Command and Control with Human-Machine Teams

ABSTRACT

The amount of information to analyze in the decision-making process for command and control is increasing past human cognitive limits. The effects of augmenting human information processing with machine-processing capability are not fully understood. This research examined the interdependence between machine and human teammates and its impact on the current command and control structure. The experiment (2X4 repeated measures analysis) was conducted online utilizing Qualtrics and Amazons Mechanical Turk. Each of the 119 participants was asked a set of questions about 34 faces. Participants were asked to identify the category of the face and what reaction they would have, friendly or defensive. This question order was reversed and each of the questions was asked individually. This process was repeated while adding the assistance of a machine teammate. The machine teammate displayed a suggested answer to the first question that the human had to acknowledge before continuing to answer. This research is preliminary. However, conceptually, the additional communication between a human and machine teammate adds time into the command and control process. This interaction may also affect the decision maker by priming the human to an action or through automation bias. Furthermore, reducing information to the human in a human-machine team has significant potential to reduce team situational awareness. Follow-on research is needed before any conclusions can be reached.