AI interviewers can’t connect with people the way human researchers can – they can produce only data, not meaning
Kelley Cotter, Ankolika De and Priya C. Kumar are researchers who specialize in qualitative research on digital technologies. Collectively, they have decades of experience developing, conducting and publishing interview studies, and they teach qualitative research methods to undergraduate and graduate students. While AI tools can support social science research, they also have significant limitations. Not taking these limitations into account risks undermining the unique value of research that relies on human connection.