Study planning is better served by Monte Carlo simulation than AI-generated participants

‘Silicon samples’, AI-generated synthetic data based on demographic profiles, have been proposed to help plan research. Here, I argue that Monte Carlo simulation already does this job transparently, and that generative AI is better used to help write such simulations.

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Publication Details

Journal
Communications Psychology
Published
2026-11-11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s44271-026-00556-y
Primary Topic
Statistical Methods and Bayesian Inference
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Study planning is better served by Monte Carlo simulation than AI-generated participants

Jamie Cummins
2 links
Communications Psychology
Statistical Methods and Bayesian Inference
article

Study planning is better served by Monte Carlo simulation than AI-generated participants

Jamie Cummins
article en

Abstract

‘Silicon samples’, AI-generated synthetic data based on demographic profiles, have been proposed to help plan research. Here, I argue that Monte Carlo simulation already does this job transparently, and that generative AI is better used to help write such simulations.

Communications PsychologyVol. 4(1)
University of Bern (CH), University of Oxford (GB)
Statistical Methods and Bayesian Inference
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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Study planning is better served by Monte Carlo simulation than AI-generated participants — Jamie Cummins · Communications Psychology (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS