I Went to Fusecon and the Most Provoking Idea I Heard Was About a Potato

AI. AI. AI. The only content that didn’t mention AI at this conference was the lunchtime announcement.

I’m trying to think of an example of another tech that had the same effect, and it’s quite difficult to even find a metaphor. Is the AI craze bigger than the internet itself?

The Potato Theory of Everything

During dinner, my friend Daylon tried to illustrate how much we understand about AI using a metaphor about a potato, while Habib and I looked at him a bit confused. I guess he was inspired by the potato chips sitting on our table.

He said something like “today we learned how to cook potatoes, we know how to bake them and boil them, we still haven’t figured out how to fry them and poach them…” That metaphor alone inspired a lengthy conversation about AI and how difficult it is to explain it.

The conversation spiraled from there. Different cooking methods. Whether AI could ever truly create. At some point, he took it further, something about humans being connected to God in ways AI never could be. (Pick whatever side you want on that one, not the point of this story.)

Professional, Polished, and Predictable

Here’s what got me: The most engaging, thought-provoking conversation about AI didn’t happen during any of the polished conference presentations. It happened over dinner, with a potato metaphor that barely made sense. The conference itself was fine. Professional. Well-produced. But I kept waiting for that spark, the idea that makes you sit up straighter, the perspective that rewires how you think about something.

I’m sitting here reflecting on originality, creativity, critical thinking, and storytelling. You see, I’ve done my share of conference talks. South America, Europe, Asia. And I stopped. I stopped because I couldn’t bring myself to go on stage and deliver the same stories, the same generic wisdom everyone else was sharing. I wanted to go deeper.

Why I Quit the Stage

Coaching gave me what I was looking for: direct access to the real problems designers face at every career stage. Some familiar, some I’d never even considered. These conversations challenged my own advice, made me question what I thought I knew. It’s messy, unglamorous work. Still, my favorite way to give back to the design community.

Reach out, I’m on ADPList and I want to talk to about design, product and UX.

I can’t put my finger on what’s bothering me. Maybe my bar is higher now. Maybe I’ve just seen too many variations of the same talk. But I know what I’m hungry for: ideas that provoke, perspectives that challenge, stories that feel alive rather than rehearsed.

The kind of conversation you have over potato chips at dinner. The kind only humans can have.

If you’ve been to a conference lately that gave you that—I want to hear about it. Let’s keep this conversation going.