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“Good” and “Bad” Machine Agency in the Context of Human-AI Communication: The Case of ChatGPT

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HCI International 2023 – Late Breaking Papers (HCII 2023)

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Abstract

Machine agency, defined as the ability of machines to act autonomously and interact with users, is becoming increasingly significant in the field of human-machine interaction research. This is especially evident in relation to ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools. In this paper, we present an initial extension of S. Shyam Sundar’s theory of machine agency, specifically in the context of human-AI communication. We review existing literature on this topic and use real-life news reports on ChatGPT from November 2022 to April 2023 as a basis for illustrating the factors that influence people’s perceptions of machine agency as either positive or negative. These perceptions are influenced by a range of factors, including ethical alignment, privacy, transparency, social inclusiveness, human autonomy, and well-being. We propose a more explicit differentiation between “good” and “bad” machine agency, a conceptualization that can enhance our understanding of the complexities of human-AI communication. We believe this approach can contribute to the development of guidelines and best practices for using generative AI tools and similar AI technologies. Finally, this conceptualization may help people and the public to better benefit from generative AI and identify its risks.

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Acknowledgement

This research is partly financed by the Norwegian Media Authority, and the research project An AI-Powered Society.

Author’s note: ChatGPT was employed in this article to summarize and rephrase some parts of the document. The ChatGPT output was then manually edited and reviewed by the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Oslo, Gaustadalléen 21, Forskningsparken, 0349, Oslo, Norway

    Petter Bae Brandtzaeg & Yukun You

  2. Zhengzhou University, No. 100 Science Avenue, 450001, Zhengzhou, People’s Republic of China

    Xi Wang

  3. University of Oulu, Pentti Kaiteran Katu 1, 90570, Oulu, Finland

    Yucong Lao

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  1. Petter Bae Brandtzaeg
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  2. Yukun You
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  4. Yucong Lao
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Correspondence to Xi Wang .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Siemens Corporation, Princeton, NJ, USA

    Helmut Degen

  2. Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH), Heraklion, Crete, Greece

    Stavroula Ntoa

  3. San Jose State University, San Jose, CA, USA

    Abbas Moallem

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Brandtzaeg, P.B., You, Y., Wang, X., Lao, Y. (2023). “Good” and “Bad” Machine Agency in the Context of Human-AI Communication: The Case of ChatGPT. In: Degen, H., Ntoa, S., Moallem, A. (eds) HCI International 2023 – Late Breaking Papers. HCII 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 14059. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-48057-7_1

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