2022 Visionary Grant Winners Address Human–AI Teamwork

By Julie Carle

The SIOP Foundation has awarded the 2022 Visionary Grant to an international and interdisciplinary team that plans to advance the current understanding of human–artificial intelligence (AI) teamwork and the role of trust in that collaboration.

The winning proposal, “We Are In This Together: When an AI Agent Becomes Your Teammate,” was submitted by the team of Eleni Georganta, Technical University of Munich; Anna-Sophie Ulfert, Eindhoven University of Technology; Myrthe Tielman, Delft University of Technology; and Tal Oron-Gilad and Shanee Honig, both of Ben-Gurion University.

The team will use the $100,000 prize to explore humans and AI working as teammates.

“To unlock the potential of these new teams, trust will be the key,” Ulfert said. “But what is the meaning of trust in teams consisting of human and AI teammates?”

The research team, which includes psychologists, computer scientists, and engineers, will develop and investigate a theoretical model of team trust in human–AI teams based on analyzing work from different disciplines. They will provide empirical insights, build a formalized computational model, and present practical guidelines for designing and implementing trustworthy AI teammates.

“We hope our work can serve as a first step to support human–AI teamwork and future organizational success,” Georganta said. “Thanks to the Visionary Grant, we are excited for this great opportunity to explore the future of work. Our project offers ways to shape the future of human AI teams and organizations.”

Twenty-four teams sent letters of intent in response to SIOP’s Visionary Grant inquiry: “What would you do if you had $100,000 to shape the future of work?” The steering committee chose seven teams to submit a full proposal and from those, four teams were named finalists. Members of the Visionary Circle, donors who give a minimum of $1,000 to support the award, made the final selection based on the proposals and a short video presentation from each finalist team.

The three other finalists’ proposals and their team members were:

• “Inclusion Is What We Do: Validating a Behavioral Measure to Build an Employee Personalized Inclusive Conversation, or EPIC, and Advanced DEI Science and Practice” — Victoria Mattingly of Mattingly Solutions; Kelsie Colley, Colorado State University and Mattingly Solutions; Nicholas Salter, Hofstra University; and Sertrice Grice, Mattingly Solutions
• “Is Seeing Believing? The Effects of Personalization on Team Diversity Outcomes” — Cynthia K. Maurine of Binghamton University and Gouri Mohan, IESEG Business School, Paris, France
• “A Climate for Work Automation: Development and Validation of the Work Automation Inventory (WAI)” — Benjamin Schneider, University of Maryland and University of Southern California, and John Boudreau, University of Southern California

The next Visionary Circle Grant will be awarded in 2024. SIOP members are encouraged to start thinking about I-O research and practice to address visionary opportunities in the world of work and to consider becoming a Visionary Circle donor through a generous gift of $1,000 or more. Visit the Visionary Circle website for more information.