User researcher at Anthropic • opinions mine etc • SF/NH • ☕️🎸🌁 theunderstanders.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/theunderstanders.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/theunderstanders.com/post/3lnnrnvtszk2cAny user researchers who follow me here: what's your remote research stack these days? Curious about every and any tool you love to plan, recruit, conduct, analyze and write/report!25 Apr 2025 17:45 +0000at://did:plc:lkzfytdsjchsx2dc755vxewa/app.bsky.feed.post/3lnnrnvtszk2chttps://bsky.app/profile/theunderstanders.com/post/3lnnqmxq2z22c"The common thread in all these viral conspiracy theories on TikTok is that they are fueled by distrust of institutions — from schools to the National Weather Service to the medical establishment. And that... carries over to the media: Only 16 percent of Gen Zers have strong confidence in the news." [contains quote post or other embedded content]25 Apr 2025 17:27 +0000at://did:plc:lkzfytdsjchsx2dc755vxewa/app.bsky.feed.post/3lnnqmxq2z22chttps://bsky.app/profile/theunderstanders.com/post/3lnnn35c3k22cPeople are growing more comfortable and intimate with AI chatbots-- sharing secrets, growing feelings of connection, and even being romantically intimate-- and there's research suggesting the social mechanics are in place for this to get stronger and more common over time. Today's post: https://www.theunderstanders.com/p/research-summary-our-willingness25 Apr 2025 16:23 +0000at://did:plc:lkzfytdsjchsx2dc755vxewa/app.bsky.feed.post/3lnnn35c3k22chttps://bsky.app/profile/theunderstanders.com/post/3lngyjlmprk2sI’ve been on a real Paul Simon kick lately, for reasons I can’t really explain. I have tender affection for him as a representative and personification of my parents’ generation. Just listened to Malcolm Gladwell’s lovely audiobook Miracle and Wonder and really enjoyed this piece on his new tour: [contains quote post or other embedded content]23 Apr 2025 01:00 +0000at://did:plc:lkzfytdsjchsx2dc755vxewa/app.bsky.feed.post/3lngyjlmprk2shttps://bsky.app/profile/theunderstanders.com/post/3lneajefiuc22🐂🐂🐂 [contains quote post or other embedded content]21 Apr 2025 22:45 +0000at://did:plc:lkzfytdsjchsx2dc755vxewa/app.bsky.feed.post/3lneajefiuc22https://bsky.app/profile/theunderstanders.com/post/3lm5xy4laxs24I conducted my second piece of original primary research for my newsletter The Understanders, exploring the concerns underlying AI skepticism https://open.substack.com/pub/mattgallivan/p/the-understanders-research-the-concerns?r=1mxyh06 Apr 2025 17:31 +0000at://did:plc:lkzfytdsjchsx2dc755vxewa/app.bsky.feed.post/3lm5xy4laxs24https://bsky.app/profile/theunderstanders.com/post/3llrgr2x6g22eSome really good stuff in this research on workers' views of AI from Pew last month: https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2025/02/25/u-s-workers-are-more-worried-than-hopeful-about-future-ai-use-in-the-workplace/01 Apr 2025 17:51 +0000at://did:plc:lkzfytdsjchsx2dc755vxewa/app.bsky.feed.post/3llrgr2x6g22ehttps://bsky.app/profile/theunderstanders.com/post/3li3m5cphts2jWrote about a new paper on the effects of perceived “creepiness” of digital assistants 🧟 https://open.substack.com/pub/mattgallivan/p/research-summary-what-the-previous?r=1mxyh&utm_medium=ios13 Feb 2025 21:13 +0000at://did:plc:lkzfytdsjchsx2dc755vxewa/app.bsky.feed.post/3li3m5cphts2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/theunderstanders.com/post/3lhjs7n5m2c2kInspired by a common observation from @carnage4life.bsky.social @thebenedictevans.bsky.social and @caseynewton.bsky.social, and because I don't know how to simply sit back and enjoy a career break, I ran a study of how people think about AI model selection. https://www.theunderstanders.com/p/the-understanders-research-user-perceptions06 Feb 2025 19:13 +0000at://did:plc:lkzfytdsjchsx2dc755vxewa/app.bsky.feed.post/3lhjs7n5m2c2khttps://bsky.app/profile/theunderstanders.com/post/3lhc55u3p7s2oWrote about how some new YouGov data on attitudes about AI showcase some classic signs of optimism bias: https://open.substack.com/pub/mattgallivan/p/research-summary-how-do-americans?r=1mxyh&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true03 Feb 2025 18:08 +0000at://did:plc:lkzfytdsjchsx2dc755vxewa/app.bsky.feed.post/3lhc55u3p7s2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/theunderstanders.com/post/3lh3aloqsjk2fJust stumbled upon this early discussion paper that's a nice Friday evening mindf**k: arxiv.org/pdf/2501.1651301 Feb 2025 