A theoretical framework for human-centered intelligent information services: A systematic review

Abstract

Intelligent Information Services (IIS) employ Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based systems to provide information that matches the user's needs in diverse and evolving environments. Acknowledging the importance of users in AI-empowered IIS success, a growing number of researchers are investigating AI-empowered IIS from a user-centric perspective, establishing the foundation for a new research domain called “Human-Centered Intelligent Information Services” (HCIIS). Nonetheless, a review of user studies in AI-empowered IIS is still lacking, impeding the development of a clear definition and research framework for the HCIIS field. To fill this gap, this study conducts a systematic review of 116 user studies in AI-empowered IIS. Results reveal two primary research themes in user studies in AI-empowered IIS: human-IIS interaction (including user experience, system quality, user attitude, intention and behavior, information quality, and individual task performance) and IIS ethics (e.g., explainability and interpretability, privacy and safety, and inclusivity). Analyzing research gaps within these topics, this study formulates an HCIIS research framework consisting of three interconnected elements: human values and needs, environment, and service. The interconnections between each pair of elements identify three key research domains in HCIIS: interaction, ethics, and evolution. Interaction pertains to the facilitation of human-IIS interaction to meet human needs, encompassing topics including human-centered theory, evaluation, and the design of AI-empowered IIS interaction. Ethics emphasize ensuring AI-empowered IIS alignment with human values and norms within specific environments, covering topics like general and context-specific AI-empowered IIS ethical principles, risk assessment, and governance strategies. Evolution focuses on addressing the fulfillment of human needs in diverse and dynamic environments by continually evolving intelligence, involving the enhancement of AI-empowered IIS environmental sensitivity and adaptability within an intelligent ecosystem driven by technology integration. Central to HCIIS is co-creation, situated at the intersection of interaction, evolution, and ethics, emphasizing collaborative information creation between IIS and humans through hybrid intelligence. In conclusion, HCIIS is defined as a field centered on information co-creation between IIS and humans, distinguishing it from IIS, which focuses on providing information to humans.