The Feed & The Thread - January 17, 2026

Today we're covering why chatbots should embrace uncertainty by admitting when they don't know something, diving into how Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback can improve interactions; and we'll hear what the community is saying about a new port of Kube's Liquid Glass demo.

Welcome to The Feed & The Thread, brought to you by Chicago Camps. Our next UX Camp event is coming up in February. We're still accepting presentations for the event - submit your talk today!

The industry's been pretty busy! Here's what's catching our attention for this episode.

In a new piece titled "The case for the uncertain AI: Why chatbots should say ‘I’m not sure’", Alexandre Tempel at UX Design.cc argues that chatbots should be transparent about their limitations by admitting when they are uncertain. The article takes a look at Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF) and tokenization as key AI methodologies, suggesting these approaches can enhance the interaction between humans and machines.

Writing for Nielsen Norman Group, Kate Moran, Raluca Budiu, and Sarah Gibbons latest article "State of UX 2026: Design Deeper to Differentiate" explores the stabilization of the UX field after experiencing instability due to layoffs, hiring freezes, and confusion over AI’s role. They argue that differentiation through deeper design work and proving business impact are critical for UX professionals moving forward. As always, take anything that comes out of this organization with a grain of salt.

Also publishing recently at Nielsen Norman Group, Megan Chan's piece "UX Hiring: Insights from a Design Recruiter" shares insights from Hang Xu, a design recruiter and former UX designer, about why UX job applications are often rejected. She highlights that craft—demonstrated skills and experience—is crucial for hiring teams but also notes the importance of understanding the shifting power dynamics in the job market.

Also worth noting - there are new pieces recently from CSS-Tricks and Smashing Magazine available - check them out!

Okay, so what's the community buzzing about today?

Over in the web_design subreddit, someone just ported Kube’s Liquid Glass demo to pure HTML CSS and JS. And you know, people are pretty hyped about this. It's not every day you see something that is visually stunning pulled off with just these basics.

And on the UX_Design subreddit, it seems like a lot of folks are looking for developers. You know how it goes – great ideas but sometimes you need someone to bring them to life. I mean, there’s nothing quite like finding the right partner in crime for your project.

Meanwhile, over in the UXDesign subreddit, someone just landed a job after six months of searching – and the post blew up with over a hundred fifty upvotes. The community rallied around them with advice and congratulations. One commenter asked about their job search strategy, and honestly, it's the kind of wholesome win we all need to see sometimes.

So that’s been the chatter around here today. Lots of folks diving deep and sharing cool projects and challenges they're facing.

Chicago Camps is hosting UX Camp Winter on Saturday, February 21st. The entire event is online, so you can join from anywhere in the world. It will be a great day of presentations coming from people delivering UX work - out in the field - where it matters most.

Tickets are only thirteen dollars and fifty cents. They also have Pay-What-You-Can tickets, and free passes available to anyone with a need.

Get tickets now at Chicago Camps dot org. And there's still room for additional speakers - submit your idea today!

When chatbots admit they’re not sure, it feels like a breath of fresh air, right? It’s making me think about how transparency can actually build trust. And here's another thing, that Liquid Glass demo in HTML CSS and JS shows just how far we've come with web technologies. Thanks for tuning in today – we’ll catch you next time.

That's The Feed and The Thread for today. Keep designing with intention!