CST-7: The Moral Crumple Zone: How Diffused Responsibility Distorts Accountability in Human-AI Interaction

We explore the concept of the "moral crumple zone" in human-AI interaction, where accountability for AI system failures often gets inappropriately shifted to human operators. This phenomenon arises from cognitive biases like automation bias, leading humans to over-trust AI and become complacent. The sources illustrate this through various examples, including autonomous vehicles, military drones, healthcare AI, and critical infrastructure, demonstrating how this diffused responsibility creates governance blind spots, amplifies AI failure modes, and erodes public trust. Ultimately, the texts advocate for clearer accountability frameworks, improved AI design, and transparent operations to foster safer and more trustworthy AI-human partnerships.