How you treat an AI agent determines the results you'll get, says Professor Taha Yasseri

The results we get from AI aren't simply a matter of how good the technology is or how much we know about how it works. How we interact with an AI assistant or agent also has a huge impact, according to Professor Taha Yasseri, who heads up the Joint Centre for Sociology of Humans and Machines (SOHAM) based in Dublin, Ireland. Speaking at a recent Workday event in London, he explains:

The research also shows that, to get the best synergy between the human and AI agents, you don't necessarily need the best human and the best AI, the smartest.

The best predictor of this synergy is how the human is treating the agents. It actually goes into something that we refer to as the theory of mind. When I'm working with someone, how much do I know about their capabilities, their limits, their thought process?

If ...