

Writer and researcher.

I'm building the case for what I call the Atrophy Economy - business models that profit from human capability decline - and developing frameworks for resisting it.

Other Interests

Things that shape my thinking but don't always make it into the essays:

Alternative economics.

I'm fascinated by systems that reward contribution rather than extraction. I'm building something called Sunflowers - an alternative economic model using community credits. Early days, but the question of how we structure incentives feels urgent.

Long-term thinking.

The Greeks believed society thrives when people plant trees they'll never live to see. I'm drawn to work that operates on generational timescales rather than quarterly ones.

Poetry and narrative.

Joshua Luke Smith's “Plant a Garden in Babylon” is a touchstone for me. The image of sunflowers drawing poison from contaminated soil at Fukushima - beauty and restoration emerging from ruin - captures something I keep returning to.

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Get in Touch

You can find me on [LinkedIn / X / other platforms].

For speaking enquiries or collaboration, email [address].