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Cooperation in Human-Agent Systems to Support Resilience: A Microworld Experiment
1University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison chiou2@wisc.edu.
Human Factors
|May 15, 2016
Summary
Human cooperation mirrors agent behavior, impacting team resilience. Designing autonomous systems requires considering agent cooperativeness for effective human-agent interaction.
Area of Science:
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Cognitive Science
- Systems Engineering
Background:
- Modern technology redefines human-machine relationships, shifting from automation reliance to interactive strategies with cooperative agents.
- Investigating human-agent interaction dynamics beyond mere reliability and compliance is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore how agent cooperation influences human cooperation and overall system resilience.
- To examine the dyadic relationship between human and automated agent behaviors in a joint-task environment.
Main Methods:
- A joint-task microworld was developed to simulate human-agent coordination.
- 36 participants interacted with agents exhibiting varying cooperation levels in resource management tasks.
- A second experiment assessed responses to system perturbations.
Main Results:
- Human participants reciprocated agent cooperation levels, leading to more effective interactions and resource sharing with highly cooperative agents.
- Proactive cooperation (resource requests) decreased under initial rapid perturbations, while reactive cooperation (accepting requests) remained influenced by agent cooperativeness.
- Agent cooperativeness significantly impacts human behavioral responses and interaction effectiveness.
Conclusions:
- Agent cooperativeness is a key factor influencing human cooperation in dyadic interactions.
- Future designs for resilient human-agent teams must incorporate the cooperative behaviors of autonomous agents.
- This research shifts focus from supervisory control to interdependence and cooperation in human-automation interaction.
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