IBT - Uni SG - Autonomy Lab

Our lab investigates how consumers interact with and respond to autonomous technologies. At the Autonomy Lab, we study the rise of technological autonomy and the importance of preserving human autonomy in an automated world.

We focus on the convergence of two transformative trends: artificial intelligence and robotics. As these fields converge, they give rise to increasingly autonomous technologies that create new opportunities but also pose fundamental challenges for consumers, organizations, and societies. Led by Professor Emanuel de Bellis, our team combines expertise in marketing, psychology, and behavioral science to explore how consumers navigate this new technological landscape.

Research Focus

As AI and robotics become more intertwined, products and services are gaining unprecedented levels of autonomy. We study the psychological mechanisms underlying consumer adoption and resistance to autonomous technologies. We investigate how people perceive machine autonomy, what drives trust or skepticism towards autonomous systems, and how automation reshapes decision-making. Our research spans contexts from smart devices and service robots to self-driving vehicles and GenAI applications.

We also study related topics such as personalization, 3D printing, and blockchain technologies. These research streams share a common thread: understanding how emerging technologies shift the balance of autonomy between consumers and technology. By understanding both opportunities and barriers in consumer-technology interaction, we generate insights that help companies design better products and services while fostering technologies that benefit society at large.

Key ongoing research projects include:

Media-Frame Analysis of Perceived Threats of New Technologies

Do public concerns about artificial intelligence fundamentally differ from, or simply echo, historical anxieties surrounding earlier technologies such as television, the internet, and social media? We analyze how major newspapers have framed the perceived threats of new technologies over the past century, tracing continuities and shifts in public discourse.

3D Printing in the Age of AI

Additive manufacturing is widely expected to reshape how products are designed, produced, and consumed, with its trajectory increasingly tied to advances in artificial intelligence. We investigate how the convergence of 3D printing and AI is changing what can be made, by whom, and with what consequences for consumers, firms, and society.

Behavioral Responses to Autonomous Vehicles

Self-driving vehicles are now being deployed in several countries, raising new questions for the people who share the road with them. We examine how surrounding drivers perceive autonomous vehicles and how these perceptions shape their on-road behavior, drawing on field experiments in real traffic and immersive virtual environments.

Uniqueness and Cooperation in NFT Communities

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) represent a novel form of digital ownership in which uniqueness and community drive value. We investigate how owning a unique digital asset shapes consumers’ sense of entitlement and selfish behavior, revealing a fundamental tension between NFT uniqueness and the collective foundations of NFT markets.

Designing Motion for Autonomous Products

Consumers increasingly live alongside products that move on their own, from robot vacuums and lawn mowers to air-purification drones. We study how the way these products move through space shapes consumer perceptions and acceptance, offering design guidance for an emerging category of everyday autonomous technologies. Supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).

Autonomous Products in the Wild

How do consumers adopt and use domestic technologies with growing autonomy? In partnership with industry, we follow 300 households over an extended period as they integrate an autonomous product into their daily routines, building a fine-grained understanding of human–technology interaction in the real world. Supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).

Technology’s Catch-22: A Theory of Zero-Sum Autonomy

Autonomous products such as robot vacuums, smart-home systems, and self-driving vehicles face persistent consumer resistance despite rapid technological progress. We propose that consumers construe gains in product autonomy as losses in their own autonomy, and identify framing strategies that ease this tension and improve acceptance.

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From Insight to Impact

We combine behavioral experiments, field studies, and advanced analytics to understand how autonomy shapes consumer behavior and well-being. Our team's multidisciplinary backgrounds enable us to deeply understand consumer responses, examining not just what people do, but why they do so and when.

We follow open science principles, making our data and materials publicly available to ensure transparency and reproducibility. We believe robust science requires openness, and we preregister confirmatory research whenever possible.

We collaborate with industry partners and public institutions to address real-world challenges. Our findings, published in leading marketing and general science journals, inform both scientific knowledge and practical guidance for organizations. Our goal: technologies that generate value for organizations while preserving human autonomy.

Autonomy Lab