人と情報のエコシステム

Which controls which? Sense of agency when humans and semi-automated systems co-operate

Principal Investigator
Takako Yoshida
Affiliation
School of Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology
Job Title
Associate Professor
Research and Development Period
October 2017 to March 2021

Project Outline

When a semi-automated system, including artificial intelligence (AI) or a mechanical system, co-operates with a human and commits a socially undesirable action such as an incident or accident, which idea should be adopted: should the human user be responsible as the subject for the action, or should the machine, system, or manufacturer be responsible as the subject? What are the scientific definitions of action and subject? What does it mean to be a social agent or subject who has free will to act and hold responsibility for his/her actions? We propose a scientific definition and answer for these questions from the perspective of psychology and neuroscience.

In particular, we identify that there is an illusion in which human users misattribute their actions as their own instead of belonging to other agents, which can lead to unnecessary feelings of responsibility for an action. Through the brain science based on the understanding of this illusion and the development of its application in human-machine interactions, we propose the idea that most of the human sensation of "agency" (i.e., that oneself caused an action) is based on postdicted subjective sensation or illusion. In this sense, humans cannot be fully autonomous.

Investigators

Takako Yoshida

School of Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology

Associate Professor

Yuji Suzuki

Hang & Paragliding Promotion Committee, Japan Hang & Paragliding Federation (JHF)

professional hang glider pilot

Participating and Cooperating Organizations

Tokyo Institute of Technology

Japan Hang & Paragliding Federation (JHF)