Decision-Making in Hybrid Adaptive Systems for Better Work and Life - An Open Science Approach

The goal of this Future Fields Stage 3 activity is to lay the groundwork for a long-term coordinated research project (DFG collaborative research center application) on decisionmaking in hybrid adaptive systems. Every day, we interact with IT systems which aim to adapt to our needs and guide our decision-making. However, this adaptation is usually a black box, and little is known about the underlying effects on humans. Do these systems take our actual preferences into account? What happens if there are competing interests? Following an Open Science approach, we aim at understanding and designing hybrid adaptive systems (as a combination of social and technological elements) with a special focus on preferences and expectations. We will study how individuals, teams, and organizations interact with adaptive IT systems in the areas of work and life. In particular, we will focus on working from home and social media usage in daily life. We will investigate how hybrid adaptive systems should be designed to a) elicit actual preferences and goals, b) act based on these preferences and goals, and c) to trade off potentially competing interests. We will follow a unique Open Science approach for researching hybrid adaptive systems and aim to establish an Open Science platform incorporating the KD²Lab, the digital citizen science platform, and real-world labs.

Funding body:  KIT Excellence University Funding Future Fields III

Funding period: 01.10.2023 - 30.09.2025

Contact: Lukas Aldag