Prokopis Christou

Prokopis Christou is an Associate Professor at the Cyprus University of Technology. He specializes in qualitative research and various forms of qualitative inquiry. In recent years, he has investigated the impacts and implications of GenAI in qualitative inquiry and analysis, and several of his theoretical papers discuss the role of AI in the context of qualitative research. He has published monographs, co-authored books (such as The Research Handbook: Short and Smart), and edited volumes related to research practice, qualitative research, and AI. He has also published empirical and conceptual articles in reputable academic journals, such as the International Journal of Qualitative Methods and Qualitative Inquiry. He is particularly concerned with the impacts of AI technology on research and social fields. He currently investigates the role of reflexivity when researchers use GenAI and AI tools for research purposes, as well as the impacts of GenAI on different qualitative research methodologies, such as autoethnography.

Keynote Talk: When AI challenges the qualitative researcher’s control: Personal reflexivity through an Autoethnographic lens

Reflexivity has long been recognised as vital to qualitative research. Within the context of AI-assisted research, it becomes even more critical, as automation, speed, and convenience may risk overshadowing reflection. Rather paradoxically, AI can serve as a stimulus for reflexivity, prompting researchers to revisit assumptions, refine methodological choices, and reflect on the conditions under which knowledge is produced. Is, however, a synergetic praxis with AI, and more specifically GenAI, enough, or should we step back and reflect on the merits of this collaboration? This keynote presentation examines these issues. Beyond this, it moves a step forward by drawing on autoethnography as an illustrative research context through which issues of personal reflexivity in the era of AI-assisted research may be critically explored. Autoethnography occupies a central place within qualitative research because of its focus on core issues such as lived experience and meaning-making. Drawing on technological mediation theory, I present an autoethnographic account of my own engagement with GenAI while exploring how GenAI extends beyond a mere tool to become a mediating presence capable of profoundly shaping autoethnographic practice. Particular attention is given to how seemingly minor AI-generated suggestions or alterations may transform lived (actual) experience into more polished, coherent, and emotionally curated narratives, potentially displacing the researcher’s interpretive voice and compromising epistemic authenticity. The presentation highlights the seductive, alluring, and potentially addictive dimensions of GenAI engagement for the qualitative researcher, while arguing that GenAI should not be viewed merely as a neutral tool but as a mediating presence that reshapes the conditions under which knowledge is produced. Ultimately, the keynote invites qualitative researchers to reflect not only on how they use GenAI, but also on how GenAI comes to participate in the very constitution of qualitative knowledge.