The Pixie Dust Factor: A Market Researcher’s Unique Value in an AI World

At Quirks NYC, Discuss Co-Founder Jim Longo teamed up with Stan Sthanunathan, insights industry legend and Executive Chairman of i-Genie.AI to talk about the irreplaceable role of human researchers in an AI-powered world. In this fourth “Shatter Assumptions” post, we’re looking at what Stan calls your “pixie dust” – the unique perspective, experience, and judgment technology can never replicate.

“Are we going to get replaced by artificial intelligence? The reality is it will happen if we let it happen.” Stan Sthanunathan

When the process becomes the product

AI can moderate faster, process more, and present findings in minutes. That’s powerful. But if your work becomes only the process and the machine owns the process, you risk making yourself optional. The key is to hold on to the parts of the work that only you can do.

Outsource process, insource thinking

During his time at Unilever, Stan had a rule: outsource process, insource thinking. Let technology take care of the repetitive mechanics, and keep the higher-order work like analysis, interpretation, and strategic guidance for yourself. In today’s AI environment, that principle matters more than ever.

The myth of total replacement

AI can crunch millions of conversations and surface patterns you might have missed. But it can’t bring:

• Cross-category perspective: Seeing connections others don’t.
• Emotional sensing: Recognizing “I don’t know” as the signal to dig deeper.
• Strategic filtering: Choosing which insight will move the business forward.
  

Jim’s take? AI gets you about 70% of the way there. The last 30% – the shift from interesting to transformative – relies on you.

Making space for your magic

Stan often says we all carry a bag of pixie dust. The question is, how will you use it? AI can:

• Take on the logistics so you can focus on strategy.
• Bring together patterns you can enrich with context.
• Help you deliver insights that are both solid and relevant.

What stays human in an AI-heavy world

Moderators, analysts, strategists: there’s still a place for you but that work looks different now. The skills that rise in value:

• Framing sharper questions before the study starts
• Reading results through the lens of brand, market, and culture
• Seeing connections others miss
• Challenging the “easy” answer when it’s not the right one

These are the moments where your pixie dust – the lived experience and perspective no model can fake – changes the outcome.

How Discuss approaches it

Our AI Interview Agent can run in-depth interviews day and night around the world and in 50+ languages. But when nuance matters most, live moderation ensures that human interpretation shapes the story. Both are powered by the same qual expertise we’ve built over a million-plus sessions in nearly 150 countries.

Final thought

If you approach AI with a partnership mindset, your role can change into something more strategic, creative, and valuable. The choice is up to you.

Choose partners who make you stronger. And hold on to your pixie dust. It’s the one thing in research that will never be automated.

In our next and last Shatter Assumptions blog, we’ll share three key steps to assessing and selecting the right AI partner to get your projects off the ground.

Watch Stan & Jim’s full Quirks NYC talk for more on why human expertise is the ultimate advantage in the age of AI →