Why AI-Generated Interfaces Need Human Taste

Large language models have been trained on millions of codebases. They know every CSS property, every Tailwind class, every component pattern. So why do AI-generated interfaces often feel off?

Pattern Recognition vs. Taste

AI is exceptional at recognizing and reproducing patterns. It can generate a login form, a dashboard layout, or a pricing table in seconds. But taste is not about patterns. It is about knowing when to break them. It is the decision to use 24px of padding instead of 16px because the content needs room to breathe. It is choosing a slightly warmer gray because pure gray feels clinical.

The Uncanny Valley of UI

AI-generated interfaces often fall into an uncanny valley: technically correct but emotionally hollow. The spacing is reasonable but not rhythmic. The typography is readable but not refined. The colors are accessible but not harmonious. Users cannot articulate why, but they feel it.

Common AI Design Smells

Watch for these patterns in your AI-generated code: inconsistent spacing values (mixing p-4 and p-5 without reason), overreliance on default border-radius values, generic gray palettes without personality, typography that treats all text equally, and buttons that all look the same regardless of importance.

The Human-AI Loop

The solution is not to abandon AI tools. It is to add human judgment at the right moments. Let AI handle the heavy lifting of generating initial layouts and components. Then bring in human taste to refine, adjust, and polish. This is the loop Spitshine enables: AI generation, human critique, AI refinement.