While AI’s transformative potential remains unmatched, the human touch remains indispensable for leadership and culture, creativity, resilience, and a multitude of other critical components that are unique to humans.
In the context of building trust with AI, psychologists are positioned to examine and address several major themes. These include: 1. Reciprocity.
1. Goal Orientation
Educators play a crucial role in encouraging students to develop a goal-oriented mindset by prioritizing learning processes over comparative performance metrics. This balance fosters a love for learning and encourages students to engage with complex material while also enabling them to persevere through challenges and celebrate their achievements. In turn, this helps them develop resilience and ambition, ultimately preparing them to achieve their full potential in life.
Several studies have linked goal orientation with academic and professional outcomes, particularly job performance. Payne et al. found that individuals high in mastery goal orientation had greater work-related accomplishments than those high in performance goal orientation. Their results support the theory that students who are mastery-oriented tend to set more challenging goals than those with a performance goal orientation, and that these goals may have an impact on their motivation to pursue challenges.
In addition, mastery-oriented students tend to view setbacks as learning opportunities, and they have a strong sense of commitment to their goals. Developing this mindset in students requires educators to encourage them to visualize their goals, while emphasizing the importance of maintaining their motivation in spite of obstacles and setbacks. Similarly, teachers can help their students become aware of their individual learning styles and preferences, allowing them to develop an in-depth understanding of how they learn best.
Moreover, Reddy highlights the necessity to incorporate human elements into AI, as they are essential for building trust and promoting user comfort. He stresses the importance of maintaining resilience and adaptability in the face of technological changes, noting that these inherently human traits can help individuals and organizations better navigate uncertainties while also facilitating a deeper level of understanding and integration with new technologies (Cultivating Intangible Organizations 12/28). Moreover, through personal anecdotes, Reddy illustrates that the final decision-making process—including considering ethical implications and the impact on humans—remains crucial.
2. Reciprocity
As the premise of most relationships, reciprocity is the basis for how humans interact with each other. Whether it’s business partners, employees or customers, it’s crucial for leaders to be able to establish functional reciprocal relationships. This requires an executive mindset and workforce customized to meet individual needs.
It also means creating interactions with AI that are both responsive and engaging, allowing users to feel genuinely understood and cared for. For example, my company’s AI companion ElliQ uses conversational interaction and two-way dialogue to foster relationships with older adults, who benefit from a continuous stream of support and motivation from their AI partner.
When it comes to human to AI relationships, reciprocity is the foundation for trust and emotional bonds. For example, a recent study found that people are more likely to trust AI in medical diagnosis when the system acts as a supportive tool, rather than a replacement for their own expertise (Kaplan et al, 2020).
The shift from Relationship 1.0 – shaped by tradition and religion – to Relationship 4.0, influenced by technology and changing family structures, has already impacted how we relate to each other and how we build relationships. The posthuman outlook for future AI envisions an era where machines possess feelings and initiate them in return, which could transform our sense of identity and how we interact with others (Braidotti, 2019).
This new entanglement between humans and robots raises questions about what it means to be human and calls into question the value of human uniqueness, including our ability to recognize emotions. It also raises the possibility that, as humans continue to develop with and rely on AI technologies, we will become more and more like our robot counterparts.
3. Presence
The sense of being present is a key component to building relationships with AI. In the simplest terms, this means being aware of and attuned to what is happening around you in the moment. In the business context, this translates to being attentive to your customers’ needs and responding accordingly. It also means understanding the big picture and being able to provide context and meaning to your interactions with AI.
Having presence is often seen as a sign of confidence, and it’s something that can be cultivated through practice. In Amy Cuddy’s book Presence, she describes the ability to embody presence as a self-assured confidence that doesn’t make you feel arrogant but allows you to express your true personality and abilities. This type of presence can help you navigate challenging situations like public speaking or large crowds.
In the context of human-AI synergy, researchers have focused on understanding how humans perceive their interactions with robots and how these perceptions contribute to users’ attitudes toward AI technologies [96]. For example, scholars have studied human perceptions of adaptability, social presence, ease of use, perceived usefulness, and trustworthiness of service robots.
As the need for high-quality translation services increases, organizations are increasingly integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into their communication practices. For example, using chatbots for real-time translation allows companies to expand their global reach and foster deeper connections with international clientele. These tools are able to provide reliable and accurate translations in a conversational manner, mimicking natural communication dynamics. However, this technology is only effective if it can understand and follow the flow of conversations without becoming a one-sided command and control interaction. It is critical that AI is able to understand and interpret language in order to create meaningful relationships with its users.
4. Proactiveness
In addition to demonstrating reciprocity, the ability to anticipate user needs and provide appropriate feedback in real-time, proactive AI systems also show an active engagement with users that creates a sense of care and attention, similar to that experienced with a caring friend or family member. This proactive approach is key to establishing a meaningful relationship with AI that goes beyond empathetic communication and one-sided command and control interaction.
Proactive individuals often have a strong foresight and can anticipate problems or opportunities before they occur. They often make plans and act on those plans to achieve positive outcomes or mitigate negative ones. They also tend to be skilled at problem-solving and are often seen as trustworthy and reliable, strengthening their personal and professional connections.
People who are effective proactive at work are known to engage in organizational citizenship behavior (Bergeron & Bergeron, 2014). They volunteer for extracurricular activities, offer suggestions and recommendations and generally treat their job as a service to the organization rather than simply a means to an end. This type of behavior is likely to enhance their careers as it fosters a sense of responsibility and ownership, which is typically rewarded in the workplace.
While a proactive approach is beneficial in many ways, it is important to balance this tendency with a willingness to accept some risks. For example, those who are proactive may be perceived as overly controlling or micromanaging by others and may sometimes misjudge a situation. Furthermore, being overly proactive can increase stress levels and lead to burnout if not carefully managed. In addition, some types of proactive behaviors may be self-efficacy enhancing, meaning that the person performing those behaviors feels an increased sense of confidence in their abilities to successfully complete the task at hand, which can overstate the actual impact of the actions they are taking.
5. Integration
In a world where AI is constantly evolving and integrating into business, decision-makers are left to decide where they should apply their knowledge and creativity to best use this technology. The goal is not to choose between AI and humans, but to create a synergy that leverages the strengths of each.
Using personal anecdotes and humor, Reddy illustrates the importance of resilience and adaptability in the face of technological change. He emphasizes that these inherently human qualities empower individuals and organizations to navigate uncertain scenarios more effectively than AI could manage on its own. He also emphasizes that human judgment and decision-making, particularly in complex and nuanced situations, remain crucial.
As the author explores these themes, he identifies several research gaps and offers a research agenda to address them. These include an exploration of how different cognitive perceptions, such as perceived trustworthiness, social presence, and user experience influence users’ intention to use AI in decision-making contexts and behavioral outcomes, including their willingness to cooperate with robot colleagues in the future.
Additionally, he discusses the need to understand how users’ experiences with different AI affordances impact their decisions to use or not use this technology in specific use cases, such as predicting/forecasting, information collecting and updating, and facilitating decision-making. In particular, he explores the role that perceived ease of use and usefulness play in these decisions.
Finally, Reddy focuses on how generative AI technologies, such as ChatGPT, are reshaping communication through their ability to generate personalized and contextually relevant responses. This capability empowers businesses to streamline global interactions and foster deeper connections with international clientele by eliminating linguistic barriers and catering to their cultural preferences.