Master Thesis: Human-AI Collaboration: Trust, Oversight and the Boundaries of Automation

Are you a master’s student looking for an innovative company to collaborate with on your master’s thesis during the spring semester of 2027? Look no further. 

ASSA ABLOY is the global leader in access solutions and provides the latest technologies to give access to physical and virtual spaces for millions of people every day. Joining ASSA ABLOY means being part of a fast-moving and highly innovative company with diverse opportunities in more than 70 countries worldwide. What can you expect as a master’s thesis intern at ASSA ABLOY? Cutting edge technology, a steep learning curve, dedicated supervisors from within the enterprise, a group of fellow master's thesis students to share the experience with – and much more. 

We have an exciting range of subjects. Please remember to indicate in your application if you're interested in other subjects as well and mark them in your order of preference. Please also let us know your thoughts on how you would approach the subject. Please note that most of your work will be done at one of our two sites in Stockholm. 

Master Thesis Nr 6: Human–AI Collaboration: Trust, Oversight and the Boundaries of Automation 

With AI now closely connected to our daily work, new questions arise regarding when and where AI performs well/poor. In what situations are human abilities still dominant and is there a need to set certain boundaries. Also, when AI is getting more integrated into our cognitive systems, what are the consequences?

In this Master thesis we would like to deep-dive into how the behavior of our users is changing with the emerging AI capabilities, focusing on trust. There are several new studies on related topics from an academical point of view, however we don’t see much applied in a real working environment. Our goal is to build trustworthy AI in our solutions and understand how they affect our user base.

Suggested questions/areas of Exploration:

- Appropriate reliance
What enables users to distinguish between useful and unreliable AI recommendations?
What contributes to over-reliance, automation bias, or unnecessary rejection?

- Interaction and constructive challenge
When should AI provide a recommendation, wait to be asked, surface a warning, disclose uncertainty, or prompt independent reflection?

- Transparency and meaningful review
How do evidence, provenance, explanations, capability and limitation statements, and uncertain communication affect a user’s ability to review AI output?

- Human decision authority and automation boundaries
Which activities may be supported or partially automated, and where should a person retain judgment, accountability, or approval?

- Creativity and engineering judgment
How does AI support affect idea generation, diversity of alternatives, professional judgment, or problem framing?
How to manage the risk of automation bias, users over trusting AI?

The areas above are intended as possible directions rather than a fixed set of questions. The selected thesis team will work with the supervisors to formulate a focused research question and suitable scope.

We are seeking one or two students with an interest in human–machine interaction, user experience, and industrial design, along with a strong understanding of AI and its potential. Strong communication skills and experience conducting interviews are also valuable. This thesis can be designed to be more practical work or a theoretical review of existing studies.

We look forward to receiving your application with your resumé and hearing your ideas on how you would approach this subject!