Making decisions about collaboration with humans and AI systems

The National Science Foundation SBE Office of Multidisciplinary Activities awarded the University of Delaware $399,556 on September 1, 2026, under the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences program (CFDA 47.075) to investigate the neural and cognitive systems underlying human evaluation of and collaborative decision-making with both human and artificial intelligence agents.

The project uses functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure neural activity associated with impression formation, social evaluation, and collaborative decision-making. Research will test whether neural responses during initial evaluations of human and AI partners predict subsequent decision-making and cooperative behavior in problem-solving tasks. By integrating neuroimaging and behavioral methods, the work will provide a mechanistic account of cognitive and neural processes underlying cooperation in human-AI interactions.

Performance occurs in Newark, Delaware, with a period of performance from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2029. No subawards are planned.

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming workplaces, educational settings, healthcare systems and other domains that require people to make decisions alongside intelligent systems. As people engage more frequently with AI technologies, understanding the cognitive and neural processes that support evaluation and collaborative decision-making becomes increasingly important. Decisions about collaboration depend on how we, as individuals, make judgements about those with whom we are interacting. This project investigates the neural and cognitive systems underlying these judgments, comparing how the brain responds when evaluating both human and artificial agents, and by examining how these responses predict later collaborative decision-making during problem-solving tasks. This project will investigate how individuals form impressions of both human and AI partners and how these impressions predict subsequent decision-making and cooperative behavior. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) will be used to measure neural activity associated with impression formation, social evaluation, and collaborative decision making. The research will test whether neural responses during initial evaluations predict later decision-making involving both human and AI collaborators. By integrating neuroimaging and behavioral methods, the project will provide a mechanistic account of the cognitive and neural processes underlying cooperation and decision-making in human-AI interactions. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.