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Summary
Four of your research colleagues discussed and defended their respective positions on what emerging methods are advancing UX research. Participants engaged with them in a discussion and Q&A, facilitated by Victor Udoewa. “Thanks to online culture, we have all become savvy content creators, alert to meanings. But while the user can tell you what they like, semiotics unlocks the system of imagery, narratives and environments that makes them think that way, showing brands how to be distinctive and credible.” – Soma Ghosh & Rob Thomas “Using AI for the “science” of user research (data collection, analysis) leaves you with more time to devote to the “art” of it—drawing connections only you could draw, telling stories that resonate in a way only you can.” – Savina Hawkins “The value of User Research is easily missed (dismissed) if our colleagues don’t come out from behind their computers or down from their 47th-floor office, and join us in talking to the people using their products or experiencing their services. There is no such thing as second-hand empathy.” – Dave Hoffer
Key Insights
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Semiotics treats culture as a vast system of signs including words, images, sounds, and physical environments, analyzed scientifically to understand user experience.
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Modern users are active cultural creators immersed in diverse cultural signals, necessitating UX research that integrates cultural decoding.
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Large language models act as a collective unconscious, enabling rapid cognitive work like coding data and summarizing information but require human grounding.
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The democratization of UX research in organizations and consultancies can dilute research quality but also expands skills across roles.
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AI currently lacks embodiment and sensory experience, limiting its ability to fully replace human contextual research in environments like mines or social interactions.
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Combining semiotics, AI, and traditional UX methods forms an ecology of practices that respects cultural complexity and technological affordances.
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Cultural inequities and researchers’ positionality can blind them to important signals; diverse teams and broad data sources are crucial to mitigate these biases.
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Semiotics can reveal underlying tensions and historical transformations in seemingly fixed concepts like fairness, humanity, and impact.
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Corporate challenges such as recruitment or brand alignment can benefit from semiotic analysis that uncovers distinct internal cultures and communication gaps.
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The pace of AI and cultural change means UX research must remain flexible and avoid rigid methodologies, embracing change as an ultimate truth.
Notable Quotes
"Being a semiotician today is like being on a packed train trying to read everyday cultural signals to stop a metaphorical bomber."
"If you want to enrich user experience, you need to pull the levers of culture and know how to read culture."
"Large language models turn computers and language into an interface where tools and human subjectivities exchange information."
"Semiotics is not just about words and pictures; it includes sounds, tactility, environments, and embodies a scientific lab process."
"Impact is both a visceral feeling and a resonance that goes beyond immediate signs and signals."
"Culture carries inequities; researchers must be aware of their own positionality to avoid missing critical context."
"Hallucinations in AI are better called confabulations—plausible but incorrect information generated from data recombination."
"AI is like an alien being trained by humans; it talks human but is fundamentally different, needing human grounding."
"The best research outcomes arise when multiple methodologies coexist and collaborate rather than relying on just one approach."
"Everything is designed, most things poorly, and it's incumbent on us to redesign systems including capitalism itself."
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