Understanding the role of attention control in human-autonomy collaboration

Technology that helps users with complex tasks is advancing rapidly and promises to transform human performance in multiple aspects of life and work. Recent examples of such technology that have captured public attention are semi-autonomous vehicles and artificial intelligence. However, a closer look shows that this technology does not always benefit human performance equally. Automated technology seems to only assist some people, and for some automated technology can make performance worse. The goal of this project is to understand why and when automated technology helps or hurts a person's performance. Failing to understand why potentially transformative technology is not helpful for everyone risks creating a new digital divide. If such a divide occurs, some users would get all the benefits while others would be harmed. In addition to the research, this project includes events to enhance public awareness of the research and training of students with diverse backgrounds. This project aims to gain a better understanding of how individual differences in cognitive abilities, specifically working memory and attention control, relate to human performance with automated systems. Given recent findings on the role of attention control, as well as new measures of attention control, the project examines which cognitive tasks or processes are replaced in a human-autonomy team. Additionally, this project aims to use the concept of attention control to derive automation design principles. Such design recommendations may improve human performance with automated systems for users of all attention control levels. Both goals will capitalize on the new theoretical understanding of attention control and newly developed and scientifically validated measures of attention control. 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.