AI Project from Cornell Researchers Examining Human Decisions in Complex Systems

A three-year research project has been launched at Cornell University to examine how individual decisions affect the entire system in cyber-physical systems such as transportation and energy grids, and how the system in turn shapes human decisions. The project is supported by a $600,000 grant provided by the National Science Foundation.

Artificial intelligence can help predict when a passenger will choose a new public transit route or how a homeowner will respond to changing electricity prices. However, predicting human behavior becomes difficult in situations where individual decisions affect the whole. The project aims to develop artificial intelligence models that better reflect human decision-making in cyber-physical systems and can clearly account for uncertainties.

The project is led by Ricardo Daziano, professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Anna Scaglione, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Cornell Tech. The study focuses on areas such as transportation networks, electric vehicle charging systems, and grid infrastructure that combine physical infrastructure with digital information, automated recommendations, connected technologies, and human decisions.