MRS Voices4All Conference 2026
Simpson Carpenter invited to speak at MRS Voices4All Conference
Simpson Carpenter were proud to have been invited to speak at the MRS Voices4All Conference, held on 10 June 2026.
We were represented by Annabelle Jones, Senior Researcher, and Pui-Tien Man, Head of Growth and Innovation. Our session, ‘Does who asks the questions change the answers? Testing AI moderator matching for inclusive insights’ explored how moderator identity can affect participation, engagement, comfort and depth when researching sensitive topics.
At the heart was a very human research question: when people are talking about identity, belonging, discrimination or inclusion, does the perceived identity of the person asking the questions shape what they feel able to say? Our talk shared learning from Simpson Carpenter’s work with Quasai, our avatar-moderated research platform, looking at whether matching participants with an avatar moderator by visible racial appearance could create better conditions for open conversation.
For us, this is where the most interesting opportunities around AI in research sit: not in replacing established methods or removing researchers from the process, but in helping us think more carefully about the conditions we create for participants. With the right human oversight, tools such as Quasai can help researchers test, refine and improve the experience of taking part, particularly when the subject is personal, sensitive or shaped by lived experience.
Our session also reflected on the responsibilities involved. Inclusive research depends on thoughtful recruitment, cultural sensitivity, and the expert interpretation from diverse human teams who can challenge assumptions at every stage. The work with Quasai reinforced that representation needs to feel coherent to feel credible.
We are grateful to the MRS for creating space through Voices4All to discuss the future of inclusive research with such care and ambition. Thank you to the organisers, fellow speakers and delegates for contributing to an important conversation about how the industry can better understand and act on the experiences of underrepresented communities.
It was a privilege to be involved, and we look forward to continuing to champion the designing of research methods around participants and unlocking true freedom of expression for more people.
