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This video is featured in the AI and UX playlist.
Summary
Four of your research colleagues discussed and defended their respective positions (below) on the impact of AI on user research. Participants engaged in a discussion and Q&A, facilitated by Dr. Jamika D. Burge. “AI has the potential to be the researcher's best friend, by doing all the heavy lifting associated with analysis - but it also has the potential to cause unimaginable damage”. – Nick Fine “Researchers absolutely must learn to create AI prompts. Not only will prompt engineering become an essential, required research skill, but it will also offer a much-needed opportunity to rethink our role as facilitators of change.” – Alexandra Jayeun Lee Soon, AI will be able to utilize the participant's feedback as a prompt to create RITE design variations on the fly, offering the researcher multiple flow options organically and in real time, which will radically transform our research practice.” – Greg Nudelman “UX Researchers can reinvent themselves as “delightful ethicists” who oversee ethics on critical issues when generative AI supplies abundant solutions without providing the why." – Bo Wang
Key Insights
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Inexperienced researchers using AI risk introducing invalid outputs and hallucinations into corporate knowledge bases.
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Learning prompt engineering can empower UX researchers to better understand AI tools and their limitations.
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AI can automate routine design tasks, enabling researchers to focus on strategic and ethical issues.
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UX researchers should evolve into 'delightful ethicists,' leading on ethical AI implementation and preventing misuse.
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Bias is inherent in AI systems and must be anticipated, flagged, and addressed by researchers.
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Human empathy and quick pivoting in moderated usability testing cannot be replaced by AI.
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Ethics in AI goes beyond moral principles to include day-to-day product decisions impacted by AI.
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UX research’s value is best demonstrated by linking user insights clearly to business outcomes.
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The integration of AI in product processes requires UX researchers to engage early and continuously.
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Proactive upskilling and strategic positioning are essential for UX researchers to maintain relevance and lead in an AI-driven landscape.
Notable Quotes
"AI has as much capacity to do as much harm as it does good."
"Prompt engineering for researchers is like coding was for designers 20 years ago."
"The brain is the most modern large language model we have, with 300,000 years of ancestral development."
"AI gives us superpowers, like designing and testing user flows in hours instead of weeks."
"We should reinvent ourselves as delightful ethicists who lead ethical AI integration."
"Bias is built into AI; as researchers, we must assume it’s there, call it out, and address it."
"Human empathy cannot be replaced by AI, especially in moderated usability testing."
"If you skip learning user research fundamentals and jump straight to prompt engineering, bad things will happen."
"We have to link user needs to the bottom line to demonstrate our value as researchers."
"Without researchers, more decisions will be made without data, leading to exclusionary and unjust products."
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