Where Responsibility Lies in Human-AI decision making: The Role of Knowledge and Importance
Abstract
As AI and robots are used in society, the relationship between people and AI/robots is becoming increasingly important; when AI/robots assist people, there is a need to focus on where responsibility for the results of the assistance goes. This study focused on the importance of prior knowledge and topics about AI/robots to investigate who is held accountable when AI/robot assistance fails. The experiment was conducted in a three-factor mixed design, and the ANOVA analysis was based on data from 588 participants. Results showed that prior knowledge about AI/robots increased their pursuit of responsibility toward them and their developer/provider. Additionally, shared responsibility for the AI/robot developer or provider increased when the topic was very important to that person. This study helps to reduce the risk for AI/robots developers or providers when they assist people by clarifying who is responsible for failures that occur when AI/robots assist people in different situations.