AI and Agency: Benefiting Users by Understanding and Serving Explicit Aspirations

Abstract

This paper introduces a framework for understanding how generative AI affects user agency, drawing on psychological research distinguishing between expressed preferences and immediate, often-regretted desires. We conducted a study examining how AI usage relates to users’ self-reported capacity for accomplishing goals along with the potential benefits of providing users with a sense of control over AI tools. This study with a nationally representative sample of U.S. generative AI users examined users’ aspirational preferences for AI usage; where they perceive capability (outcome control) gains from AI; users’ perceived control over AI tool experiences (process control); the relationship between perceived control over AI experiences and reported capability gains; where users locate their concerns about AI; and whether reported gains differ across demographic groups. Results indicate that users primarily both value and report benefit from AI in instrumental domains (e.g., task completion, information gathering, and learning). Aspirations for, and experiences of, benefits related to social and affective domains were less common. Users most commonly reported concerns about AI eroding independent thinking and agency. Importantly, users who felt more empowered to shape AI outputs (process control) also reported greater capability gains (outcome control), although exploratory analyses suggest these gains are unevenly distributed across demographic groups. We argue that centering user agency, encompassing control over both product experience and product outcomes, should be a primary design principle.