Designing the Relationship: What Star Wars Can Teach Product Managers About AI
PDMA Minnesota | December 9, 2025
Nearly 50 years ago, Star Wars imagined a future where humans and machines worked side by side—and, perhaps accidentally, predicted how we’d feel about it too. Luke, Leia, and Han don’t just use droids like tools—they adapt their tone, shift expectations, and form real relationships based on what each droid is and how it behaves.
Today, we’re living in that future. AI is now embedded in products across every industry. But while the technology has accelerated, many teams still design around output, not interaction. The result? Confusion, mistrust, and missed opportunity.
This session introduces AI Experience Design (AIX) as a practical framework for product managers who want to move beyond functionality and start shaping how users actually relate to intelligent systems. Blending human psychology, storytelling, and real-world product strategy—plus a healthy dose of sci-fi nostalgia—this talk will reframe how you think about your roadmap, your features, and your AI’s place in the world.
You’ll walk away with:
- A new lens for understanding AI-driven UX and product decisions
- Psychological principles that shape user trust and emotional response
- Frameworks for designing clarity, tone, and expectation into intelligent systems
- And yes—a reason to finally quote Star Wars in your next sprint planning session
About the Speaker
Jake McKee
Jake McKee is an AI Experience Design expert helping teams create the relationship between humans and intelligent AI systems to help grow their businesses.
Jake is a sleeves-rolled-up consultant who helps companies build better relationships—with their customers, their communities, and increasingly, their AI systems. With two decades of experience in community building, customer engagement, and product strategy, Jake now focuses on AI Experience Design (AIX)—a practice that treats AI not just as a tool, but as a teammate. His approach blends emotional intelligence, behavioral science, and strategic design to help teams build AI experiences that feel clear, trustworthy, and genuinely useful.