00:21 +0000at://did:plc:lkzfytdsjchsx2dc755vxewa/app.bsky.feed.post/3lh3aloqsjk2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/theunderstanders.com/post/3lgwgportvc2sWrote about a new paper on how product designers respond to AI-powered personas, and a bit about the idea of doing research with synthetic users generally: https://open.substack.com/pub/mattgallivan/p/research-summary-how-product-designers?r=1mxyh&utm_medium=ios30 Jan 2025 02:27 +0000at://did:plc:lkzfytdsjchsx2dc755vxewa/app.bsky.feed.post/3lgwgportvc2shttps://bsky.app/profile/theunderstanders.com/post/3lgjhh3mt4c2uI took a look at some research about AI voice assistants and let myself think about where we're headed for a little too long today. https://www.theunderstanders.com/p/research-summary-user-preferences24 Jan 2025 22:36 +0000at://did:plc:lkzfytdsjchsx2dc755vxewa/app.bsky.feed.post/3lgjhh3mt4c2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/theunderstanders.com/post/3lfuy5we4c22qArguably the most important dimension of the AI story overall, and certainly one of the most fascinating. [contains quote post or other embedded content]16 Jan 2025 19:09 +0000at://did:plc:lkzfytdsjchsx2dc755vxewa/app.bsky.feed.post/3lfuy5we4c22qhttps://bsky.app/profile/theunderstanders.com/post/3lbwrbrzj5c2xFirst they mock you for buying your own coffee gear and storing it in your in-laws’ basement but then… well, actually, they’ll still mock you and drink their own terrible coffee, but you won’t mind as much because you’ll have a proper cup for yourself27 Nov 2024 14:30 +0000at://did:plc:lkzfytdsjchsx2dc755vxewa/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbwrbrzj5c2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/theunderstanders.com/post/3lbu6choegc24I don’t think we ever got a Bonfire of the Vanities for the 2010s era of Big Tech, and that is a shame. We got some good first hand nonfiction and some mediocre pointed satire but nothing as sweeping and damning as the era deserved. Tom Wolfe, man. The dude was good at his job.26 Nov 2024 13:45 +0000at://did:plc:lkzfytdsjchsx2dc755vxewa/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbu6choegc24https://bsky.app/profile/theunderstanders.com/post/3lbqdftugvk2dI have yet to successfully make a single functional thing with Replit's AI coding agent, yet I still find it so fun to play with. Like cosplaying an engineer. Also, once tools like this get better, it's going to be an amazing and profound shift. Bespoke apps and software for everyone. Wild.25 Nov 2024 01:06 +0000at://did:plc:lkzfytdsjchsx2dc755vxewa/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbqdftugvk2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/theunderstanders.com/post/3lbcwobg7sc2mOur relationship to this technology— how and when we fight it, when we cede ground to it, if some of us will ever trust it— is going to be the most interesting technology story of the next decade [contains quote post or other embedded content]19 Nov 2024 17:13 +0000at://did:plc:lkzfytdsjchsx2dc755vxewa/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbcwobg7sc2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/theunderstanders.com/post/3lbcqghw4js2mThis is wild. User researchers (myself definitely included) scoffed at the idea of doing research with “synthetic users” a year or so ago. Might be time to start thinking differently about the idea. [contains quote post or other embedded content]19 Nov 2024 15:22 +0000at://did:plc:lkzfytdsjchsx2dc755vxewa/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbcqghw4js2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/theunderstanders.com/post/3lazf6nqces2rTwo San Francisco hidden gems that one should *absolutely never* spill the beans about on social media: the Cole Valley sandwich from Cheese Plus and the beach at Kirby Cove15 Nov 2024 22:07 +0000at://did:plc:lkzfytdsjchsx2dc755vxewa/app.bsky.feed.post/3lazf6nqces2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/theunderstanders.com/post/3lawk4dbldo2zI smashed the Follow All button on this bad boy and if you follow me because of user research, I encourage you to do the same! [contains quote post or other embedded content]14 Nov 2024 18:57 +0000at://did:plc:lkzfytdsjchsx2dc755vxewa/app.bsky.feed.post/3lawk4dbldo2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/theunderstanders.com/post/3laozu7f34s2kSurely, more social media is the answer! So here I am.11 Nov 2024 19:17 +0000at://did:plc:lkzfytdsjchsx2dc755vxewa/app.bsky.feed.post/3laozu7f34s2k