The Intersection of Humans and Machines: Rethinking Decision-Making in the Age of AI 

Alicia von Schenk, C-BEAM researcher and one of Germany’s youngest economics faculty members, leads a research agenda at the intersection of economics, business administration, and computer science. Her work examines how artificial intelligence alters strategic behavior, moral reasoning, and organizational decision-making.

Von Schenk combines laboratory and online experiments with machine learning methods to study human-algorithm interaction in high-stakes settings. A key focus lies on transparency and acceptance of AI systems, as well as their role in shaping group decisions and trust dynamics. She also investigates how social interaction affects belief formation and whether targeted interventions can reduce cognitive biases and misinformation.

Her current project, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), uses online experiments to study how people and organizations make strategic decisions when facing the classic exploration-exploitation dilemma—choosing between a safe option and a riskier but potentially better one. It investigates how observing others in the same situation influences decision-making, and explores how new AI tools like large language models affect these decisions, both by offering advice and prompting deeper reflection.

Her research offers a nuanced view of human-algorithm interaction, highlighting both the opportunities and risks of integrating AI into decision-making processes. She sheds light on when people trust machine-generated advice, how algorithmic transparency affects acceptance, and how cooperation with AI systems can succeed in teams and organizations. By addressing cognitive biases, social dynamics, and the strategic use of AI tools, she provides a broad foundation for designing technologies that support—not replace—human judgment in complex environments.