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Aaron Gitlin

Staff UX Designer at YouTube

Aaron Gitlin is a Staff UX Designer at YouTube, recognized for his creativity and problem-solving skills across various levels of product strategy. He has a strong background in shaping product strategies and enhancing user experiences. His professional journey includes prior experience as an Interaction Designer at Paperless Post, where he focused on creating more human-centered technology solutions.24

In addition to his design work, Gitlin is active in the UX community, sharing insights on data-informed design and contributing to discussions on best practices in UX research and design.13 His expertise encompasses front-end coding, prototyping, and team leadership, highlighting his holistic approach to user experience design.

Highlights

Jan 16 · linkedin

I know so many talented people who have been laid off recently. If you or anyone in your network want experienced, high performing designers or researchers, let me know.

If you were laid off recently, I am so sorry. Getting an email overnight is such an impersonal way to learn that you've lost your job. Especially from companies that seemingly invest so much effort into wellbeing, safety, collaboration, trust, innovation, social connections, happy hours, ERGs, clubs, etc etc. As a result, people, including me, form close bonds with our co-workers and they become important parts of our social lives and identities. I've heard a wide range of reactions, but I want you to know that if you feel angry, mad, targeted, gaslit, rejected, or any other strong emotion, I 100% think its ok to feel and express that. I understand you might not want to put that on linkedIn for a future employer to see, but feel free to message me with the best rant you got.

Though I am lucky to be spared, I personally feel frustrated. I genuinely believe that creative and innovative work is produced from a core of safety and positivity, with a bit of external pressure to move along. But what does firing a bunch of people for unstated reasons at seemingly random intervals do? If you want cog producers, I get it. But if you want real creative output, then there has got to be a better way.

I'm still committed to making 2024 a good one for me and my loved ones. If you'd like support in your own journey for a better 2024, let me know. And, selfishly, if you'd like to join me on my own journey, then send me a message!

May 1 · linkedin

There's something funny about receiving emails and messages from people excited about the boundless possibilities of AI, who wink, "don't worry, this email wasn't written by AI."

For one, it immediately makes me think that "wait, so maybe this was written by AI?" or "does this mean their other messages are AI?"

Or "why not? If it's so good why not have it write your emails?"

The idea of having AI help me write some of my communications is slightly appealing but the idea of regularly receiving messages from others that have been composed by AI is at minimum super annoying. How seriously can I take a message like that?

I wonder how long until organizations start formally publishing guidelines on the internal use of AI generated text. Or is this something I just need to get over and accept that a message from a colleague may or may not have been auto-generated? Maybe it's not that different than learning that presidents and leaders don't write their own speeches or books?

Related Questions

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Aaron Gitlin
Aaron Gitlin, photo 1
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Location

Los Angeles, California, United States