Judit Bekker reflects on how AI tools have made personal data visualization projects quick but soulless. She traces her own shift from passion-driven Tableau work to a broader AI and generalist role, arguing that while automation boosted efficiency, it drained the hobbyist joy of dataviz.

• AI tools like Claude turned dataviz projects that once took weeks of manual tinkering into seconds-long tasks, stripping out the personal satisfaction of the process
• The job market shifted from hiring specialized Data Visualization Experts/Dashboard Designers to demanding generalists who handle data modeling, stakeholder talks, analysis, reporting, and AI engineering
• She now spends only about 5% of her week in an actual visualization tool (Looker), reflecting how far her role moved from pure dataviz work
• Her core argument: AI didn't kill data visualization, but by making it too easy it killed the hobbyist joy and craftsmanship that made it meaningful