Works Well With Robots? The Way Robots/AI and Humans Interact

Blame it on HAL 9000, Clippy’s constant cheerful interruptions, or any navigational system leading delivery drivers to dead-end destinations. In the workspace, people and robots don’t always get along.

But as more artificial intelligence systems and robots aid human workers, building trust between them is key to getting the job done. One University of Georgia professor is seeking to bridge that gap with assistance from the U.S. military.

Aaron Schecter, an assistant professor in the Terry College’s department of management information systems, received two grants – worth nearly $2 million – from the U.S. Army to study the interplay between human and robot teams. While AI in the home can help order groceries, AI on the battlefield offers a much riskier set of circumstances — team cohesion and trust can be a matter of life and death.

“My research is less concerned with the design and the elements of how the robot works; it’s more the psychological side of it. When are we likely to trust something? What are the mechanisms that induce trust? How do we make them cooperate? If the robot screws up, can you forgive it?” — Aaron Schecter

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