Trust in Automation

A human factors construct describing the extent to which a person believes an automated system — a car, aircraft, medical device, AI assistant, or robot — will perform reliably and behave in their interest, typically measured via validated questionnaires such as the Trust in Automation scale. Trust in automation is calibrated through experience, transparency about system state and limits, predictability, and perceived competence; over-trust leads to complacency and missed failures, while under-trust causes disuse of beneficial automation. In accessibility contexts, trust in automation is a first-order concern for assistive AI (screen readers with AI descriptions, voice assistants, automated vehicles), where disabled users may have fewer fallback channels if the system fails or provides inaccurate information.