Jay Murthy

BD3596

This thesis investigates the transformative impact of Artificial Intelligence on User Experience (UX) research practices. It critically examines traditional human-led frameworks, identifying operational inefficiencies, and benchmarks current AI-powered platforms (including AI interviewers, repositories, and synthetic users) against established methodologies like Ecosystem Research. The study aims to understand AI's realistic capabilities and limitations, assess the validity of synthetic users, and map current human-AI collaboration in UX workflows. Ultimately, it speculates on the future of UX research by 2040, prompting a critical reflection on how the field can ethically and effectively integrate AI while preserving deep human insight.