The Wizard of Oz Experiment

The Wizard of Oz Experiment is a research method where participants interact with a system they believe to be autonomous, but it’s actually operated by a human behind the scenes. For example, in early AI testing, researchers would make a human control a computer program's responses, observing how users respond and what features they find useful. This approach helps researchers gather insights about user experience and preferences without developing the full technology upfront. It’s valuable for testing ideas, interfaces, or functionalities before investing in complex automation.