Beyond accuracy: AI, empathy, trust, and cultural alignment in user-centered design in the Palestinian context

This study investigates the degree to which Palestinian design practitioners integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based tools in User-Centred Design (UCD) processes, and whether such integration affects their perception of user needs, empathy, and trust in AI-generated personas and cultures. The authors empirically tested four hypotheses using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) based on a survey of 400 designers and senior design students. We note that high adoption of AI services is associated with higher empathy and consideration of diverse user needs. The perceived accuracy of personas is a strong predictor of trust in AI-generated personas. The cultural fit was a significant negative moderator of the effect of AI use on trust. This also offers design implications for developers and teachers on how to promote the importance of transparent, participatory, and culturally adaptive AI tools in the design process. To our knowledge, this is one of the earliest studies on AI-led UCD in Palestine.