Trust Mediating Reliability–Reliance Relationship in Supervisory Control of Human–Swarm Interactions

Abstract

Objective: This work aims to further test the theory that trust mediates the interdependency between automation reliability and the rate of human reliance on automation. Background: Human trust in automation has been the focus of many research studies. Theoretically, trust has been proposed to impact human reliance on automation by mediating the relationship between automation reliability and the rate of human reliance. Experimentally, however, the results are contradicting as some confirm the mediating role of trust, whereas others deny it. Hence, it is important to experimentally reinvestigate this role of trust and understand how the results should be interpreted in the light of existing theory. Method: Thirty-two subjects supervised a swarm of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in foraging missions in which the swarm provided recommendations on whether or not to collect potential targets, based on the information sensed by the UAVs. By manipulating the reliability of the recommendations, we observed changes in participants’ trust and their behavioral responses. Results: A within-subject mediation analysis revealed a significant mediation role of trust in the relationship between swarm reliability and reliance rate. High swarm reliability increased the rate of correct acceptances, but decreased the rate of correct rejections. No significant effect of reliability was found on response time. Conclusion: Trust is not a mere by-product of the interaction; it possesses a predictive power to estimate the level of reliance on automation. Application: The mediation role of trust confirms the significance of trust calibration in determining the appropriate level of reliance on swarm automation.

Trust and Reliance in XAI -- Distinguishing Between Attitudinal and Behavioral Measures

“…We think it is useful to conceptualize trust as a psychological construct that is associated with reliance but does not fully determine it [24]. While trust is considered the main factor for human reliance on automation, other factors (e.g., workload, self-confidence, and task-associated risks) are likewise important [18,24] and whether trust translates into reliance is more nuanced than often assumed and depends on an interaction between the operator, the automation, and the situation [22,24].…”

“…Multiple models of the relationship between trust and reliance have been proposed [6,15,24,38,40] and it has been hypothesized that trust mediates between human reliance and reliability of automation [24,35]. This relationship has recently been empirically supported [18]. Research on XAI should take such models as a theoretical basis for their empirical work and refine them whenever necessary in the context of AI to advance the field with a rigorous science underlying it.…”

Do Speed and Proximity Affect Human-Robot Collaboration with an Industrial Robot Arm?

“…There is a limit to the system efficiency increasing, as increasing trust may result in passivity or complacency in the task, leading to difficulty in detecting changes/faults in the system. Too little trust, however, and the person will be more likely to interfere with the process [47,50]. As with workload, deviations from the optimal level can have detrimental effects.…”

Trust in Robots: Challenges and Opportunities

“…In line with this view, a few pioneering works have begun exploring the mediating role of (unidimensional) trust via formal causal mediation analysis [128][129][130]. The goal in this approach is to empirically test if a particular trust-based mechanism is supported by the data [131][132][133]. A relatively unexplored, but potentially fruitful, area is the understanding of trust mechanisms in the multidimensional case.…”