Decision-Making and Digital Systems 2026 (Dataset)
A de-identified open dataset (n=358) examining how digitally active adults experience decision-making, autonomy, confidence, and reliance when interacting with digital and AI-enabled systems in everyday life across six English-speaking countries.
Measures include decision clarity and confidence, perceived cognitive effort and overwhelm, reliance on digital and automated systems for thinking and decision support, perceived autonomy and epistemic confidence, self-reported change over time, and demographic variables across six English-speaking countries.
Part of the Human Clarity Institute’s Human–AI Experience Data Series.
Framework
HRL domain(s): Agency & Decision Autonomy, Trust & Epistemic Stability
Registry Construct Alignment: Decision dependence, Trust calibration, Responsibility attribution, Risk perception
Listed constructs reflect longitudinal, registry-mapped item alignment and do not represent the full thematic scope of this dataset.
DOI and Repository Links
This dataset is archived in GitHub, Zenodo, and Figshare for long-term preservation.
Citation
APA
Human Clarity Institute. (2026).
Decision-Making and Digital Systems 2026 (Dataset).
Human Clarity Institute.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18488985
BibTeX
@dataset{hci_decision_making_digital_systems_2026,
author = {Human Clarity Institute},
title = {Decision-Making and Digital Systems 2026 (Dataset)},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.5281/zenodo.18488985},
url = {https://humanclarityinstitute.com/datasets/decision-making-digital-systems-2026/},
license = {CC-BY-4.0}
}
Licence
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
You are free to share, adapt, and build upon this dataset for any purpose, including commercial use,
provided appropriate credit is given to the Human Clarity Institute.
Full licence text: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Study Methodology
This dataset forms part of the Human Clarity Institute’s Human–AI Experience research programme, examining how people use digital and AI systems in decision-making, how these systems affect clarity, reliance, verification behaviour, and perceived responsibility, and how individuals balance system support with personal judgement in everyday decisions. The study uses a cross-sectional online survey design and focuses on descriptive patterns in AI-assisted decision-making, including clarity under uncertainty, reliance conditions, verification behaviour, override confidence, and responsibility retention in digitally mediated life.
Data were collected via the Prolific research platform from adults across six English-speaking countries. Participants provided explicit informed consent for anonymous open publication as part of HCI’s open research programme.
Sampling & participants
- Clean dataset: 358 valid responses
- Countries: Australia, United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand
- Eligibility: Adults (18+) in English-speaking countries
- Recruitment platform: Prolific
- Anonymisation: Participant IDs removed; timestamps stripped; no direct identifiers retained
Study limitations
- The survey uses a non-probability convenience sample and is not nationally representative.
- Results are based on self-reported responses and reflect perceived experiences of AI-assisted decision-making, reliance, verification behaviour, and responsibility.
- The study uses a cross-sectional design, capturing responses at a single point in time.
- The dataset is descriptive and exploratory and does not support causal inference.
The Agency Gap
The Agency Gap explores how AI consultation may begin shaping human decision-making while people still experience responsibility and judgement as their own.
Why Can’t I Focus?
Why Can’t I Focus investigates how digital distraction fragments attention and how clarity about what matters most can help restore sustained focus.