New AAAI research examines AI’s impact on people, platforms and markets

Researchers affiliated with McGill Desautels’ Analytics, Advanced Digital Technologies and AI (AAAI) initiative are examining the growing influence of artificial intelligence on human behaviour, digital communities and economic outcomes. In a study on customer service chatbots, Professor Elizabeth Han found that AI systems expressing empathy after service failures can trigger psychological reactance among users, who may perceive the technology as intrusive or overstepping human-machine boundaries. The findings suggest that approaches effective in human interactions do not always translate successfully to AI, underscoring the need for thoughtful design of emotionally intelligent systems.

Additional research by Professors Sameer Borwankar, Warut Khern-am-nuai and Maxime Cohen, alongside PhD student Jitsama Tanlamai, explores the broader societal effects of generative AI. One study found that restricting AI-generated content on platforms such as Stack Overflow can improve the quality and community reception of human contributions, although it may also reduce overall participation. Another revealed that generative AI can help narrow housing price disparities between comparable homes in white-dominant and minority-dominant neighbourhoods, pointing to its potential to support fairer decision-making while highlighting the importance of continued oversight and responsible use.