Like others have mentioned, the forum has become pretty heavy on AI discussion lately. I wanted to offer a gentle bit of pushback.
I still think there is an important place for designers and webmasters who want to build websites with their own hands, using AI as an assistant rather than letting AI become the tool itself.
Unless Elements is eventually intended to become primarily an AI website builder—and I’m not sure there is much advantage in going that direction, since AI already has ways to build websites without Elements—I hope the focus remains on making Elements itself better.
Please keep pushing the UI, the design tools, and the hands-on building experience forward. AI can certainly assist the process, but I’d hate to see the craft of actually designing and building a website become secondary to it.
There is still a lot of value in having a great tool in the hands of someone who knows what they want to build.
I agree. And as far as I can see, that’s what Realmac intends.
I think my Lego analogy is a good one. It’s what I’ve always felt about Elements from the pre-launch discussions and the very first release. The question from day one was how many and what kind of blocks were needed, and how do I make new blocks? Realmac has been and continues to be responsive to that.
AI intersects with the Lego analogy in two ways:
It can assemble known blocks into something.
It can create new blocks.
However, a site designer (we Elements users) is in control of both those operations. The AI isn’t spontaneously creating or adjusting sites, the designer is. As I build something by hand it’s like I’m using an old fashioned saw, while with AI it’s like I have a configurable, automated saw.
Meanwhile, Realmac is constantly adding block types, block interlocking mechanisms, and the UI in how we (either by hand or by AI) interact with those blocks. And so far they’re doing a really good job with that.
I agree, I just want it to continue and not get lost in the world of AI. There are bigger players with deeper pockets that I fear could eat RM’s lunch if they press for total AI. Right now they have a unique selling proposition (USP). Please don’t lose that.
