Summary
Join Savina Hawkins as she presents a focused exploration of large language models in User Experience Research (UXR). This talk zeroes in on practical, actionable strategies for leveraging these advanced AI tools to enhance UXR outcomes. Savina will discuss the dual nature of large language models, illuminating their potential to both revolutionize and challenge UXR practices. Attendees will learn to identify and mitigate risks while maximizing the benefits of these models in real-world scenarios. The session promises a clear, concise roadmap for UX researchers to effectively integrate large language models into their workflow, ensuring positive, impactful results.
Key Insights
-
•
Judd Anton predicts prompt engineering will be a foundational skill for researchers by 2025.
-
•
AI tools have enabled condensing thousands of user insights into manageable unique ideas within minutes.
-
•
Large language models learn language skills purely from statistical patterns, not human understanding.
-
•
GPT’s transformer architecture allows fast and contextually relevant text generation.
-
•
Prompt engineering is both a science of optimization and an art of design mirroring qualitative interview skills.
-
•
Prompt chaining can sequentially automate complex, multi-step analysis workflows.
-
•
AI-generated outputs are probabilistic and sometimes incorrect, requiring critical human oversight.
-
•
Multi-threaded prompt chaining workflows can achieve human-quality qualitative analysis at scale.
-
•
The rise of AI in knowledge work challenges existing power structures, workflows, and capitalism itself.
-
•
Researchers’ humanistic skills uniquely position them to co-design ethical AI systems and maintain meaning-making.
Notable Quotes
"The best researchers are multi-method and they have five tools, with prompt engineering as the fifth emerging one."
"In just 15 minutes, I extracted thousands of quotes and turned feedback into a strategic opportunity map in 30 minutes."
"GPT is like a master chef who’s traveled the world sampling cuisines before creating new dishes."
"Large language models don’t understand language like we do; they generate statistically likely text based on training data."
"Prompt engineering is the craft of using specific inputs to elicit precise AI outputs, similar to designing discussion guides."
"Chains of prompts become designed information processing workflows that can scale research tasks."
"These AI tools can do the entire qualitative analysis process at the click of a button."
"Magic eight ball thinking is the risk of blindly accepting AI answers without critical evaluation."
"Artificial intelligence can’t produce meaning the way humans do; it industrializes plausible content generation."
"Our challenge is to design how humans and technology share the world in peace while shaping new knowledge work."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"A living systems lens urges us to see wholes, holes, and interdependent relationships in organizations."
Robin BeersNavigating organizational systems: Rethinking researcher’s role in driving change
March 13, 2025
"Kim Collins had about three coffees a day with different people just to get to know them and build connections."
Laura SchaeferDesignOps: A Conduit for Inclusion
September 9, 2022
"User choice can include opting for a higher carbon or lower carbon version of the same content."
Ned Gartside Mike Gifford Zoe Lopez-Latorre Tzviya SiegmanNavigating accessibility and climate
April 17, 2024
"Hallucinations are when AI makes up stuff—it's a fundamental property of these models."
Peter Van DijckDesigning AI-first products on top of a rapidly evolving technology
June 10, 2025
"When groups started swarming on problems, they exhibited autonomy, creativity, experimentation, and hidden leadership."
Surya VankaUnleashing Swarm Creativity to Solve Enterprise Challenges
June 10, 2021
"We found timed exercises and shifting power dynamics in groups helped trigger a different, less rational part of the brain."
Jemma AhmedConvergent Research Techniques in Customer Journey Mapping
March 31, 2020
"Many hiring managers feel stuck by bureaucracy and policies that haven’t adapted, limiting candidate pools to specific locations."
DesignOps and The Great Talent War of 2021
August 19, 2021
"Great research doesn’t automatically have the intended impact because people may not want their minds changed."
Robin BeersBeyond Insights: Researchers as Organizational Change Catalysts
March 25, 2024
"I am uncomfortable too. Change is uncomfortable, exhausting, but it can also be fun and exciting."
Maria SkaadenPanel Discussion: Methodologies and Work Environments
November 8, 2018
