Co-authored by CBC Director Professor Susan Michie, the open letter was recently published in the journal Wellcome Open Research. It examines how behavioural science can help ensure AI is developed and deployed in ways that are effective, transparent and socially beneficial.
The article argues that behavioural science has much more to offer AI than simply informing the design of persuasive technologies. Instead, it proposes a broader partnership between behavioural science and AI that can improve how evidence is generated, interpreted and used to support decisions.
A central theme of the letter is the need for AI systems that are grounded in established behavioural theory, models and frameworks (such as COM-B and the Behaviour Change Wheel) rather than relying solely on patterns identified in data. By combining advances in AI with structured behavioural evidence – e.g. by ontologies that precisely specify interventions, contexts and mechanisms of action – AI systems can produce knowledge that is more interpretable, reusable and relevant for researchers, practitioners and policymakers. It enables the use of large-scale data and evidence to answer questions of the type ‘What interventions are likely to have what effects for my scenario, i.e., for whom, in what context, and how?
These ideas build on the CBC’s Human Behaviour Change Project, an interdisciplinary collaboration led by Prof. Michie that has pioneered the use of AI, including machine learning, to synthesise evidence from behaviour change intervention research at a scale and speed beyond conventional systematic reviews.
The open letter offers a timely contribution to debates on the responsible use of AI and reducing its potential for harm. It concludes that behavioural science is not only critical for understanding how people interact with AI, but also for shaping AI systems that are evidence-based, explainable and capable of supporting better decisions in the real world.
- Read the full open-access article on Wellcome Open Research
- Full list of authors: Paul M Sacher, Susan Michie, Oliver P Hauser, Antoine Ferrère, Samuel Salzer, Amy Rodger, Jana Schaich Borg, Ganna Pogrebna and Susan A Murphy
- Find out more about The Human Behaviour Change Project