Who is responsible for AI’s decisions? A study on students’ view on the responsibility gap when using AI in decision making

Sammanfattning

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more common in areas like recruitment, healthcare, and self-driving cars, it raises questions about who should be held responsible when things go wrong. This thesis explores how bachelor level tech students think about responsibility in decisions influenced by AI. Through a focus group with six students from Stockholm University’s Department of Computer and Systems Sciences, we examined their views on accountability, transparency, bias, and ethics. The analysis followed a thematic approach and revealed four key themes: Responsibility and Accountability, Transparency, Bias, and Human Oversight in AI Ethics. The students believed that while AI can support decisions, humans, especially the users and companies using the tools, should remain responsible. Developers were also seen as partly responsible for making sure the tools are fair and accurate. Transparency was seen as important for trust, but participants also noted that too much technical detail can be confusing. The group also raised concerns about biased data and stressed the importance of human oversight. Overall, the findings show that responsibility should be shared between developers, users, and companies. The study highlights the need for clearer rules and guidelines to help ensure fair and ethical use of AI in decision-making