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

Engen, Vegard; Pickering, J. Brian; Walland, Paul

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-39513-5_9

Cited by 21 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…If risk is a recognition of future uncertainty, control is the perception of one's ability to influence that future outcome. In socio-technical systems, control has been described similarly with the concept of agency, defined as how people assign responsbility for outcomes to components of the socio-technical systems [21]. How people interpret human agency as compared to machine agency in the socio-technical system affects the human-machine trust relationship [21].…”

Section: What Is Trustmentioning

confidence: 99%

"The Most Trustworthy Coin"

Knittel

Pitts

Wash

2019

Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact.

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Bitcoin is an innovative technological network, a new, non-governmental currency, and a worldwide group of users. In other words, Bitcoin is a complex sociotechnical system with a complex set of risks and challenges for anyone using it. We investigated how everyday users of Bitcoin develop trust in Bitcoin on one of the largest online communities devoted to Bitcoin: the Reddit.com r/bitcoin forum. Using qualitative content analysis, we examined how trust in Bitcoin develops based on contributions to this community. On r/bitcoin, trust in Bitcoin is driven by a pervasive ideology we call the "True Bitcoiner" ideology. This ideological viewpoint in centered on the interpretation of Bitcoin as functionally "trustless" and risk-free. Despite widespread evidence of emerging individual and system-level risks with using Bitcoin, participants continue to maintain this ideological perspective. This ideology consists of three primary beliefs: viewing Bitcoin's technology as more trustworthy than its people; rejecting 'corrupt' social hierarchies related to money; and the importance of accumulating or 'HODLing' quantities of Bitcoin as a strategy to create an ideal future. We conclude that this "True Bitcoiner" ideology is maintained despite contradictory evidence in the world because it allows participants to more easily interpret Bitcoin and make decisions by reducing perceived risk and uncertainty in the system. The role of this ideology on r/bitcoin demonstrates an expanded conceptualization of how trust is created and socially-mediated in socio-technical contexts.

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Section: What Is Trustmentioning

confidence: 99%

"The Most Trustworthy Coin"

Knittel

Pitts

Wash

2019

Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact.

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“…A definition of agency based on the notion of non-deterministic behaviours [1] fails to recognise the increasing variety and complexity of human-machine networks 1 (HMNs) [2], the intention of technology designers [3], and active intervention by bots within social networks [4,5]. The concept of agency is particularly problematic in human-machine interactions [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bringing together some of these constructs, this paper proposes updates to a recent model of trust in information technology [30,31] with a detailed exploration of selfefficacy as it relates to agency [3,18]. Since human-machine networks can be characterised by independently varying levels of agency [2], either or both may influence selfefficacy [18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Any consequent perception of risk can undermine a willingness to engage in some online activities [28]. However, assuming scepticism can be kept low, regulation can reduce the negative effects of risk across a number of contexts, leading to an increased level of trust [29].Bringing together some of these constructs, this paper proposes updates to a recent model of trust in information technology [30,31] with a detailed exploration of selfefficacy as it relates to agency [3,18]. Since human-machine networks can be characterised by independently varying levels of agency [2], either or both may influence selfefficacy [18].…”

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confidence: 99%

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The Interplay Between Human and Machine Agency

Pickering

Engen

Walland

2017

Human-Computer Interaction. User Interface Design, Development and Multimodality

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Abstract. Human-machine networks affect many aspects of our lives: from sharing experiences with family and friends, knowledge creation and distance learning, and managing utility bills or providing feedback on retail items, to more specialised networks providing decision support to human operators and the delivery of health care via a network of clinicians, family, friends, and both physical and virtual social robots. Such networks rely on increasingly sophisticated machine algorithms, e.g., to recommend friends or purchases, to track our online activities in order to optimise the services available, and assessing risk to help maintain or even enhance people's health. Users are being offered ever increasing power and reach through these networks by machines which have to support and allow users to be able to achieve goals such as maintaining contact, making better decisions, and monitoring their health. As such, this comes down to a synergy between human and machine agency in which one is dependent in complex ways on the other. With that agency questions arise about trust, risk and regulation, as well as social influence and potential for computer-mediated self-efficacy. In this paper, we explore these constructs and their relationships and present a model based on review of the literature which seeks to identify the various dependencies between them. IntroductionA definition of agency based on the notion of non-deterministic behaviours [1] fails to recognise the increasing variety and complexity of human-machine networks 1 (HMNs) [2], the intention of technology designers [3], and active intervention by bots within social networks [4,5]. The concept of agency is particularly problematic in human-machine interactions [6]. Machine or material agency may be seen as automation, which originally required some tolerance from human agents [7]. But this is no longer true: technology can actively support human activity [8], and manifests increasingly complex interaction types [9]. Machine and human agency may not be the same and yet equally valid [10]; machine agency may be just "perceived autonomy" [11]; and it 1 In the following we use human-machine network and network interchangeably.certainly enables human agency [12]. Indeed, agency may well be becoming a social and group construct where both humans and machines play a part [13,14]; and used effectively, agency may even lead to innovative review of working practice [15].The enabling contribution of machine agents within a network may have an effect on self-efficacy. Bandura's original definition of self-efficacy as an individual's belief in their ability to be able to achieve a given objective [16][17][18] has also been applied to technology [19,20] and its acceptance [21]. There are, however, constraints on the support and positive contribution of technology to human self-efficacy, not least in terms of anxiety and suspicion around technology use [22,23]. This may be further exacerbated by increasing machine animism: it may not always be obvious what machines ar...

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“…How this dynamism affects the network offers the opportunity to control and manipulate the network. In so doing, if there are issues in a human-machine network, it would be possible that these limited dimensions provide a mechanism to modify the network and encourage behavioural change [16].…”

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confidence: 99%

Mediated Behavioural Change in Human-Machine Networks: Exploring Network Characteristics, Trust and Motivation

Walland

Pickering

2017

Lecture Notes in Computer Science

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Human-machine networks pervade much of contemporary life. Network change is the product of structural modifications along with differences in participant behavior. If we assume that behavioural change in a human-machine network is the result of changing the attitudes of participants in the network, then the question arises whether network structure can affect participant attitude. Taking citizen participation as an example, engagement with relevant stakeholders reveals trust and motivation to be the major objectives for the network. Using a typology to describe network state based on multiple characteristic or dimensions, we can predict possible behavioural outcomes in the network. However, this has to be mediated via attitude change. Motivation for the citizen participation network can only increase in line with enhanced trust. The focus for changing network dynamics, therefore, shifts to the dimensional changes needed to encourage increased trust. It turns out that the coordinated manipulation of multiple dimensions is needed to bring about the desired shift in attitude.

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

Cited by 21 publications

References 33 publications

"The Most Trustworthy Coin"

"The Most Trustworthy Coin"

The Interplay Between Human and Machine Agency

Mediated Behavioural Change in Human-Machine Networks: Exploring Network Characteristics, Trust and Motivation

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