Trust is crucial to our willingness to use AI, but it's not as simple as more trust, leading to more use and better outcomes. To work safely and effectively with AI, our level of trust needs to be aligned with the capabilities of the AI application. Too much trust and we risk relying on an application that can't really deliver, not enough trust and we risk not using an application that could actually help us.

Dr. Melanie McGrath is a psychological scientist investigating how humans develop trust in machines, and what effect that might have on the way people and AI work together. In her research she identifies the optimal level of trust in an AI application, and how to achieve it. To address this question she works with scientists developing applications in a range of areas including cybersecurity, genomics, and robotics.

In 2009 Melanie had two children, two dogs and no STEM qualification. By the time she started working for the CSIRO in 2022 she had two dogs, three kids, and three degrees in psychology, including a PhD from the University of Melbourne. She thinks that's enough degrees, kids, and dogs, but is still holding out for a pony.