Balance Human Agency & AI Assistance in the Tussle for the ``Right'' to Choose, Own, Work, and Learn

Zi-Yu Khoo, Yuriel Ryan, Nicole Heng Yim Oo, Hui En Pang, Eric J. W. Orlowski, Hakim Norhashim, Ruth Wan Theng Chew, Davin Choo, Rachael Hwee Ling Sim, Simon Chesterman, Jungpil Hahn, Bryan Kian Hsiang Low

Keywords: human agency, AI assistants, responsible AI development, interdisciplinary collaboration

TL;DR: We present research questions that conference attendees at ICML may consider answering to do research with broad societal benefit in an AI-mediated world.

Abstract: AI increasingly mediates and augments daily life, yet its technical properties risk reshaping the way users choose (what they consume), own (what they create), learn, and work. These risks reflect widely recognized AI principles, which unfortunately remain largely high-level and unoperationalizable. As the risks arising from AI assistance continue to subtly erode human agency, this work takes a different approach to operationalizing AI principles by translating the risks into concrete research questions that can guide the design of AI systems. This enables the research community to balance human agency and AI assistance in AI development and align it with the goal of benefiting humans.

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Submission Number: 164