Date
May 28, 2025 5:00 pm
Duration
40 min
Location
Lucerna Great Hall
The web is shifting—fast. AI-powered agents are challenging traditional UIs, design systems are evolving into modular fragments, and our understanding of “user experience” is being redefined in real time.
In this forward-looking panel, Smashing Magazine’s Vitaly Friedman moderates a no-nonsense conversation between UX veteran Joe Natoli, full-stack developer Ariel Shulman, and technologist Krasimir Tsonev. Together, they’ll unpack:
- How AI and multi-channel platforms (MCPs) are transforming web interactions
- Whether traditional websites are being replaced by agent-driven UI snippets
- What “Agent Engine Optimisation” might mean for the future of SEO and content strategy
- Which design and development practices will endure—and which will fall away
- How humans stay central in a future defined by automation, AI, and interfaces we no longer control
From the practical to the provocative, this panel offers designers, developers, and digital strategists a rare cross-disciplinary lens on what’s next for the web—and how to remain relevant within it.
Joe Natoli
UX Consultant
GIVE GOOD UX
Joe is a UX consultant, author, and speaker. Everything he does is born from nearly three decades of consulting with and training UX, design, and product development teams at some of the world’s largest organisations. Joe delivers practical advice in jargon-free language, sharing methods and advice that work in the messy reality of the real world, where we don’t always have the time, budget, or the approval we’d like.
Ariel Shulman
Full Stack Developer
Illumex
Ariel is a full stack developer at Illumex and a public speaker with a big passion for deep dives and understanding how things work. With over eight years of development experience, her stack includes TypeScript, React, Nextjs, Nestjs, Neo4j, PostgreSQL, and FastAPI.
Krasimir Tsonev
Senior JavaScript Developer
Antidote.me
Krasimir Tsonev is a coder with over 20 years of experience in web development and the author of books on Node.js, JavaScript and React. Currently, he works for Antidote.me, where his strong focus on quality and usability helps him create and discover new and effective digital experiences for patients.
Vitaly Friedman
UX Lead
European Parliament, Smashing Media
Born in Minsk, Belarus, Vitaly studied computer science and mathematics in Germany. After working as a freelance designer and developer for six years, he co-founded Smashing Magazine back in 2006, a leading online magazine for designers and developers. Vitaly is the author, co-author, and editor of Smashing books, a curator of Smashing Conferences, and a leading front-end and UX consultant, working with the European Parliament, Haufe-Lexware, Axel-Springer, and more.
