Computational Cognitive Modeling to understand the effects of Racializing AI on Human-AI cooperation with PigChase Task

Despite the continued anthropomorphization of AI systems, the potential impact of racialization during human-AI interaction is understudied. This study explores how human-AI cooperation may be impacted by the belief that data used to train an AI system is racialized, that is, it was trained on data from a specific racialized group of people. During this study, participants completed a human-AI cooperation task using the Pig Chase game, a variant of the Stag Hunt game. Participants of different self-identified demographics interacted with AI agents whose perceived racial identities were manipulated, allowing us to assess how sociocultural perspectives influence the decision-making of participants in the game. After the game, participants completed a survey questionnaire to explain the strategies they used while playing the game and to understand the perceived intelligence of their AI teammates. Statistical analysis of task behavior data revealed a statistically significant effect of the participants’ demographics, as well as the interaction between this self-identified demographic and the treatment condition (i.e., the perceived race of the agent). The results indicated that Non-White participants viewed AI agents racialized as White in a positive way compared to AI agents racialized as Black. Both Black and White participants viewed the AI agent in the Control treatment in a negative way. A baseline cognitive model of the task using ACT-R cognitive architecture was used to understand a cognitive-level, process-based explanation of the participants’ perspectives based on the results found from the study. This model helps us better understand the factors affecting the decision-making strategies of the game participants. Results from analysis of these data, as well as cognitive modeling, indicate a need to expand understanding of the ways racialization (whether implicit or explicit) impacts interaction with AI systems.