Summary
Our understanding of truth is being reshaped. This challenge deepens when considering how truth intersects with shifting views on data ownership, knowledge extraction, and inclusivity. Researchers must respect participants' ownership of their narratives and foster intersectional inclusivity to uncover more equitable truths. This discussion explores practical strategies for understanding what equitable truth means in a world of disinformation, where both participants and researchers are increasingly questioning the meaning of true inclusivity in our field.
Key Insights
-
•
Disinformation thrives on social media algorithms that prioritize engagement over accuracy, exacerbating distrust in research participants.
-
•
AI-generated misleading content and deepfakes pose new challenges by eroding public trust and entrenching biases in digital products.
-
•
Extractive research practices harm marginalized communities and contribute to widespread mistrust toward organizations.
-
•
Declaring positionality helps researchers reflect on how their own identities influence their work and decisions.
-
•
An equity pause is an effective reflective practice to identify biases and knowledge gaps before making research or design decisions.
-
•
Community-based partnerships and participatory co-design are essential for authentic engagement with vulnerable populations.
-
•
Packaging equity-centered research in the language of business metrics and risk mitigation can increase stakeholder buy-in.
-
•
Authentic transparency with participants, including sharing case studies and knowledge, builds lasting trust and ownership.
-
•
Recruiting participants from marginalized communities requires intentional effort to avoid shallow or unrepresentative insights.
-
•
Sustainable progress in ethical research demands courage, community support, and picking strategic battles within organizations.
Notable Quotes
"Our understanding of truth is being reshaped due to the rise of disinformation."
"Researchers must respect participants' ownership of their own narratives and foster intersectional inclusivity."
"Many stakeholders blur fact and opinion, making it harder to influence with sound research insights."
"Social media algorithms prioritize engagement over accuracy, exacerbating echo chambers and polarizing discourse."
"AI tools generate convincing yet potentially misleading content at scale, eroding public trust."
"Instagram's creation of AI influencers co-opted queer and Black identities, essentially digital blackface."
"One of the most important parts of any successful research study is your research sample."
"If you target the right audience but can’t recruit them, you fail to capture the community’s true problems."
"The equity pause helps you recognize what biases might be present before making decisions impacting lives."
"It takes courage to push back against dominant culture and present dissenting opinions in organizations."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Speed is not everything we need velocity—speed plus direction is key."
Patrizia BertiniDesigning Within the Lines: How the EU AI Act Can Spark Better AI Innovation
December 11, 2025
"You need to be looking at the data. Nobody wants to, but that’s core work."
Peter Van DijckHands-on AI #1: Let’s write your first AI eval
October 8, 2025
"Many new ways of doing things today were originally invented to enable people with disabilities."
Samuel ProulxFrom Standards to Innovation: Why Inclusive Design Wins
November 19, 2025
"Our essential skill in this next era will be managing disruptive change."
Doug PowellDesignOps and the Next Frontier: Leading Through Unpredictable Change
September 11, 2025
"Raising the floor and the ceiling means eliminating low-value problems and empowering talent to shine creatively."
Frances Yllana Kaaren Hanson Husani Oakley Dan OlsenDesignOps Exposed: What do our peers really think of us?
September 11, 2025
"Learning invalidates being right as the currency of research and product decisions."
Monty HammontreeThe Future of UX Research
December 3, 2020
"Iteration means don’t prepare your talk the night before. Start early, practice, and evolve your message over time."
Louis Rosenfeld Jemma Ahmed Christian Crumlish Uday Gajendar Chris GeisonCoffee with Lou #3: What Makes for a Successful UX Conference Presentation?
May 2, 2024
"Operations is the de-risking activity that creates scalable processes for better outcomes - Theresa."
Bria Alexander Patrizia Bertini Peter Boersma Jon Fukuda Dave Malouf Theresa Slate Changying (Z) ZhengCharting the future of DesignOps: A community workshop
April 18, 2024
"Screen reader users scored significantly lower in usability tests, reflecting the most effort in interpreting content."
Sam ProulxSUS: A System Unusable for Twenty Percent of the Population
December 9, 2021
Latest Books All books
Dig deeper with the Rosenbot
What roles do narrative and shared sense-making play in measuring learning within organizations?
How can service design approaches support innovation decision-making in large public sector institutions like the OECD?
What new content was added in the second edition relating to organizational change?