Therese Fessenden talks with design psychologist and product strategist Thomas Watkins (host of The Design Psychologist and Product-Led Growth Leaders) about why understanding the human mind is still a true superpower for designers, researchers, and product teams. They explore how products subtly shape our behavior and identity, why over-relying on templates and patterns can flatten experiences instead of differentiating them, the risks of personifying AI tools, and the practical ways practitioners can use psychology and AI together to automate the tedious parts of work while staying human-centered and creating products that truly fit into people’s lives.

About Thomas Watkins: Bio | LinkedIn

• The Design Psychologist Podcast
• Product-Led Growth Leaders Podcast
• 3Leaf Consulting (Thomas’ Design Team)

Related Live Online Training: The Human Mind & Usability

Free NN/g Study Guides & Articles:

• Psychology Study Guide
• Humanizing AI Is a Trap
• The ELIZA Effect: Why We Love AI
• The 4 Degrees of Anthropomorphism of Generative AI

As AI-powered tools flood the market promising quick evaluations and audits, the conversation zeroes in on a critical issue: the reliability of these tools. In this episode, co-hosts Therese Fessenden and NN/G VP Kate Moran sit down with Jamie Holst and Christian Holst, the co-founders of Baymard Institute, to examine the growing role of AI in UX analysis. The group discusses the risks of over-relying on AI—particularly for junior UX practitioners—and the deeper implications for professionalism in the field.

About the speakers:

• Christian Holst (Co-founder & Research Director, Baymard Institute)
• Jamie Holst (Co-founder & CTO, Baymard Institute)
• Kate Moran (VP, NN/G)

Links Referenced in the Episode:

• Try UX Ray for Free: https://baymard.com/product/ux-ray
• Read their article on AI accuracy: https://baymard.com/blog/ai-heuristic-evaluations

Related NN/G Courses:

• Accelerating Research with AI
• AI for Design Workflows
• Designing AI Experiences
• AI Product Strategy

Check out ALL of our courses at nngroup.com/learning

Related NN/G Articles:

• AI Hallucinations: What Designers Need to Know
• AI-Powered Tools for UX Research: Issues and Limitations
• AI as a UX Assistant
• AI Chatbots Discourage Error Checking

The interest in “customer insights” is higher than ever, and more people are interested in both research insights and carrying out research on their own. But, who’s making sure research is done well? Therese sits down with Ned Dwyer, CEO and co-founder of Great Question, to talk about the balance between access and rigor in UX research. They discuss the need for democratization charters, how AI is reshaping research roles, and why enabling good research at scale is as much a cultural challenge as it is a technical one.

Connect with Ned Dwyer: LinkedIn

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Related NN/g Courses & Articles:

• ResearchOps: Scaling User Research (UX Certification course)
• Democratize Research in 5 Steps (free article)
• Democratization of UX (13-min video)