Andrew Gordon @andrewgordon.bsky.social · 22/09/2026An agent completes a survey, this is not ground breaking news, yet its led to another set of 'online testing is dead' posts. Remember capability ≠ deployment. Just because it can be done doesn't mean it is being done Also, mouse tracking catches it easily. Design studies with this in mind. 021
Andrew Gordon @andrewgordon.bsky.social · 20/08/2026New preprint out today from the @joinprolific.bsky.social research team: "Do Richer Personas Improve LLM Survey Simulation? A Fidelity Paradox". papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... [1/6]papers.ssrn.comDo Richer Personas Improve LLM Survey Simulation? A Fidelity ParadoxLarge language models (LLMs) are increasingly proposed as substitutes for human survey respondents, despite documented failures in their accuracy and realism. W 121
Andrew Gordon @andrewgordon.bsky.social · 16/06/2026This job on my team at @joinprolific.bsky.social is still open (but not for much longer) job-boards.eu.greenhouse.io/prolific/job... If you are an academic or industry researcher and want to work at the coal-face of online research methods then take a look!lnkd.inLinkedInThis link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn 100
Andrew Gordon @andrewgordon.bsky.social · 03/06/2026Sharing our open-letter to the research community “Reply to Westwood: Questioning the empirical evidence that AI survey contamination is real and substantial” by @davmicrot.bsky.social, @soubhikbarari.bsky.social, Sunshine Hillygus, Trent Buskirk, and I. [1/6] osf.io/preprints/so...osf.ioOSF 143
Reposted by Andrew GordonKevin Collins @kwcollins.bsky.social · 23/04/2026Useful perspective from @andrewgordon.bsky.social on the bot problem in survey research: www.research-live.com/article/opin...research-live.comThe right safeguards can protect public opinion polls from AI pollution | Opinion | Research liveAndrew Gordon says the threat of AI agents to survey research is overblown. 032
Reposted by Andrew GordonJustin Sulik @justinsulik.bsky.social · 15/04/2026We have a new preprint that underscores some key claims here: even if one *can* design an agent that gets through a survey fine, it doesn't follow that such agents are undetectable or common. We find that they are far from common! Preprint link in thread👇 1178
Andrew Gordon @andrewgordon.bsky.social · 14/04/2026Job ad: I'm hiring for a Research scientist to join my team at @joinprolific.bsky.social If you've ever wondered who's working on the hard questions in online research — data quality, sampling methodology, the effect of AI on how research gets done — this is that job. [1/4] 11410
Andrew Gordon @andrewgordon.bsky.social · 01/04/2026New preprint out today (osf.io/preprints/ps...). We tested whether AI agents are actually infiltrating online surveys. Spoiler alert: they aren't Thread 🧵 [1/9]osf.ioOSF 213162
Reposted by Andrew GordonProlific @joinprolific.bsky.social · 31/03/2026Starting today, if an AI agent is detected in your Prolific study, we’ll give you twice the cost of that non-human participant back. You pay for human data. You expect human data. We’re backing that with our 100% Human Guarantee. Learn more: www.prolific.com/100-human-gu... #AcademicSky #Research 0133
Andrew Gordon @andrewgordon.bsky.social · 20/03/2026Fantastic example of researchers working together (and the utility of rebuttals to published work). I think we all agree that this is an area we need to invest time in, but we also need to be very careful that conclusions/interpretations are warranted from the data we collect. 110
Reposted by Andrew GordonAndrey Chetverikov @achetverikov.bsky.social · 04/03/2026Recently, van der Stigchel and colleagues posted a provocative commentary suggesting that we should be wary of bots in online behavioral data collection (🧵by @cstrauch.bsky.social here: bsky.app/profile/cstr...). But should we? Here is my response letter osf.io/preprints/ps.... 1/5 65533
Andrew Gordon @andrewgordon.bsky.social · 23/02/2026On Thursday I'll be taking part in a roundtable “How real is the LLM threat to online research in academia?” for @joinprolific.bsky.social alongside @davmicrot.bsky.social, Michael Nicholas Stagnaro, and Raluca Rilla. Sign up here: lnkd.in/em8-MpjNlnkd.inHow to Bot-Proof Your Online ResearchThis series cuts through the noise to give researchers practical, actionable strategies for protecting their work from AI agents and bots 031
Andrew Gordon @andrewgordon.bsky.social · 29/01/2026What drives retention in online longitudinal research? We conducted an experiment (N=1,798) on @joinprolific.bsky.social, orthogonally manipulating payment rate (£6–£9/hr + bonus) and session interval (1, 2, or 4 weeks) across five sessions. The findings challenge some common assumptions 👇 172
Andrew Gordon @andrewgordon.bsky.social · 09/01/2026Hey @rory-stewart.bsky.social @alastaircampbell2.bsky.social @therestpolitics.bsky.social I asked your favourite question to 1,936 US Adults "Who do you believe is the biggest threat to global order and security?" 33.8% of Americans rate the US as the biggest threat.... 🤯 000
Andrew Gordon @andrewgordon.bsky.social · 19/11/2025Lots of chatter about this paper currently. Its a stark warning, but at present I see this as a stark warning of what might come, not what is happening now. As a research community we need to see it as a call-to-arms to develop new strategies, NOT a call to abandon online sampling. Reasoning below 153
Andrew Gordon @andrewgordon.bsky.social · 13/11/20251 in 6 Americans can't remember the last time someone hugged them. @joinprolific.bsky.social surveyed 1,917 US adults: 24.6% were hugged today, 31.7% in the past few days. But 16.7% couldn't remember, it had been so long, the memory was gone. 🧵 110
