Machine Agency in Human-Machine Networks; Impacts and Trust Implications

TL;DR

This paper reviews the concept of machine agency in human-machine networks, discussing its implications for trust and influence in contexts like emergency support, healthcare, and smart homes.

Contribution

It proposes a practical definition of machine agency and explores its impact on trust and interactions within human-machine networks.

Findings

Machine agency influences trust development between humans and machines.

Enhanced machine agency can improve emergency and healthcare decision support.

Trust is essential for realizing the full potential of human-machine networks.

Abstract

We live in an emerging hyper-connected era in which people are in contact and interacting with an increasing number of other people and devices. Increasingly, modern IT systems form networks of humans and machines that interact with one another. As machines take a more active role in such networks, they exert an in-creasing level of influence on other participants. We review the existing literature on agency and propose a definition of agency that is practical for describing the capabilities and impact human and machine actors may have in a human-machine network. On this basis, we discuss and demonstrate the impact and trust implica-tions for machine actors in human-machine networks for emergency decision support, healthcare and future smart homes. We maintain that machine agency not only facilitates human to machine trust, but also interpersonal trust; and that trust must develop to be able to seize the full potential of future technology.