- AI Ethics, AI in UX, Artificial Intelligence, ChatGPT, Design Thinking, Design Tools and Software, Human-Centered Design, LLM, Research Methods and Techniques, UX Research
Mashed potatoes as a lifestyle brand? When AI starts generating user personas for absurd products — and we start taking them seriously — it’s time to ask if we’ve all lost the plot. This sharp, irreverent critique exposes the real risks of using LLMs as synthetic users in UX research.
Article by Saul Wyner
Have SpudGun, Will Travel: How AI’s Agreeableness Risks Undermining UX Thinking
- The article explores the growing use of AI-generated personas in UX research and why it’s often a shortcut with serious flaws.
- It introduces critiques that LLMs are trained to mimic structure, not judgment. When researchers use AI as a stand-in for real users, they risk mistaking coherence for credibility and fantasy for data.
- The piece argues that AI tools in UX should be assistants, not oracles. Trusting “synthetic users” or AI-conjured feedback risks replacing real insights with confident nonsense.
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- June 17, 2025
22 min read