Deepfake Personas Erode Empathy and Credibility in Design Tasks

Why It Matters

As design teams explore new tools for user research and persona development, understanding the perceptual impact of different modalities is crucial. This research highlights potential pitfalls of using deepfake technology for personas, suggesting that current iterations may hinder rather than enhance user connection and trust.

Key Finding

Using deepfake-generated personas in design tasks led users to perceive them as less relatable and trustworthy, resulting in lower engagement and a feeling of detachment, even though it didn't affect their ability to complete the task.

Key Findings

• Deepfake personas were rated lower on empathy, credibility, completeness, and clarity compared to classic and narrative personas.
• Participants reported less immersion and willingness to use deepfake personas.
• A correlation was found between the uncanny valley effect and negative user perceptions of deepfake personas.
• Task performance did not differ significantly across persona modalities.

Research Evidence

Aim: How does the modality of a user persona (deepfake vs. traditional) affect user perceptions of empathy, credibility, clarity, immersion, and willingness to use?

Method: Experimental comparison

Procedure: Participants were presented with user personas in three modalities: deepfake, classic (static image/text), and narrative (story-based). Their perceptions of the personas and their own sense of control and task performance were then measured.

Context: User persona development and human-computer interaction in design tasks.

Design Principle

The perceived authenticity and emotional resonance of a persona significantly influence user trust and willingness to interact.

How to Apply

When developing user personas for a design project, evaluate whether the chosen modality (e.g., static image, narrative description, or potentially a deepfake) aligns with the project's goals for user connection and trust.

Limitations

The study used a specific commercial deepfake service, and findings may vary with different technologies. The 'task' context was not deeply specified.

Student Guide (IB Design Technology)

Simple Explanation: Fake people made with new technology (deepfakes) feel less real and trustworthy than regular ways of showing user types, which makes people less likely to want to use them.

Why This Matters: Understanding how users perceive different types of personas helps you choose the most effective way to represent your target users in your design project, leading to better design decisions.

Critical Thinking: If deepfakes are perceived negatively now, what advancements might overcome the uncanny valley effect in the future, and how could designers then leverage them?

IA-Ready Paragraph: The effectiveness of user personas in design is significantly influenced by their perceived authenticity and emotional connection. Research indicates that current deepfake technology, while realistic, can evoke an 'uncanny valley' effect, leading to reduced perceptions of empathy and credibility, and a lower willingness to engage compared to traditional persona formats (Kaate et al., 2023). Therefore, for design projects aiming to foster strong user trust and connection, prioritizing established persona modalities may be more effective.

Project Tips

• When creating personas, think about how realistic they need to be and what feeling you want to evoke.
• Consider testing different persona formats with potential users to see which ones resonate best.

How to Use in IA

• Reference this study when discussing the rationale behind your choice of persona format, especially if you opt for traditional methods over more advanced, potentially less effective ones.

Examiner Tips

• Demonstrate an awareness of the psychological impact of persona representation, not just their functional completeness.

Independent Variable: Modality of user persona (deepfake, classic, narrative)

Dependent Variable: User perceptions (empathy, credibility, clarity, immersion, willingness to use), sense of control, task performance

Controlled Variables: Underlying persona characteristics (e.g., demographics, needs, goals) across modalities, the specific design task.

Strengths

• Direct comparison of deepfake personas against established modalities.
• Investigates multiple user perception metrics.

Critical Questions

• Could the familiarity with traditional personas bias participants against the novel deepfake format?
• How might the specific design task influence the importance of persona empathy versus task clarity?

Extended Essay Application

• Investigate the long-term impact of deepfake personas on user engagement and brand perception in a simulated product development lifecycle.

Source

The realness of fakes: Primary evidence of the effect of deepfake personas on user perceptions in a design task · International Journal of Human-Computer Studies · 2023 · 10.1016/j.ijhcs.2023.103096