About the Project
Supervisory Team: Dr Anna-Stiina Wallinheimo and Prof Ben Waterson
This project explores how artificial intelligence (AI) can enhance decision-making in complex, high-stakes settings while preserving human judgement. Drawing on human factors, cognitive psychology, and human-computer interaction, the research examines trust, transparency, workload, and accountability to inform safer, more explainable, human-centred AI systems.
Across domains such as transport, healthcare, emergency management, defence, and critical infrastructure, human operators often face an overwhelming volume of information and must make rapid, accurate decisions under uncertainty, time pressure, and high cognitive demand, where decision errors can have significant operational, societal, or life-threatening consequences.
While advances in AI, including machine learning and large language models, offer new opportunities to support human decision-making, effectively integrating AI into such complex, high-stakes decision-making environments while preserving human judgement remains a major challenge. This interdisciplinary project will focus on the human aspects of this challenge, investigating how AI system design can best foster collaboration that supports, rather than replaces, the human decision-maker.
Drawing on theories and methods from human factors, cognitive psychology, and human-computer interaction (HCI), the research will investigate the cognitive mechanisms underpinning human-AI collaboration. Research questions are likely to include how AI explanations influence trust and reliance, how system transparency affects operator understanding, and how AI support impacts cognitive workload, situation awareness, decision confidence, and accountability for the human decision-maker.
Ultimately, the aim is to develop evidence-based principles to inform the design of trustworthy and explainable AI systems that enhance human decision-making. The outcomes will support the safe, ethical deployment of AI technologies in high-stakes settings, ensuring intelligent systems remain aligned with human needs, capabilities, and values.
Entry requirements
A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in one of the following:
- Human Factors
- Psychology
or experience in complex systems.
An understanding of quantitative research methods and the use of experimental designs is essential.
An understanding of and capability in machine learning or large language models is also desirable.
Fees and funding
We offer a range of funding opportunities for both UK and international students. Horizon Europe fee waivers automatically cover the difference between overseas and UK fees for qualifying students.
Competition-based Presidential Bursaries from the University cover the difference between overseas and UK fees for top-ranked applicants.
Competition-based studentships offered by our schools typically cover UK-level tuition fees and a stipend for living costs for top-ranked applicants.
Funding will be awarded on a rolling basis, so apply early for the best opportunity to be considered.
For more information, please visit our postgraduate research funding pages.
How to apply
You need to:
- choose programme type (Research), 2027/28, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences
- select Full time or Part time
- search for programme PhD Engineering & the Environment (7175)
- add name of the supervisor in section 2 of the application
Applications should include:
- your CV (resumé)
- 2 academic references
- degree transcripts and certificates to date
- English language qualification (if applicable)
Contact us
Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences
For questions about applying, [contact details available in the full listing].
Project leader
For an initial conversation, [contact details available in the full listing].
The School of Engineering is committed to promoting equality, diversity inclusivity as demonstrated by our Athena SWAN award. We welcome all applicants regardless of their gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or age, and will give full consideration to applicants seeking flexible working patterns and those who have taken a career break. The University has a generous maternity policy, onsite childcare facilities, and offers a range of benefits to help ensure employees’ well-being and work-life balance. The University of Southampton is committed to sustainability and has been awarded the Platinum EcoAward.
