AI for Behavioural Science

4 AI Knows Best

DOI: 10.1201/9781003203315-5

Introduction

Throughout this book– the exception perhaps being towards the end of Chapter 3 – a key character in the story of AI and behavioural science has taken a backseat. That character is the decision-maker. Previous chapters have focused on the machine, on relevant definitions, and on the choice architect, but the decision-maker has been treated as a passive actor or some variable in a computational model. To an extent, this is not surprising. For instance, a key advantage of using AI in behavioural science, as discussed in Chapter 3, is a machine’s ability to process more data faster than a human choice architect could. This application has little to do with the decision-maker whose choices ...