Synthetic Users and where to find them

​Join us for a discussion about Synthetic User Studies, a new research technique made possible by large language models.

​The base idea describes simulating user personas and then interviewing them. This is dramatically cheaper and faster than traditional user research, but critics say it merely pays lip-service to principles of user-centred design.

​How should democracies think about using synthetic citizens for policy research?

• ​Jie Li (2024), "How Far Can We Go with Synthetic User Experience Research?"

• ​Shrestha et al (2025). "Beyond WEIRD: can synthetic survey participants substitute for humans in global policy research?"

• ​Joon Sung Park et al (2024), "Generative Agent Simulations of 1,000 People"