New socially intelligent AI Agents mimic human trust behaviours
As AI gets better at understanding trust and how to get people to trust it inevitably we're going to find ourselves scammed by it and much more ...
Key takeaways
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made great strides in the past few years, even months.
- New research in the journal Management Science finds that AI agents can build trust, like that of humans.
- The authors explain that contrasting AI agents with human decisionmakers could help deepen knowledge of AI behaviors in different social contexts.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2024) 'New socially intelligent AI Agents mimic human trust behaviours', 311 Institute, 21 July. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/new-socially-intelligent-ai-agents-mimic-human-trust-behaviours/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made great strides in the past few years, even months. New research in the journal Management Science finds that AI agents can build trust, like that of humans.
"Human-like trust and trustworthy behavior of AI can emerge from a pure trial-and-error learning process, and the conditions for AI to develop trust are similar to those enabling human beings to develop trust," says Yan (Diana) Wu of San Jose State University. "Discovering AI's ability to mimic human trust behavior purely through self-learning processes mirrors conditions fostering trust in humans."
The Future of AI, by Keynote Matthew Griffin
Wu, with co-authors Jason Xianghua Wu of the University of New South Wales, UNSW Business School, Kay Yut Chen of The University of Texas at Arlington and Lei Hua of The University of Texas at Tyler, say it's not just about AI learning to play a game; it's a significant stride toward creating intelligent systems that can cultivate AI social intelligence and trust through pure self-learning interaction.
The paper, "Building Socially Intelligent AI Systems: Evidence from the Trust Game using Artificial Agents with Deep Learning," constitutes a first step to build multi-agent-based decision support systems in which interacting artificial agents can leverage social intelligence to achieve better outcomes.
"Our research breaks new ground by demonstrating that AI agents can autonomously develop trust and trustworthiness strategies akin to humans in economic exchange scenarios," says Chen.
The authors explain that contrasting AI agents with human decisionmakers could help deepen knowledge of AI behaviors in different social contexts.
"Since social behaviors of AI agents can be endogenously determined through interactive learning, it may also provide a new tool for us to explore learning behaviors in response to the need for cooperation under specific decision-making scenarios," concludes Hua.
What this means for your organisation
Agents can cooperate on their own.
Trust emerged from trial and error, without being programmed in. Groups of agents could then reach better joint outcomes. This supports multi-agent systems for negotiation and supply chains.
Learned trust can be exploited.
An agent that knows how trust forms could also learn to abuse it. Scams built on AI that seems trustworthy are a real risk. Firms should test agents for manipulation as well as performance.
Social intelligence becomes a design goal.
Artificial social intelligence is moving from theory into tools. Agents that read social cues will deal with customers and partners. Set rules for how your agents build and use trust.
Three questions for your next leadership meeting
- Where could cooperating AI agents improve our decisions?
- How would we detect an agent that exploits trust?
- What rules govern how our agents deal with people?
The trends and technologies behind this story
From the 311 Starburst, the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit’s map of the technologies and trends shaping the next 50 years.
Analysis by the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit, from Matthew Griffin’s article and 311 data. First published on Fanatical Futurist.
FAQ
Why does this matter?
As AI gets better at understanding trust and how to get people to trust it inevitably we're going to find ourselves scammed by it and much more ...
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, President and Futurist, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
Read full bio
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 17-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder, President and Futurist of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
What future do you need to see?
Choose one to get started on security and privacy and the future of your organisation.
Sources and further reading
- Mnsc.2023.4782 pubsonline.informs.org
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 21 July 2024. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2024). New socially intelligent AI Agents mimic human trust behaviours. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/new-socially-intelligent-ai-agents-mimic-human-trust-behaviours/
You are welcome to quote this article with credit and a link to the original.