Technology Trust: System Information Impact on Autonomous Systems Adoption in High-Risk Applications

Abstract

As autonomous systems become more capable, end users must make decisions about how and when to deploy such technology. The use and adoption of a technology to replace a human actor depends on its ability to perform a desired task and on the user’s experience-based trust that it will do so. The development of experience-based trust in autonomous systems is costly, and it carries a high-risk of physical harm to operators. This work focuses on identifying a methodology for technology discovery that reduces the need for experience-based trust and contributes to increased adoption of autonomous systems. The main research hypothesis is that manipulating the presentation of technical information can influence the initial formation of trust by functioning as a surrogate for experience-based trust, and that trust in technology can be captured through an anthropomorphic hierarchy of system attributes.