Andrew Gordon @andrewgordon.bsky.social · 07/11/2025We asked 1,917 Americans: "Are you OK?" Only 38% said yes. 41% said things are difficult. 21% are actively struggling. But the age breakdown is wild 🧵 100
Andrew Gordon @andrewgordon.bsky.social · 30/10/2025AI will soon expose that most published research is mediocre, irrelevant (or simply bullsh*t). Most scientists know that, but the public doesn't... What's it going to do for trust in science when they find out - how do we plan for it? 🤔 Great article by @naomioreskes.bsky.social shorturl.at/i2Hn5theconversation.comAI will soon be able to audit all published research – what will that mean for public trust in science?An AI audit of scientific research would likely expose some fraud and widespread inconsequential work. But we need to be careful it doesn’t discredit science in general. 010
Andrew Gordon @andrewgordon.bsky.social · 24/10/2025What is one question you'd dearly love to ask a representative sample of 2,000 US adults? Going to try this again because it was super interesting last time. I'll stick the best question in our next @joinprolific.bsky.social poll that goes live at the start of November. #polling #research 011
Andrew Gordon @andrewgordon.bsky.social · 24/10/2025Plot twist: What if AI's best future might not be the insanely profitable one 🤔 Great article arguing that instead of trillion-dollar empires, we could get free, open-source models that are just "good enough" for most people. Would that be so bad? theconversation.com/generative-a... #AI #techtheconversation.comGenerative AI might end up being worthless — and that could be a good thingGenAI does some neat, helpful things, but it’s not yet the engine of a new economy — and it might not ever be. 010
Andrew Gordon @andrewgordon.bsky.social · 20/10/2025The Double Squeeze hitting Trump's base. 9 months of @joinprolific.bsky.social tracking show voters report surging costs AND growing fears of US global decline. They voted for prosperity & strength. They got strain & decline. Full analysis: www.prolific.com/resources/tr... #poll #geopoliticsprolific.comThe double squeeze: Trump's base reports rising costs | ProlificPolling data since Donald Trump's inauguration reveals Republicans are increasingly reporting rising costs and growing safety concerns 073
Andrew Gordon @andrewgordon.bsky.social · 17/09/2025Super excited to share this work with the world! We wanted to put human preference at the heart of our AI model leaderboard, and to do so in a principled and representative manner. The result: HUMAINE Check out the data here and get in touch with any questions: huggingface.co/spaces/Proli...huggingface.coHUMAINE Leaderboard - a Hugging Face Space by ProlificAIThis application helps you analyze human feedback to evaluate AI models. You provide feedback data, and it gives you insights to improve your models. 022
Andrew Gordon @andrewgordon.bsky.social · 28/07/2025Sharing a piece I wrote for The AI Journal on who should govern AI: aijourn.com/a-fine-balan... Our recent @joinprolific.bsky.social polling shows 69.7% of people think AI investment will primarily benefit corporations not the public. They're probably right. [1/3] #AI #AIGovernance #TechPolicy 121
Andrew Gordon @andrewgordon.bsky.social · 23/04/2025📊 Our new @joinprolific.bsky.social AI User Experience Leaderboard is live! AI systems ranked by real human experience, not just technical metrics. Using Census-based sampling + MRP for results that represent the general public. Check it out here: huggingface.co/spaces/nlpet...huggingface.coUX Leaderboard - a Hugging Face Space by nlpetprolificLeaderboard of LLMs based on detailed human feedback 010
Andrew Gordon @andrewgordon.bsky.social · 07/03/2025Is #Trump right to walk back the tariffs? Our latest Prolific polling data suggests a resounding yes! In the last month the number of US adults reporting an increase in the price of everyday goods has jumped by ~10%, even for #Republican voters 😬 110
Reposted by Andrew GordonManoel Horta Ribeiro @manoelhortaribeiro.bsky.social · 21/02/2025I'm super happy with this video from Communications of the ACM on our paper about LLM use in crowd work. Our work will be the cover paper of CACM in March. cacm.acm.org/research/pre... Cc: @veniamin.bsky.social @andrewgordon.bsky.social 0205
Andrew Gordon @andrewgordon.bsky.social · 06/02/2025Has the US public's view of foreign policy changed since #DonaldTrump became president? Our Prolific tracking polls show a general perception of a less safe world since Trump took office. This perception is strongest in #Democrats, while most #Republicans see the world as safer! 000
Andrew Gordon @andrewgordon.bsky.social · 16/01/2025How does the US public feel about the incoming #Trump administration? We asked a representative sample of 1,938 US adults on Prolific "Are you hopeful or fearful ahead of President-elect Trump coming back to office?" 🇺🇸 Overall 46% were fearful and 41% hopeful. But stark differences in subgroups 👇 100
Andrew Gordon @andrewgordon.bsky.social · 01/10/2024How did the debate performances of #kamalaharris and #donaldtrump impact perceptions among the public (especially in swing states)? Find out in our latest Prolific US polling round up: prolific.com/resources/sw... #polling #PresidentialElection2024 #presidentialdebateprolific.comDebates and voter perceptions: Key factors in 2024 election | ProlificExplore how voter perceptions, celebrity endorsements, and debates could influence the 2024 election with our bi-weekly polling. 030