Last week at the Global WIN | Worldwide Independent Network of MR & OP conference in #Helsinki, we had the honor of hosting Anne-Sophie Damelincourt, President of #ESOMAR. She delivered a powerful talk on the evolution of our industry and the upcoming ESOMAR Code of Conduct.
Three critical AI-related responsibilities for market researchers:
1. Transparency: Clients must be informed of any use of #AI technologies in the research process.
2. Accountability: A #human researcher remains fully responsible for research outputs, no matter the tools or technologies used.
3. Privacy: #Personal Data must be protected to the highest standards and must never be uploaded to free/public AI tools.
I encourage all researchers – ESOMAR members or not – to follow these three core commitments rigorously. I’ll share the final version of the #ESOMAR Code of Conduct as soon as it’s released.
Other key insights (AI summarized) from Anne-Sophie’s talk:
• The role of researchers is expanding, with increasing “disintermediation” of the research process.
• We are shifting from a “one-stop-shop” model to a “self-serve” research environment, leveraging more data sources and AI.
New Fundamental Principles for #Trust in Research:
1. Research must be legal, honest, transparent, and truthful.
2. Interactions should be fair, respectful, and protective of participants.
3. Participants must understand how their data is used, with clear privacy safeguards.
4. Researchers must uphold ethical standards to preserve public trust.
5. Researchers are ultimately responsible, regardless of the tools or methods used.
AI-specific responsibilities include:
• Ensuring findings are clearly backed by data.
• Being transparent about planned use of AI or synthetic tech.
• Maintaining strict confidentiality when AI tools are involved.
As we embrace innovation, #transparency, #ethics, and #accountability are non-negotiable pillars for our profession.
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